Expanding the Garden

On Wednesday we ran over to my mom’s house because she’s letting us expand her garden. Since we have limited full-sun areas in our gardens, she offered to let us plant our popcorn at her house.

My mom and I covered the new garden area with a tarp back in March so that the grass would be smothered. When we uncovered it, it was ready to till up.

We pulled out the old tiller and finally got it started. I had a good laugh, it was a lot like Good Neighbors.

When it was finished my mom’s garden is now 1/3 larger than it was. I’ll be heading over some time next week to plant my popcorn, beans and squash for a proper 3 sisters garden.

Anyone else growing popcorn?

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Potatoes, the Wonder Crop?

The potato produces more calories and protein than any other food crop in terms of space and amount of time. It also stores for up to 6 months under good conditions and can be grown in marginal soil anywhere from sea level up to 13,000 feet. The potato produces about 10,000 pounds of food per acre. A 100 foot row can vield 150-300 pounds of potatoes per year. The average American currently eats about 140 pounds of potatoes per year.

Since Christy asked about my potato growing methods yesterday I thought I’d talk about potatoes today. I don’t grow a ton of potatoes, I have a good local source for organic potatoes, so I prefer to use my garden space for other crops, like tomatoes. I do plant a small batch of potatoes though, usually just 10 seed potatoes. They get their own 2 x 5 ft raised bed.

When they grow tall enough I add another box and then fill it with soil. Last year I only got one extra box put on, but this year I may do 1 more making it a total of about 3 feet tall. I’m hoping to get a pretty good potato harvest from this small space by building up. Last year I tried the add straw and not soil method and I wasn’t very happy with the results, so this year they’re getting good old dirt.

Next year I would like to grow a few different varieties of potatoes for fun, anyone have any great suggestions?

How do you grow your potatoes?

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Mixing Edibles and Ornamentals

I’ve been trying to mix my edible plants in with my ornamental plants because I’ve been reading that it’s a good way to deter pests. Not to mention I don’t have much edible gardening space so it’s nice to tuck them in here and there in my flowerbeds where I have an empty spot.

As you can see in this photo, I have a pink peony blooming with some catmint blooming in front of it. In the background you can see a pea climbing up the small trellis.

These are the only peas in the garden that the deer didn’t find, so I guess my plan is working. In front of the catmint I have cabbages & broccoli planted. It’s the only cabbage & broccoli that doesn’t have cabbage loopers on it and that they wildlife hasn’t nibbled.

Not only have I had great success with mixing my edible in my flower beds, I really like the combination. I love the way cabbages look when tucked in among other things. I think I’m going to be doing more and more of this.

What about you, any edibles in your ornamental beds?

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Harvesting Radishes

This is the first year I’ve grown radishes. I’ve never been much of a radish fan, but then it occurred to me that perhaps I’ve just never been much of a mass-produced radish fan. So I ordered some heirloom radish seeds from Baker Creek and about 3 weeks ago I planted the seeds.

I’m growing 2 different kinds:

Pink Beauty: A beautiful round pink radish that has become hard to find. It is sweet and tasty. Popular at specialty markets, a must for all radish growers! Wonderful and unique.

Suxa II: Popular European radish that matures in just 3 weeks; wow, they are quick! Bright red, smooth, round, perfect globes are crisp and delicious. Pretty and productive.

I must say, I’m hooked on radishes now. I love that they’re so quick to grow, there’s not much in the garden that’s ready to harvest 3 weeks after you plant. You also can’t beat a veggie that you just pick, rinse and enjoy. I just planted a bunch more yesterday and I’m going to order a few different kinds to try. I think radishes will become a favorite crop here at Chiot’s Run.

What about you, do you grow radishes? What kinds do you like?

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Around the Garden

So what’s going on around the garden here at Chiot’s Run?

I expanded the flower bed up front to accommodate a dwarf cherry tree I planted last year. I was going to move a few cat mint plants to the new garden area, but I decided to plant some of my broccoli & cabbage plants there since I’m out of room in the raised beds out back.

My new batch of lettuce and arugula is growing nicely, I harvested a little for a salad for diner last night. We’ve really been enjoying the salad season this spring.

The garlic is doing incredibly well, I’m very excited to harvest some. As you can see, some of it is about 3 feet tall! Unfortunately the deer ate my peas, so no peas for us this spring. I think if I want peas I’m going to have to grow them in containers on my front porch, or put up a really tall fence.

How’s everyone’s garden growing so far this spring?

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