Papa's...........

I started the seed potatoes yesterday and got quite a shock when I cut into the All Blue potato variety I had picked out. I ultimately picked out the potato because of its blue skin. I had no idea that they would actually be blue in the middle. I picked it for aesthetic reasons, but after doing some research realized it's a potato high in antioxidants and is great for baking, mashing, frying, and roasting. I can't wait to grow, harvest, and cook them up and see what blue mashed potatoes and blue chips will taste like.  

I also bought 2 more varieties and will plant all of them in the box together. The second variety is an Austrian Crescent fingerling. It's great for salads, roasting, and baking. Some even say just add some olive oil and salt and they taste great. I was lucky to get my hands on some of these, because they are prized by many chefs and unfortunately the seed potatoes sell out fast. 


The last variety I purchased is a red roasting type called Desiree. Its a popular variety thats easy to grow. It has a moist creamy texture with a great flavor and is great for roasting or boiling. Just an all around great potato. 

To prepare the seed potatoes for planting I cut them up, making sure to have two-three eyes per piece. I put them in a cool place for no longer than two days to let the cuts scab over and dusted them with sulfur to prevent rotting. 

The soil in the box was watered at the time I cut up the potatoes. It will be the last time I water until I see the plants emerge. Then I will just make sure that when the soil is dry an inch down and the plants begin to wilt a bit, I will water. Water is crucial to the potatoes, but too much can cause rot. So I think it will be a huge learning curve with these first potatoes. Potatoes like a lower pH so I'm going to fertilize every now and then with Cottonseed meal and coffee grounds. I will post pics as soon as I get the first flowers and when I put the second layer of soil and the box on. 

Boxes, Boxes, Boxes..

I got the boxes done today! As much as I love to use reclaimed material any chance I get, I decided that I would make my raised boxes out of new cedar. Cedar is excellent in that in naturally resists rot and man it's pretty. They should last for years. I made two 3x12's facing east west and three 4x 8's facing north south.  I used 2x 8's for the frame. I feel like 8 inches will be plenty deep enough for what I am going to plant. Some people say you need at least 12 inches, but calculating money and effort, I did the math and the amount of soil I would have to haul would make me hate gardening forever. The boxes were placed in an area that should get at least 8 hours of sunlight a day. In my previous garden experience,  the crops really didn't get enough sun. With the yard now, I'm hoping that it doesn't get too much sun. 

All leveled for proper drainage

I was able to score some leftover coffee sacks from my friends the Haynies (remember they own the Austin Roasting Company). I figured that instead of buying weed barrier for the beds, I would use these leftover sacks. I did some research and they take about two to three years to degrade and compost. The good thing is there aren't a lot of weeds that grow in that area, so I think they will be perfect. I talked to the lady at the garden store and she is going to use the ones she found for mulch because they are excellent in helping to keep moisture in. 

A new bed begging for some good soil

And on a very good note, I am happy to report that my girls/TWO! potential boys(more on that later) are some of the smartest birds around. I mean chicken poop is like gold in a garden right?  Well, my girls have discovered the compost bin. And they love to take a load off those little feet and roost right on the top of the bin. I mean seriously, who else has such classy girls and handsome gentleman(again more on that later) that poop right in the compost. In no time, Im going to have the most nutrient rich compost thanks to them!

Exhibit A: Genius Birds

A view from the back porch...just to give an idea of where the boxes reside

Leveling, Grading, and making it look nice.......................

Here's whats going on today at Uprooted Bamboo. Lots of leveling and grading going on. I was going to try to do it myself with a tiller and rakes but really, who was I kidding? 

