Finally got my 'aters planted!

[thistlebloom]

Potaters and tomaters that is!

I have never planted so many potatoes before and they consumed about 75% of my gardening space, so this summer I'm doing some serious new garden space development for next year!

Even though I made myself a promise that I would not cram everything this year, as I was putting the spuds in, nervously looking up and calculating how much space was left, and noting how many POTATOES were left, I tossed my spacing stick and started zigzagging the potatoes in the rows. I didn't actually stack them, but the last several pounds to go in were not getting the elbow room I had hoped to give them.

I had a row and a half left for the tomatoes, so they are also a teensy bit close. Like, embarrassingly cozy. I have 24 plants in there, and about thirty or so seedlings left with no home spot Anybody need some orphan tomato babies?

I have a small area for my Orchard Baby corn, a larger small space for my Painted Mountain corn, and hopefully enough room for all my peppers. Well, not to worry, all of the peppers will get planted, I know how to cram!

I should probably take some correspondence courses on planning....
......... I'll worry about that later.

 

[journey11]

Sounds like it's time to break out the tiller. I had the same problem...the temptation to plant all of the potatoes I had in the bucket. I gave the extras to my mom.

I guess if all else fails, you can survive on potatoes! I've been known to squeeze peppers and such into the flowerbeds and just dump a bag of compost/manure by the fence and plant my cukes. Think outside the garden...you might find a little extra space here and there to get the rest in.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I did the same. l I swore I would not do it again. Last year it started out nice rows and walk ways, and then we were jumping over vines and on tip toes trying to pick squash. I am not sure how much better things would grow if I would just give them room and plant say, half as much of each thing. I had a tunnel I had to crawl through to pick pole beans and they were so heavy the wire they were attached to at the top was drooping down.

 

[digitS']

We work hard on soil prep, Thistle'. Why do that and give most of it away to . . . nothing?

I have a February, 1976 issue of Organic Gardening in my bookshelf. These days, it is the only old OG that I still have on the shelves. Since it is February, it is their annual "garden planning" issue. There is an article on intensive gardening and planting in a matrix. I began planting in beds that year.

With all the intensive gardening proponents' criticism of "row culture," I quickly realized that I was planting in rows but just paying close attention to allowing each plant as much room as possible, fitting in amongst its neighbors. I suppose that it was also something of a beginning for me to make as much use of transplanting as I could. Even with only a sunny window for indoor starting then, I was using a starting bed in the garden and moving plants to their more permanent locations later.

Numbers are kind of magic to me, Thistle'. I hardly know how they work. I will put a pencil to paper with hardly the vaguest notion of numbers and diagrams I am about to put down. Usually, I start off wrong but begin to rein myself back into some representation of reality. Or, what I hope to be reality. If I go very far wrong, I will usually come up with some idea that there's something to be learned from wherever I've found myself. Like if I have 30" on-center rows my 1st year on the ground and easily convert that to 36" beds with 24" paths the 2nd year. Of course, it was what I'd planned all along .

Wishing You the Best of Luck with Your 2013 Garden!!!

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

well, i got the containers ready for the 25 different tomatoes i'll be growing this year. the determinate types will most likely get the containers while the indeterminate types will get a spot in the ground somewhere in the garden. i still need to till for the 4 types of potatoes i plan on getting in the ground. i probably could have put the potatoes in a few weeks ago but i've been a little lazy.

Thistle, do you have any larger containers you could possibly put your excess seedlings in? maybe place them around your driveway or a nice sunny location that is open. or you could put a small advertisement in craigslist that you have some excess for sale. or do what i do and sell them off during a yard sale.

 

[Smart Red]

I have been known to put tomatoes in the rear of Connor's Memorial Butterfly garden and pole beans with morning glories in one of the sunny garden beds. Also, a cole family member won't take up much space between potato plants and is no competition for under-soil space.

With my raised veggie beds I don't need to leave 2-3 feet between rows either so my plants are intensively interplanted.

I've been so busy working outside that I'm not getting on line much more than every third day. Enjoying my time, but missing ya'll.

 

[897tgigvib]

Lawn. Do you have a lawn in your yard?

Lawns make for nice pathways. Who ever it was that decided lawns were to be these large square or rectangle areas in front of houses? I mean, maybe someone saw a golf course in 1890 and decided that stuff would look good in front of their victorian house. Or, maybe someone planted a lawn back then with the idea of free food for their horse. There may be some official history of having lawns around the house.

If instead of a large perimeter around a house, and instead of going for even more gusto and planting the north 20 and the south 40 with low growing Perennial Ryegrass, and rather, reducing that big wide perimeter to a nice meandering path of the finest Kentucky Bluegrass, say three or four feet wide, then what is left? Wide areas of soil where the old fashioned archaic wasteful everyday ho hum lawn used to be.

Oh, what to do with that? Well, first that meandering path that is what's left of your lawn can be edged nicely with low plants of beauty. At this stage, ensure you only go to your local nursery with 40 dollars at a time, else the old nursery addiction problem may set in expensively. Things like Hen and chick, thyme, jenny, miss hosta, jonny, violet, snaps, oh, the possibilities are endless, but also, some 'aters sure look nice at the edge of a walk.

Next come the tributaries from the green path into the new soil...

how 'bout you write the next chapter?

 

[ninnymary]

Well Thistle, I've seen pictures of your garden space and I see a lot more room there to grow things! I know you're pretty busy and the more garden space you have the more work. But just an idea.

Like Marshall says, you have "lawn" that could be taken out for another small? bed?

Oh, what about that dandelion field!?

Mary

 

[lesa]

Glad you got them in the ground...cozy is such a nice word! I do the same thing every year. I have barely started and I am wondering where I am going to fit everything! We did plant the 50 pound bag of potatoes. They are in a separate area- which is not fenced. We will see if the critters will leave them alone. At this point, I think I will wait for the traditional Memorial Day planting of the tomatoes. Just in case!

 

[thistlebloom]

I think that if the peppers are too tight some will go in my little picket garden bed. And I do have containers, large 25 gallon tree pots that I have grown tomatoes in lots of times. Mostly because I figured the soil would be warmer in them.
Yes, I have space, lots of it, but much of it is wooded and takes a lot of prep, with cutting trees and stumping and brushing et cetera.
And Mary, that dandelion field is my lawn!

I got into a space bind because I didn't actually decide to order 48 pounds of potatoes until I sat down to order them.
But it's all good! And like Steve said, it's called intensive planting! It's so comforting to know it has a proper name.

You all have such good ideas as usual.

I like my lawn just fine. I see it as a dust mitigator, a cool spot to lay down and watch the clouds, space for dog frisbee and croquet games with friends. And a great dandelion propagation center too!