Tilling and Planting Potatoes

So I've been busy.... the plot is tilled and the potatoes are in the ground along with the sugar snap peas!

Right before Easter weekend, we were blessed to receive free rental of a rottotiller by the land owner (which, for you curious folk, would be $34 for a couple hours).  We made do with the semi-moist soil and quickly went over the plot twice.  There were some corners we had to skip over due to them being a bit too sticky and my concern for damaging the soil.  It is especially important when working with clay soil to be careful not to work with it when it's too wet.  Hopefully, we made the right decision ....I don't know when it would have been drier.  Here are some photos of our first rottotiller extravaganza:                        

                       The plot, pre-tilled                                          



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    The tiller and one of our mascots

  

All done! For now.

After enjoying the holiday weekend, we got back to work to plant the nicely sprouted potatoes.  Chris measured out the bed, and using electrical fence flags to mark out the shape, we got to breaking up and readying the soil for planting.  This included digging a 6-8" trench down the middle of a 30" bed.  I have my beds spaced a bit closer than what is normal but not detrimentally close.  We stuck in the taters sprout-side up and covered them with about 4 inches of soil, firming it lightly.  We'll keep an eye (haha) on the potatoes as they grow, making sure to add more and more layers until a small hill is formed.  This technique will prevent the tops of the new taters from turning green from the sun.  Safety tip:  If you end up with green potatoes, those parts should be cut off. That is because a harmful toxin, solanine, is present there and can only only be 'cooked away' through some methods and not others.  Thus, to be safe, chop off the green and enjoy your potatoes in peace.

Here is a photo of the 'E' shaped bed we created.  It is about 10' x 12', doesn't look like much but holds 42 seed potatoes spaced about a foot apart:















             Here I am shaping the trench

                                                                                                 Now the potatoes are tucked away.
















Next...more weeding then onion, beet, lettuce, and spinach planting. 
Frost-free date coming soon: April 15th!