Spuds

The other day I was in the grocery store and noticed the fingerling potatoes. I thought all the different colors and varieties of them were pretty good looking. I even commented to Claire, "man, these are some good looking potatoes." She said "yeah, why don't you grow some."
Hello. My light bulb of brilliant ideas must have burnt out.....of course I will grow some. Why didn't I think of that. I am not a real big potato fan so I never really thought about growing my own, but little fingerling's I could definitely enjoy now and again. But, I wanted it to be easy. I didn't want to dedicate a big space of the garden to the starch and I had read somewhere that you can grow them vertically with ease using even something like an old tire. I found some great resources online and found a wood vertical system through website TipNut and decided that I would try that this year. I went ahead and built it yesterday. I used two x six cedar and omitted the  long two x two's on mine because it ended up being pretty stable when stacked.  The whole idea is to start with the lowest stack and plant the seed potatoes. As the plants grow, I add another stack and then cover the plants with more soil, compost, etc. When I want to harvest I can just unscrew one of the sides and dig around for the potato on the lowest stack. In the end, we should end up with an abundance of potatoes. Seems easy enough.

Sprout..............................

With the cold weather hounding us in central texas, I have to keep the seedlings inside. I thought about a cold frame, but really I want to make sure I get some really good transplants. So keeping them inside is the best way I feel to really regulate the temperature. Unfortunately, I lack what is vital to a plants growth....... a south facing window with full sun for at least 8-9 hours a day. Seedlings need about 16 hours from what I have been reading so I began to think of a way to give these helpless little sprouts enough light to grow. I looked at everything from growing lights to greenhouses, but none of these seemed budget friendly.

I ended up coming up with a pretty good setup for about 100.00. I bought the 3 shelf OMAR from Ikea and bought 2 shop chain lights  from Home depot. I did have to drill a few new holes to make the chain light fit within the three feet of the shelf but after that it was easy to hang the light with the chains provided.  I can move the lights up by the chain as the seedlings grow vertically. The lights are fluorescent T8 lights which from everything I have read, should be enough light to stimulate growth. 

Next week I have a guy coming in to grade the back yard meaning he will clean everything up, smooth it out and have it ready for the beds to go in. I am going to try to work on the raised beds this weekend. Weather Permitting. 

Next fall this whole shelf will be full with seedlings

Winter Wonderland

With the arctic blast this week came a lovely spray of white rarely seen here in central Texas. We woke up to about an inch of snow yesterday. The girls did great and really didn't notice the big difference in the landscape. I think they were just happy that the temps were warmer and they could venture out of their hen house. Today the weather is warm, sunny with a high of 60. Once again.......crazy weather.

The other morning when I was leaving to go to work, I looked back to the coop and noticed a huge raccoon the size of a Labrador retriever. He was walking in the back behind the coop.  Its amazing what happens when it snows. Tracks that were once concealed revealed that we have a huge raccoon who likes to cruise around the whole yard, around the coop, to the front yard, back to the coop. This morning, I went and scoped out the area around the coop and didn't see any digging or break in attempts so I am happy to report that the coop is thus far predator proof.

Alive but Chilly!

They survived the night. All of the waterer's were frozen this am but the girls survived the frigid temps. We were lucking to not lose power at my house. The city of Austin is doing rolling blackouts to save power on the grid. So far we are safe. Today the high was around twenty degrees with a wind chill of about 3. Tonight its supposed to drop down to 15. I have been changing their waterer with hot water frequently and feeding them hot mash consisting of oats, grits, broccoli, and corn. They go nuts over it. I also gave them some grapes and almost lost Barb. Did you know chickens can choke? She was literally choking-contorting her body in a weird position and panting. I had no idea what to do so I gave her a little tap like heimlich maneuver and it worked! Lesson learned....Cut grapes into bite size.

One night and day down, two more to go with possible snow on friday, then 60 and Sunny for the weekend. Crazy weather. 

Barb CHILLIN'

Arctic Blast

Yowser........It's cold. Tonight its supposed to be 16 with a windchill of 3 degrees. I have the girls all equipped to brave the cold. Heat lamp set up. Plastic covering half of their henhouse, alfalfa and pine shavings in abundance, and a nice hot corn mash for dinner.  I just went and checked on them to make sure they were doing ok and the thermometer inside the henhouse read...........

I think they will be fine for the next three days...... I hope.