New to my garden this year is potatoes. Only, I don't have a lot of space or a lot of sunshine to offer them. So, I purchased three black grow bags from my favorite garden supply company and set them up. Not quite a pot and not quite a bag, these are made of durable fabric and were super easy to set up and fill. Just add about 4 inches of compost and potting soil, set the seed potatoes on top and add about 3 more inches on top. And then, wait. Most of my seed potatoes had already sprouted before I planted them today, so I am hopeful that sometime late summer or early fall, I will have loads of yummy fingerling and gourmet potatoes to dig up and eat. I know potatoes are cheap to buy, and this probably isn't saving me money this year, but if you've ever had a freshly dug potato fried in a little olive oil...heaven!
In other parts of the garden, salad greens are growing faster now. I have several wonderful looking heads of lettuce that will be turning into a salad early next week! The newly planted greens have a bit of time left, but I just can't wait to sample some fresh picked greens. Most of my root crops are sending up delicate shoots, and I will be thinning radishes this weekend. Spinach, both baby leaf and large savoy are planted in pots. They sprouted in only 3 days!
Sadly, I've lost a few more tomato seedlings to damping off. I have used an organic treatment to try and save the rest, and one tray is healthy and strong. But, the extra tomatoes are dropping off one by one. This weekend's challenge is to take the affected tray and pot up the remaining seedlings and separate them. Hopefully we will have a few extras to share after all.
All my peppers and eggplants are going strong for now, and broccoli and cauliflower are ready to thin. I have a few paper egg cartons saved to start up my warm weather crops of squash and melon so I can plant them, egg cup and all right in the garden at the end of May.
This year has had more difficulty getting off the ground than last year, but I am still looking forward to a great garden summer!
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