Quarantine Vegetable Gardens

[mickey2942]

Oh no!

Back years ago, 40, we used to go pick potatoes in the fields on the corners that the cultivator didn't get. And sort potatoes in September.

 

[155etta]

Back years ago, 40, we used to go pick potatoes in the fields on the corners that the cultivator didn't get. And sort potatoes in September.

There's nothing quite like the smell of potato dirt is there?

Can you plug in a 100W light bulb nearby? We used to do that for our dogs in the winter. It lessoned the chill just a bit for them.

My nephew, who grows for a farmer's market, has used Christmas lights for a bit of heat before. Of course they have to be the ones that generate a bit of heat, lol! Not sure they make any like that anymore?

 

[JudgeJoe]

oh wow I would love to have cantaloupes

My first year growing them & they went bananas! Or should I say cantaloupes?! Full sun, pine needle mulch under the melons, lots of water. Either that or it’s been beginner’s luck. I’ll let you know next year...

 

[CeeCeeCat]

It is my understanding that non-organic grocery store potatoes are treated with something that makes them less likely to sprout.

Not always, as I've had store spuds sprout, but maybe some suppliers do this.

Buying seed potatoes should avoid this, as should buying organic potatoes. Again IMO

The best potato we ever planted is Red La Soda. After the first time planting them we never planted any other kind. Large producers and excellent flavor and texture.

That's more than likely what I'll find if I go searching for a potato among the green leaves. Not really sure I want to eat whatever is growing there anyway. The squirrels frequent this part of the yard just below a fence and lord knows what they leave behind.

I'm wondering when I should check my potatoes. I'm afraid there will be nothing too!

Edit to add: Warning - Might be boring.

We're potato farmers in Idaho. I don't know what your climate is like but the plants will just naturally start to take a dive at the end of their growing cycle. Yellow, wither, and start to die. You can keep watering them lightly though. It's fine to leave them in the ground after the foliage looks dead and you probably should. They sort of "cure" in the ground and the skins toughen up. You really don't need to worry about digging them until a really hard frost is forecasted. They don't like that. They are about 80% water so a hard freeze turns them to mush, eventually. Stinky mush. So, so stinky.

Maybe you're not interested, but here's a little info. We grow around 500 acres of potatoes. We start getting ready to harvest our crop around the last week or so in September. If we've had a frost it usually kills the vines. If not, we have to spray on a chemical that kills the vines. Then we use a piece of equipment that beats the vines off (grinds them into pieces) so the long vines don't get tangled in the chains of the harvester or bind up on the drive lines of the trucks. Then we let them sit and "cure" for about 10 days in the ground so the skins toughen up. Potatoes get bounced along on a lot of chains and belts before they make it to storage so the skins need to be tough or they bruise and then ultimately rot. That's where the stink comes in. So, so gross. We start digging them out of the ground around the first week in October.

They are stored in a huge cellar and that big of a pile can generate heat so they have to go through a "sweat" period, where the field heat leaves the tubers. It puts the potatoes in dormancy and prevents sprouting during early months in storage. They need to be stored at about 40 degrees. Ideal conditions are ventilated, cool temperatures, high humidity, and no light. Our storage facilities are set up to create all these conditions. We harvest in October, store them, and sell them the next year in August. Usually. Hope I didn't bore you.

Oh no, how disappointing! This is my first year attempting to grow potatoes so I really can't offer much advice. I tried to harvest one of my grow bags of red potatoes about a month ago and there were a bunch of tiny ones still attached to the vine roots and only 4 that were a size worth eating (about golf ball sized). I put the tiny ones back in the grow bag full of dirt and the vine actually continued to grow. So now I'm waiting until the very end of the season (October for me) and hoping the rest grow more potatoes than that first one. If they don't grow, I'll be disappointed, but I'll try again next year with a different method. If you really want to grow potatoes, then don't give up. Your dad may be right and you may have to buy seed potatoes where you live. For the US, I've read to only use certified organic potatoes grown as close to local as possible (if starting from grocery store potatoes).

I mostly planted seed potatoes from a garden store, but I also planted a few sprouted grocery store potatoes just to see what would happen. I like to do garden experiments and compare things like that. If I don't harvest anything from them this year, at least I'll have gained knowledge of what doesn't work. Another thing to keep in mind is that this could just be a bad year for potatoes in your area. One of my local farmers mentioned that this has been a bad year for them for their potatoes-- something about extreme temperature fluctuations and bad bug pressure. This was a bad year for me growing summer squash/zucchini, which is usually really productive and easy to grow for me. I just tell myself that there's always next year to try again.

Potatoes gain all their size in the last couple of weeks they grow. Russets need about 120 days. They spend two-thirds of that time growing foliage and setting blooms. As the foliage dies, the tubers gain all their size. That's why you should keep lightly watering, even as they're crashing. Don't dig til they look good and dead. They're also super heavy feeders and need a lot of fertilizer. Hope that helps for next year.

Thank you so much all, for the advice and commiserations on my Strange Case of the Missing Potatoes
I have ordered a bag of seed potatoes which will be delivered in January.
One more try cant hurt...
Meanwhile, I have chilli peppers - lots of them! And three more courgettes have popped up.
Today’s harvest features a cucumber that looks more like a marrow.

