My second crop of potatoes going in..

[chris09]

Well I thought I would try a fall planting of potatoes this year and see how that goes.
Here are some pictures of the progress.
Starting to look like a garden again

Just a little bit deeper and it I'll be happy

Looking good at about 9 inches

Potatoes in the ground

All covered up and ready to grow

And here was a happy surprise

Chris

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Looking good Chris. I'll be interested to see how a late planting works for you. I'm also in zone 6.

Your soil looks wonderful . . . mine is 90% clay.

 

[vfem]

Wonderful! You want to come prep mine?

 

[journey11]

I envy your Ohio dirt!!

 

[Ariel301]

Me too, that looks like potting soil compared to mine! I've got about an inch of dust, then six inches of sand and gravel, then a foot of solid terra cotta clay, and then solid rock...if I ever have to make more garden space, I'm going with raised beds!

I just put some potatoes in today also.

 

[chris09]

Thank you all.

Don't let that soil fool you. Its a bear to work at times..

We (the wife and I) have been working this soil (as a garden) for going on 6 years now.
When we got married we got the house from my wife's Mom and Dad on a land contract and did a lot of work around here.
The house sets on old "swamp land" which makes it great for wet basements and good for gardens with it being some what rich soil and having a high level of sand but it has a lot of rock too. I believe I took out close to two big wheelbarrow full of rocks when we first put it in the 25' x 100' garden and another 1/4 wheelbarrow load out of the new 25' x 30' garden this year.

The one trick I have been using is I never pull the weeds in between the rows of my garden.
Instead I till them under about once a week and that way it rots right there in the ground.
In the fall when the garden is done I mow everything down and let it set for the winter.
In the spring I till under all the old and new grass/ weeds under to rot also.
The other "trick" is that I try to plant every thing on hills and what is planting row this year will be the walking rows next year. (one of the reasons I till the weed in between instead of pulling them I am "building up" the soil for the next year )


Chris

 

[Ridgerunner]

Out of curiosity, where did you get your seed potatoes? My biggest problem for a fall crop is getting viable seed potatoes.
Thanks.

 

[chris09]

Out of curiosity, where did you get your seed potatoes? My biggest problem for a fall crop is getting viable seed potatoes.
Thanks.

There just regular potatoes that I had left over from last years harvest.
They had real good eye sets so I try them.

When my Dad put out a garden he would always use the potatoes that was left over and had real good luck so I thought I would give it a try and see what happens.

Chris

 

[ducks4you]

**sigh** I just melted at your tiller pictures!!
I love my tiller. It's so much fun to walk behind it, letting it do all of the heavy breaking-up and dirt mixing. I, too, am going to try a 2nd potato crop. I didn't know if my garden centers had any seed potatoes left, so I bought Idaho's at the grocery, 10lbs/$1.98, to try growing THEM. This is my year of experiments, because next year we may ALL have to eat off of the land.
(I am praying that I am wrong about this. )
I also bought a few Sweet Potatoes, to try by a fence. I figure that I could make some plastic tents with my new and extra tomato cages and the opaque plastic bags from 40 lbs of pine shavings, if there is a frost.

We are still eating on my yummy Yukon Golds I harvested a month ago!!

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

I too bought a bag of "Idaho" potatoes from the grocery store. I asked if she had any to throw away that had "sprouted". I got a 5lb bag for $1.49. They have little eyes, I mean tiny. What else can I do to encourage them?