Taters arrived the other day - I'm letting them sprout some before I 'chit' them and get them planted. I'm only doing German Butterball this season in one of my raised beds where I have looser soil; The Big Garden is going to be wildflowers for pollinators, and whatever Beau wants to do with his half. Until that area is raised beds, I can't keep up with the weeds. And I ain't got TIME fo dat!
It's a BIT cloudy today, but the sun's rays get through, so I moved EVERYTHING to the greenhouse for a dose of REAL sunshine. Will bring in the tomatoes and peppers tonight, and cover up other stuff...and we'll see what happens! This week I need to get Zukes, Cukes and Sunflowers started.
Cukes: Summer Dance, Sweeter Yet and Green Dragon.
Zukes: Easy Pick Gold and Spineless Beauty
Sunflowers: ProCut Orange, Soraya, Florist's Sunny Bouquet (mix) and Mammoth Russian for across the back of the wildflower garden.
Temps are still on the cool side, though it looks like we might turn a corner on the nighttime temps by Thursday. Fingers crossed!
Cold weather and Potatoes:
https://medium.com/@mkarr/russian-cuisine-why-the-potato-96a93af12f8a
snip....."There is a phrase commonly used in Russian. Many families living in the cities have a getaway for the early spring and summer months called a dacha. A dacha is a seasonal home for many people in Russia outside of the city. Many dachas have farms as the people who live there grow their own vegetables and food for the summer there directly.
When people say they’re going to their dacha, they say they are going на картошку: to the potatoes.'"
...snip...."The fact that the potato is one of the hardiest and resilient edible things that humans grow has allowed it to develop its cult status in Russia. According to the International Potato Center, certain strains of potatoes have now been shown to be able to grow on Mars. The fact that the International Potato Center exists should be enough of a hint as to the importance of the crop."