Looks like I need to join the 'Schlumbergera Society.' ;)
Posted on 02/04/2023 6:17:08 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
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I grow *bucket potatoes*.
Mr mm cut off the bottoms of some food grade 5 gallon plastic buckets and I placed them on the ground and put some fertilizer and bone meal on the ground inside them.
Then I added a shallow layer of good dirt to keep the potato chucks from direct contact with the fertilizer and laid them on top of the dirt and covered them with wood chips.
I have gotten my best crops that way.
The benefits are that it seems like the slugs don’t get to the potatoes like the ones buried in the ground, and until the plants get too big, you can cover the buckets with inexpensive netting you can pick up at Hobby Lobby or Joann’s. It’s a HUGE help in keeping the potato beetles from attacking the young plants.
What I noticed was that the covered buckets actually showed NO leaf damage from insects that like to eat holes in the leaves.
That makes it a time saver as well, because the I didn’t have to waste time checking the plants for the Colorado potato beetles every few days.
They are very easy to harvest as well. Just pull the bucket off and knock aside the wood chips and the potatoes are just laying there to pick up, very clean.
That one always cracks me up!
It’s not funny when it’s your hens, though .... the hen the fox had (saved by the Collie) was #3 - it had killed 2 already!
The hens are my SIL’s, but I consider them ‘mine’ since I take care of them a lot when she’s away.
Looks like I need to join the 'Schlumbergera Society.' ;)
Do you (Does anyone) have any experience growing the "Clancy" potatoes from seed? I thought I might try this year.
What’s happening when you grow potatoes? Is it disease? Rodents? Plants are all leaf and no spud?
I’ve gotten good results laying the seed potatoes on the ground, then covering with a thick layer of straw. Others have tried that method and lost them all to mice. It sometimes takes a lot of trial-and-error to find the method that works for you, but if you can fill in some details about what’s going wrong, I might be able to point you in the right direction.
Nope. I grow Kennebec and Red Pontiac from seed potatoes.
Kennebec are from Maine and do very well here in NH. Anything developed locally will probably be your best bet.
Irish is just a way of saying the potato ain’t sweet. Once you get down to the Gulf, folks here only grow one kind of potato—sweet potatoes or yams.
When I plant potatoes, I try to be clear which kind.
The kind of Irish potatoes I grow are Yukon Gold, Russian Fingers, Red Norland and All Blue.
I’ve lost a few to raccoon through the years. And one MEAN rooster to my Yellow Lab. Didn’t shed any years over THAT one!
Some may find it morbid, but I have his tail feather plume tied together and display it in an old piece of glassware. The feathers are gorgeous - ‘Cooper’ was an absolute JERK from the moment I took him off of someone City Guy’s hands. He drove past my farm, saw my coop and thought, ‘Hey! I can dump this problem child off on HER!’
City Guys! *Rolleyes* He turned three shades of pale when I told him I’d butcher it for him right them and there, LOL!
Red Norland and German Butterball are my two faves to grow.
Wisconsin is second in potato production to Idaho, so I just grow them for fun, not necessarily to keep us fed in the off-season.
If you’re further north than I am, the soil is nothing but gorgeous Sandy Loam, thanks to the glaciers that went through there but missed our SW side of the state millions of years ago. Potatoes, carrots, and onions love those growing conditions. Any root crops, actually. They also grow tons of cabbage and fields and fields and fields of tomatoes for the canning companies. And cranberries! I’ll bet you have a Wisconsin-grown product in your canned goods stash right this minute! :)
If you’re starving, and life is beating you down, move to central Wisconsin. You’ll always have something to eat!
*Steps Off Wisconsin Agriculture Committee and Tourism Soap Box* :)
Wisconsin’s Top 10 Agricultural Commodities:
https://farmflavor.com/wisconsin/wisconsin-crops-livestock/wisconsins-top-10-agriculture-products/
My brother’s old Brittany, who died last month, got a few feathers off one of the hens a few weeks before he died. He was totally deaf and blind, but his nose still worked. Also, despite his age & infirmities, he never quit hunting anything with feathers or fur. Some hen came too close & he managed to snatch a few feathers - surprised her, I’m sure.
The two infamous roosters in the family chicken history were Brooster Rooster & Big Daddy. Broosie Roosie was the end result of a high school science project (watching eggs develop & hatch). My brother gave all the survivors a home - Broosie wasn’t the least bit grateful. Big Daddy was my SIL’s big Rhode Island Red rooster - he had the kids terrified (a few adults, too!). The one good rooster was Freckles - my little niece carried him around frequently & he didn’t seem to mind at all. He was a mixed breed & not the least bit mean.
I didn’t vote for legalization, which was idiotically done as a constitutional amendment, but enough people did. I bet only 5-10% knew it was being done as a constitutional amendment though because the MSM sure wasn't going to tell them. I heard about it on local talk radio.
