I just ordered.....

my fall garden seeds. I'm thinking I over did the buying. lol Heres what I bought. I think I'd best start buying my compost now. lol

Cucumber Cool Breeze H
Pea Snow Wind PKT P1
Pea Super Sugar Snap P
Green Onion Parade
Melon Hale's Best Jumb
Lettuce Summertime PKT
Lettuce Little Gem PKT
Lettuce Atoll
Corn Sugar Buns Hybrid
Carrot Scarlet Nantes
Broccoli Packman Hybri
Bean Blue Lake 274 PKT
Spearmint
Pennyroyal
Oregano
Lavender French Long
Basil Large Leaf Itali

You may need to do a little reading here then:

Vegetable Companion Planting Chart
http://www.tinkersgardens.com/vegetables/companionplanting.asp

Look at all the other links too.

~* Robin☺

Cool stuff Robin, thanks!

Judy, looks like you are getting ready for quite a harvest. I always like my fall stuff, less bugs etc...

Tamara

I'll check that site out. Thank you for the link, NatureWalker.

TamaraFaye, I'm thinking I'll get better results gardening in the fall then gardening in the spring. I'm looking forward to all the fresh vegies. I'm going to bust out my water bath canner too.

JudyG

Yahoo!

Yesterday I ordered La Soda Red potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm going to give it my best shot. I have 2 acres of beautiful ground here, so I might as well use it. So far, everything I'm planting is thriving and growing like crazy. Can you tell I'm getting a little excited about my new found project? lol Maybe my thumb will turn green afterall. :)

*G* You and me both...I wish I could plant taters...

My husband just informed me that the amount of seed potatoes I bought are enough to feed a small country. when I get them, do you want some? I'm going out to the tire store and getting the biggest tires they have. I also have some tall plastic barrels and I'm going to cut them in rings and use them for the taters. you could put a small hill somewhere? lol I'm scouring this site for info on how NOT to kill innocent potatoes.

I think the only taters I can grow here this time of year (fall) is Irish...I've never grown potatoes..

The potato farmers out here grow the La Soda for reds and the Yukon Gold for the yellows. I plan on planting them near the citrus so they can have some shade if it gets too hot. Not too much shade though. I guess time will tell after I plant them in the fall. Irish potatoes are those big rose types?

Have no clue..that's just what was on my list from the Extension people for things I could plant in the fall.

Saint

Look in the potato section of the plantfiles. 512 cultivars of Irish potato are listed. The other type is the sweet potato, but folks when they say potato usually mean Irish potato. It got its name, from the fact that it became the major food plant in Ireland during the British occupation.

Right FD. And many of those varieties are heirlooms from other European or South American countries, but still referred to as Irish potatoes, isn't that a laugh and a half! (i'm Irish, I can laugh)

Here is where I get my seed potatoes, and garlic too!

www.milkranch.com

I am growing mine several ways: hay leaves, grass clippings, tires. You can use old wash tubs, small barrels (never herad of cutting them in rings, but always wondered how the leaves would get sun...), even the compost pile!

Saint, DH need not know, till he sink his teeth in some new potatoes in early fall, and says, WOW,. where did you buy these! Then you can show him the barrel LOL

So maybe I shouldn't cut them in rings? What I meant by rings was practically cutting the barrels in 3rds then burying them part way in the ground. I have 55 gallon plastic barrels. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

My husband remembers the potatoes his mom used to grow. When they were ready, he would grab one and take a big bite out of it. All he did was brush the dirt off it. I think I'd want to wash mine first. lol I can't wait to try homegrown potatoes. This is all so exciting.

TamaraFaye, I checked out that website for the potatoes. If I am successful at growing the ones that I have coming, I'm going to order some of those cool colored ones for next season. Great site!

This message was edited Jun 9, 2005 4:56 PM

All Blue is my favorite! But I am gwoing some others this year, so I will let you know what i like!

If you grow them ABOVE the dirt, then there is no dirt to brush or wash off! You put them in the barrel, cover with mulch, and as the plant grows up, recover now and then. When they are done, tip the barrel over, pick up the potatoes, NO DIGGING!

Maybe cut those in half, since they are so tall?

I shall check out the all blue. I love odd colored vegies. Those purple bell peppers fascinate me.

I will cut them in 4ths and do as you suggested with the mulch. The less dirt the better. I can't wait to plant them. I should be getting them anytime now. My local walmart has those oak barrels for 18 bucks each. I should get a couple.

My favorite way to eat them, was to slice, and lightly fry in olive oil! A friend of mine tried some ALL BLUE, and she and her Dad both have reactions to eating potatoes. They ate them raw and loved them! When the color is different, the nutrients are different!

Here is a hint. I was skeptical last year about the hay, so I planted them just BARELY under the soil, then covered with hay. Well, I got to DIG them out of the soil, because that is where most of them were. This year, they all went on TOP. The other day I went to check on a plant that was blooming, and it had bunches of teeny tiny cranberry red potato babies, perfect and dirt free. I tucked them back in the leaves. In a few more weeks, I can make red, white and blue potato salad!

explain taters to me..if I plant one potato I get one back? Or???

The rule of thumb for growers in my neck of the woods is 14 to 1. Northern growers get much better yields. That means one lb of potatoes properly planted should give you 14 lbs. Of course there are variables galore.

oooh, red, white and blue tater salad. What a concept. lol Now that you all have sparked my interest in potato growing, I think I'll designate a large area just for them.

I think I'll use some hay. I could get a bale of grass hay and use it just for the potatoes. This is so cool. I even find myself looking for things I can use in my garden. My neighbor had some curb work done and they botched the job. So they have this big pile of 2 foot pieces of curbing laying in a scrap heap. I wonder if they would let me have it. lol Would make nice garden edging.

