Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Worlds Most Expensive Vegetables - Part 7

I finally have a plan. Well, I've had many plans and many alterations but I think this is how things are finally going to shake out. I marked where I hid my leprechaun's gold but it's in code. Good luck!

The sweet potato slips arrived late on Saturday afternoon. What's a guy to do... the next day was Mother's Day? Based on earlier research I had prepared three ten foot beds but the more I read the more I realized that the beds should be three feet apart instead of the 12" or so. Ooops. Also to make the oft-suggested mounds (one foot tall? Seriously?) I needed dirt. And sand. $17, if you please, plus $20 for the slips. It also struck me (ouch) that I could use the pre-dug dirt in the middle row and added to the top of the other rows for added height. Kids love a good trench! It was also suggested to cover the dirt with black or clear plastic to warm the soil in these northern climates so I'm experimenting with that. And with all this work, some gardeners state that you can just put the slips about anywhere and they'll take off so maybe all this work isn't even necessary!

The carrots are starting to come up. I'd show you a picture but who wants to look at a few tiny leaves coming out of the dirt? To me it's exciting because I can taste their carroty potential. Instead take a gander at the snow peas which are just starting their training.

Here are some helpers as they check the pyramid for signs of strawberries. Nothing yet but one found a rather large and colorful bug in the garden.

And then there's the greens. Spinach is needing to be thinned and added to a tasty salad and Mr. and Mrs. Romaine are coming along nicely. The buttercrunch and mesclan mix are apparently slow starters.

The total so far: $411. GULP.

Lesson learned this week: Tiny helpers are great, especially if they like worms and having them help means that mamma gets a nap on Mothers Day.

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