The past few days I have been planting all the warm season crops. The garden is about 80% planted now, quite late compared to last year but it should all work out in the end. I'll post about that once everything is planted. Today I am going to post about what I planted the last week of May.
Here are all the potatoes I planted on May 25th. I was not going to plant potatoes this year because I really don't have the space to grow them. But, Fresh ones taste so good I just couldn't resist. This year I am growing the following:
- German Butterball - yellow skin, yellow flesh
- Warba - yellow/red skin, white flesh
- French Fingerling - red skin, light yellow flesh
- Russian Blue - blue skin, blue flesh
French Fingerling
I planted 3 of the varieties in one raised bed. In place of hilling I planted the tubers 4-6 inches deep. I have found it is pretty difficult to hill potatoes that are block planted in a square raised bed. I have done this in the past and it works well. It does require a lot more dig though, particularly at harvest time.
Russian Blue
The fourth variety I planted in my half barrel. Potatoes do pretty well in large containers and this was the only place I had left to plant them.
The last week of May I also planted all the onions. These really should have been planted long ago. They would have taken the cool spring weather fine. This season I will be growing Bottle Onions & Ailsa Craig Onions. I am hoping they will amount to something even with the late planting date.
Clematis 'Nelly Moser' I'll wrap up this post with a photo of my Clematis. I planted it three years ago and it is just starting to flower for the first time.
Here are all the potatoes I planted on May 25th. I was not going to plant potatoes this year because I really don't have the space to grow them. But, Fresh ones taste so good I just couldn't resist. This year I am growing the following:
French Fingerling
Russian Blue
The last week of May I also planted all the onions. These really should have been planted long ago. They would have taken the cool spring weather fine. This season I will be growing Bottle Onions & Ailsa Craig Onions. I am hoping they will amount to something even with the late planting date.
Clematis 'Nelly Moser' 
What lovely soil you have there Dan. What are the geological origins where you are? clay? sand? volcanic?
ReplyDeleteThe life force is so amazing. Even though your onions got a late start...they won't let you down.
ReplyDeleteAll garden joys,
Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island
My aunt had helped me plant potatoes...I think I just have regular idaho potatoes...I will try and post a picture of them in this week sometime.
ReplyDeleteThank you for showing yours...I always like to see what other gardeners stuff looks like.
If you haven't a lot of space have you tried growing potatoes in bags or tubs ?
ReplyDeleteThat clematis is beautiful. I'm having the worst time with potatoes this year. I ordered six pounds of seed potatoes but only ended up with 10 plants. About 70% succumb to disease or pests. Awful.
ReplyDeleteNelly Moser is a lovely plant. Once it gets into flowering gear you'll have loads.
ReplyDeleteI'm growing my potatoes in old containers, tubs, pots and even an old vegetable rack.
ReplyDeleteLast year I lost the lot because of a late frost, but this year they're growing nicely - lovely healthy green leaves and nothing has tried to eat them (think potato leaves might be poisonous anyway?).
Alan
Can't wait to read how the potatoes do, never had much luck with them here. The Clematis photos is wonderful, Keep watching it, they grow like crazy, in another few years, it will amaze you!
ReplyDeleteI planted my potatoes deep too, but 9" deep. I'm going to have so much fun digging them out (she says sarcastically). But you are right. You just can't hill easily in a raised bed.
ReplyDeleteI had many things that were 2 to 3 weeks later than normal to get into the ground. I am banking on them catching up ultimately. Your chitted potatoes look great and hopefully you will get lots of yummy tubers from each of them.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying the growing-potatoes-in-a-stack-of-tires thing this year. Takes up very little space!
ReplyDelete