I love to garden but there was a lot more to it than I first imaged. 34 years down the garden path, I am confident of my gardening skills but I know from experience that even the best gardeners will have failures. So you fail. Just get back at it and tuck the knowledge you have learned from that failure in your belt and go on!
Let’s start planting. April is a great time for planting late season potatoes. Now is the time to plant varieties like Kennebec or Yukon Gold. Cut seed potatoes into sections with each section having at least one eye (growth sticking out of the smooth skin). Don’t take those freshly cut sections and throw them in the row! They need to cure off for several days to prevent them from rotting in the ground and causing fungus. Put them out of direct sunshine and allow for good air flow and they will hardened off, (the cut side will have developed a hard skin). Or you can use a trick I use when I am in a hurry and don’t want to wait to cure off the seed potatoes: I just sort through the bin of potatoes and buy small whole potatoes. It costs a bit more but you don’t have to cure off the cut ends and you give the plant a great start.
You can plant them using one of several methods. You can dig a trench and place the seed potato in the row, or lay them on top of the worked soil and cover them with weed –free straw or plant them in a container or just put a hole in a bag of potting soil and insert a potato. Whichever method you choose, make sure that the plant is well covered to prevent exposure of the roots to sunshine. Potatoes are heavy feeders so we will discuss tips in a later blog on how to develop deep green bug free leaves to ensure a great harvest.
Gardening is a marathon not a sprint, so pace yourselves. Have fun!