14 taters for every plant is alot for my household. I think I would have plenty to share.

How long does it take for them to grow? If I planted out in Aug (which my sheet says I can do, but it's still hotter n' hades here) First frost comes about first of Dec. but temps at night get down to mid 40's around Nov.

Saint

Wonder how many I can plant in a 5 gallon bucket with some mulch.

Whoe! go back and read again. Thats 14 lbs per lb of seed potatoes. Since potatoes are cut to two eyes per hill, That one lb of potatoes may plant a dozen or more individual plants.

cool...and the general time span it takes to mature?

My husband said they come up pretty fast. Not sure on how many per bucket though. Well given what Farmerdill said about 1 lb. planted 14 lbs. yield(that is if I got that right). I'm thinking maybe 3 or four little deals per bucket? Just an uneducated guess. :)

Depends on the cultivar. There are early cultivars, midseason cultivars, and late cultivars. Example: Red Norlands are quite early (70 day), Kennebec is a midseason ( 90 days), and Butte late (135 day)

Ok, I think I got it now. Is my inexperience showing? lol This info is great.

Our first frost doesn't usually hit us until around the middle of Jan. But it doesn't last very long. My citrus got bit just a little last year, but they were real little.

Here are some more cultivars that are short season: (cut and pasted from another site)

"Depending on your zone, it may be time to plant POTATOES. Try some shorter season varieties like All Red or All Blue (90-100 days); or Banana, Huckleberry, Rose Finn Apple or Purple Viking (80-100 days); or Red Thumb(75-90 days); or Yukon Gold (80-90 days). Good days are April 24-25th and April 28-29th.
We buy our seed potatoes, certified disease free. This is very important. Using store bought potatoes intended for consumption is not the best thing. Those have been sprayed to delay rooting. They are old. And not chemcial free either. Get your FRESH, CERTIFIED seed potatoes from http://www.milkranch.com. They also offer Certified Organic, which only costs a few cents more a pound. (If you want the growers to grow organically, you need to buy organic in order to pay them to do so.)
You can also call Craig at the Milk Ranch, 970-641-5634. You don't need to tell him we sent you, because NOBODY pays for promotions on our site. But do tell him that O'Toole Farms' customers are really happy with the selection of potatoes they will have this year, thanks to his huge selection of great tasting seed potatoes!!!"

If you keep your potato plants hilled, or covered up, theere is less smell for the bugs to guide them to your garden! And beans planted with them will protect them as well. Good luck with growing, there is nothing like digging your own potatoes for fresh use, esp for Thanksgiving!

Check out this place too:

2005 Colorado Potato Administrative Committee:
http://coloradopotato.org/consumers/index.htm

~* Robin☺

Great site, Robin, added to my favorites, thank you!

I just checked it out. VERY good site.

*~] :^)


~* Robin☺

NATUREWALKER..... 'SCUSE ME?????? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL YOUR AMBIGUOUS TYPO SIGNALS??? IE>>> " *~]:>) AND ~*" WHERE I WENT TO COLLEGE, THEY TAUGHT THAT REAL COMMUNICATION WAS USING STANDARD, UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD CONVENTIONS.
GUESS THEY WERE WRONG?? I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ENLIGHTENING US .... PLEASE EXPLAIN YOUR INTENDED MESSAGE TO THOSE OF US WHO AREN'T WELL VERSED IN THE AMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE OF THE FUTURE......
RESPECTFULLY,
LD

Well I can't answer to what Robin wanted to type but how I and others use the symbol it's a smiling face. Very widely used in chatting and online forum communities. Online communities have developed a "language" of sorts of abbreviations as well as symbols. Things typed different ways, with different spellings in all caps or all lower case can mean different things. All caps can mean the person is shouting, all lower is a whisper. All in all it is really very interesting how people have taken things and can express such a wide range with just a few words or symbols.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2005 6:21 PM

araness... re: your admission that YOU : "can't answer to what Robin wanted to type but..." ----that's exactly WHAT I'M asking ABOUT!! WHAT DOES all that mean??? Of course I understand the "smileys & frownies", etc.... I'ts the other squiggles, etc. THAT I'm questioning.
THANK YOU very much FOR YOUR HELPFUL INPUT!
LD

cottonpicker!!

Then would you please LOWER!!! YOUR cottonpicking CAPITALS and talk more politely!!!!

Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=emoticons

You obviously don't know about "emoticons" ei: A series of keyed characters used especially in e-mail to indicate an emotion, such as pleasure [:-)] or sadness [:-(].

The CoCo Cafe - Emoticons Chart http://www.coco3.com/chat_emos.htm
Show your Emoticons: http://www.kidsturncentral.com/chat/nemoticons.htm

And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

~* Robin☺

PS: I went to a very fine Catholic School, my Penmanship and Grammar need very little correction; and was a Teacher for 30 years!

This message was edited Jun 13, 2005 9:13 PM

I appreciate your interest in teaching and now I'll be able to learn all the latest "new-fangled " cyber-communication methods with the references you supplied. However, I'm sure if you'll re-read my e-message to you that you will instantly recognize that I did not attempt to "correct your grammar" OR "penmanship", as you wrongfully accused in your "post-script". ((also note.... I lowered my case / voice)).

Respectfully, your fellow-gardener, in the interest of good communication...
LD

Now I feel like I'm in a Cheece & Chong movie.....

Thank you Larry.. Respectfully.

~* Robin☺

we need smilies on this board. lol :)

Funny, I immediately saw that is was a lady with a hat and flower on it! But I remember when I didn't recognize even the smallest of smilys =)

Some people seem to just type better with the caps on LOL

It's amazing that I can tell it's a lady smilin in a hat but when I look at those pictures that have the "hidden" picture I can't see squat.