It's time for potatoes! Well, in containers anyway. Tonight there is a freeze warning. They are calling for temperatures around 27 with a Real Feel of 19!. Yikes. We haven't seen weather like that in a while. No worries. The potatoes can easily be protected on my porch for the night.
The first step was to thoroughly moisten some peat moss. The peat is important for keeping the pH low enough to prevent scab on the future potatoes. I dumped peat in one of the large containers and poured tons of water on it. You have to keep stirring and mixing it. The peat is very hydrophobic at first. It takes a while for it to start to accept the water. Just keep mixing....and mixing....and mixing.
Once the peat was thoroughly moistened, I filled each large container 1/4 of the way with the peat. It's pretty moist (as you can see), but then I filled the containers to the half way mark with potting soil and left over top soil. Mixed it well, and in went the potatoes. In this case I planted Kennebec potatoes that I found a Walmart yesterday. One large seed potato went in each container. Each had about 4-5 eyes that were already sprouting. I pointed those points upward and gently covered with the soil. Once the plants reach up over the rim, I will fill up the rest of the container with soil. Boy it feels good to get my hands all dirty!
The first step was to thoroughly moisten some peat moss. The peat is important for keeping the pH low enough to prevent scab on the future potatoes. I dumped peat in one of the large containers and poured tons of water on it. You have to keep stirring and mixing it. The peat is very hydrophobic at first. It takes a while for it to start to accept the water. Just keep mixing....and mixing....and mixing.
Once the peat was thoroughly moistened, I filled each large container 1/4 of the way with the peat. It's pretty moist (as you can see), but then I filled the containers to the half way mark with potting soil and left over top soil. Mixed it well, and in went the potatoes. In this case I planted Kennebec potatoes that I found a Walmart yesterday. One large seed potato went in each container. Each had about 4-5 eyes that were already sprouting. I pointed those points upward and gently covered with the soil. Once the plants reach up over the rim, I will fill up the rest of the container with soil. Boy it feels good to get my hands all dirty!
Cool concept Kim! I'm in a container planting mood too! I just made some "Topsy Turvy" style homemade tomato planters because I'm dying to plant something. It feels like spring but I know that we're likely to have a freeze before the middle of April.
ReplyDeleteOur average last frost date here is May 15th. There was a late frost a few years ago on March 31st. That was stressful. All the tomatoes were out by then. I hate the made scramble to find boxes, containers, and sheets to protect my plants. This year I plan on being much more patient with plants that actually go into the ground.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you mentioned the Topsy Turvy. I forgot that I bought one for peppers on clearance at the end of last season. I haven't tried using one yet, but I love experimenting with new garden toys. I'll have to dig it out.