I’m going to make a pasta/pizza sauce with the tomatoes and will freeze this, ready for winter.

 

[LadyL]

Thank you so much all, for the advice and commiserations on my Strange Case of the Missing Potatoes
I have ordered a bag of seed potatoes which will be delivered in January.
One more try cant hurt...
Meanwhile, I have chilli peppers - lots of them! And three more courgettes have popped up.
Today’s harvest features a cucumber that looks more like a marrow.
View attachment 261586
I’m going to make a pasta/pizza sauce with the tomatoes and will freeze this, ready for winter.

looks great!
our cucumbers look like that and we can't figure out why

 

[mickey2942]

Thank you so much all, for the advice and commiserations on my Strange Case of the Missing Potatoes
I have ordered a bag of seed potatoes which will be delivered in January.
One more try cant hurt...
Meanwhile, I have chilli peppers - lots of them! And three more courgettes have popped up.
Today’s harvest features a cucumber that looks more like a marrow.
View attachment 261586
I’m going to make a pasta/pizza sauce with the tomatoes and will freeze this, ready for winter.

My peppers were supposed to be mild, as I had one on a sandwich and it was hotter and hotter!

It is fun to come home from work every day, and see a new ripe tomato every day.

 

[Yesiamapirate]

Yesterday I made zucchini and dark chocolate muffins - using my very first homegrown courgette. So yummy, I had to freeze them or I’d be sitting here today wedged to the sofa, surrounded by crumbs...

Can you post your recipe, please. It sounds wonderful l! TIA

 

[CeeCeeCat]

Can you post your recipe, please. It sounds wonderful l! TIA

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins | My Darling Vegan

Here is the link I’m really glad you asked me, as it made me remember I still have a few of those muffins in the freezer. Yum.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

I can't call it part of my quarantine garden since it was planted last fall, but today I cleaned up my garlic harvest to put in the root cellar.



It wasn't as much as I hoped, but I'm pretty pleased!

And just in time as I only have one day's worth of garlic left from the pound I bought when I finished the last of last year's harvest.

Some years I grow enough to eat AND to use as seed garlic for the next year, but this year I think I will buy seed garlic and see how long into next year I can make this harvest last.

Have I mentioned I love garlic?

 

[Yesiamapirate]

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins | My Darling Vegan

Here is the link I’m really glad you asked me, as it made me remember I still have a few of those muffins in the freezer. Yum.

Omigosh and it is VEGAN. I am good at making things vegan but such a treat to see a fellow vegan baking buddy! Thank you!!

 

[PayrollNerd]

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins | My Darling Vegan

Here is the link I’m really glad you asked me, as it made me remember I still have a few of those muffins in the freezer. Yum.

I saved this so I can try to make it gluten free and dairy free too. My youngest will be thrilled. I actually grate zucchini in 2 cup portions and freeze it. It is very liquid when its thawed but you use it as is, you don't drain it. Use a whisk to gently blend it into any baking item.

 

[LadyL]

Omigosh and it is VEGAN. I am good at making things vegan but such a treat to see a fellow vegan baking buddy! Thank you!!

*waves
hi fellow vegan

 

[IceIce9]

Finally, after nearly a year of trying and failing with avocado pits, I have one that grew into a baby tree.

 

[IceIce9]

My avocado tree

 

[Quiet Time]

That's so cool.
Your plant looks really healthy too!

 

[IceIce9]

That's so cool.
Your plant looks really healthy too!

Thank you! I went through quite a few pits that didn’t sprout before this one finally did.

 

[LadyL]

My avocado tree

love it

 

[kalvis]

I seen the paragraph below on fb and thought I would try this on my rose bushes, as was suggested in some of the comments. Some of the comments even mentioned using epsom salt.


Y’all. I thought this was crazy when I heard it. But it totally works! Put a banana peel in a mason jar of water for a day or two then pour only the water at the base of each tomato plant. Each time we have done this, SO many new tomatoes blossoms have popped up and the plants are getting taller! Apparently potassium is BIG for tomato plants!

Huge thanks to my friend Ansley for letting me re-post this tip!

 

[dixiegirl1035]

I seen the paragraph below on fb and thought I would try this on my rose bushes, as was suggested in some of the comments. Some of the comments even mentioned using epsom salt.


Y’all. I thought this was crazy when I heard it. But it totally works! Put a banana peel in a mason jar of water for a day or two then pour only the water at the base of each tomato plant. Each time we have done this, SO many new tomatoes blossoms have popped up and the plants are getting taller! Apparently potassium is BIG for tomato plants!

Huge thanks to my friend Ansley for letting me re-post this tip!

Ha, and I was watching an old game show just today and the question was how to ripen green tomatoes. The answer wasn't a paper bag, it was put them in with a banana in a plastic zip loc bag. So, let's get our bananas!

 

[mickey2942]

I will plan a better garden for next year. I will have to figure out what tomatoes work best here. The "Early Girl" tomatoes don't have a lot of flavor.