They're doing a microbusiness thing, wholesale/growers or retail sales. Micro-growers can have up to 750 plants at one time, 250 flowering, 250 non-flowering over 14 inches and 250 non-flowering under 14 inches. I wonder how much money one could make with a couple of high tunnels? More than veggies I'm sure.
This 12 hour days doing industrial machinery maintenance and repair is killing my little old 57 year old self. I always did enjoy my self employed years.
Yep.
I used this last year. Just input first frost date and it gives you indoor sowing and transplanting out dates for many varieties.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/seed-planting-schedule-calculator.html
Onions last week through now, Peas & Spinach next weekend per that calculator. Grabbed some White Bunching Onion seeds from the grocery store this morning. 60-110 to harvest. I still have plenty of peas but I need to fix the low pH soil condition before I can grow spinach and a few other things. I'll have to pick up some lime soon.
Late Feb to early Mar for brassicas and lettuce etc. Late Mar for maters/peppers and then not too much later, direct sow melons/corn and the like.
This 1 of 3 days off for me and the weather's not too bad, aside from windy but I doubt I'll do much towards gardening. Got other chores to catch up on. I worked 12 hours yesterday so not much is getting done today. Only been working for a month and a half after a year of no income so I need to get caught up financially too before I go hog wild on buying growing supplies and building materials. Will probably buy some seed trays and jiffy pot sheets/trays this coming week though. Needed two tires for the truck badly so I just bought those. Need a battery for it before the next cold spell of temps in the teens or less.
I had two 1020 trays with domes and two 72 cell trays last year and for the life of me, cannot find one tray/dome/cells setup. I can get some Onions started now though. Maybe do 12 every week or 24 every other week. In 40 days(Mar. 17) when I get my $500 sign on bonus, I might just spend it all on compost for where the high tunnel is going. That's only 2 inches worth for the 22' x 35' but is enough to get off to a good start. Plastic will cost about the same and misc stuff also about the same. Might be done by May but I can be growing in that spot before then. A little welding and 10 bags of Sakrete and the frame can go up. Wrap some fence around it to exclude goats and I can plant. Get some end walls made and plastic on it and maters/peppers can go in it.
This is what an arch will look like except that it ends where the tape measure crosses. I used full lengths to do the layout but in reality, one of those 10 foot sections gets notched and bent to get that peak. I've got one of those top center 10 foot sections notched and welded up. Another 10 foot arched pipe will get welded onto each end of those top center sections.
This shows the angle of the peak better.
I've got enough for 8 trusses 22 foot wide and at 5 foot on center, gives me a 35 foot long tunnel. I've got straight steel pipe for uprights/legs. I'm going to build the trusses with legs and set them each as an assembly. Will be 12-13 feet at the peak. That old wrecker in the background of the first pic belongs to a buddy now but I can use it. The boom reaches 17 foot up so it will work fine for setting the frame sections.
Too windy to mig weld outdoors this weekend but I'm going outside now to pull out the pipe sections so that when a day off coincides with decent welding weather, I'll be ready to go.
I usually plant in early march. After watching the huge plants die off I look for potatoes and there are just a few small ones. I believe potatoes are the best antibiden survival food. I plan on digging deep trenches this year. planting the potatoes and just covering up the leaves. My problem is probably the seasonal drought that appears around June. I need to water them more and choose a better fertilizer. Some of my friends have considerable success with tires or pails. All advice is appreciated. I don’t seem to have any problems raising other vegetables and corn.
my dtr is raising chickens and I used to get several dozen every time she came down....she lives about 65 miles north of us....BUT she tells me now that she has found buyers and has few eggs to share....I told her GOOD....get her business going....any extras down the line I’ll gladly accept....right now I am buying a couple of dozen every other week or so...
Oddly, only one publication for potatoes. https://permasteader.route66custom.com/cloud/index.php/s/ntjKGxSpenfgTa5
For anyone in striking distance, this week marks the post-pandemic return of the famed Philadelphia Flower Show to its indoor location at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the Center City business district — today, Feb 4 through next Sunday, Feb 12.
This year's theme is "The Garden Electric", featuring plants with vibrant colors. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (founded 1827), the annual Philadelphia Flower Show is "is the nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event" -- everything from patio constructions, summerhouses, sheds dripping with moss and vines, entire trees and shrub gardens with water fountains to lavish arrangements in vases and urns, bonsais and miniatures, dioramas, a large garden-related vendor bazaar, and a food court.
Cute video shows many familiar Philly landmarks:It's worth noting that the majority of the violent street crimes we've been hearing about are in Obama neighborhoods; but do be prudently streetwise if you go. There are no gun crimes reported so far this year within several blocks of the venue on the Philadelphia government's interactive gun crime map. You can download the link to your phone.
Join us for the 2023 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show
My faith in Humanity is restored to know that there ARE ‘nice’ roosters out there. ;)
Awwww! *LOVE*
Looks like a loaf of bread in there, doesn’t he? (Or she?)
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