Melons: Ripe and ready

QUESTION: I am growing melons — watermelon and cantaloupe – for the first time. How can you tell when the fruit is ready to pick?

Nothing could be more frustrating than cutting into a freshly picked watermelon and finding that it is not completely ripe. Before you cut the melon from the vine, look for these clues:

Turn the watermelon over. The ground spot (where the watermelon rests on the ground) should be creamy yellow. If the spot is white, the melon is not ready.

On a watermelon, there is a tendril growing at the end of the fruit. If it is still green, give the melon a few more days to ripen. If it is half-dead, it’s likely the melon is ripe or nearly so.

Give it a thump. A ripe watermelon sounds hollow (though some say it’s difficult to really hear this).

Cantaloupes and other small melons don’t have the tendril or a significant soil spot, like watermelons, but there are other clues. Cantaloupes, which have netted rinds, develop a golden color under the netting when the melon is ripe. They also soften at the end opposite the stem when they ripen, which you can feel if you press gently. Ripe cantaloupes also have a sweet fragrance. It will also separate easily from the vine

Events in Middle Tennessee

Aug. 11 (and every Saturday this month): Guided garden tours at Cheekwood, 11 a.m. – noon.Tours are free with Cheekwood admission, and no reservation is required. Garden Tours meet at Botanic Hall.

Aug. 11: Celebrate the tomato at the annual Tomato Art Fest in East Nashville’s Five Points area, hosted by Art and Invention Gallery. Events include a Tomato 5K, a Fun Run, costumes, parades, games, art, entertainment, contests, competitions and more family fun. Look here to learn more.

Aug. 12: The Tennessee Gesneriad Society will meet at Cheekwood at the Frist Learning Center at 2 p.m. The program will be a pollinaton/hybridization workshop. For more info contact Julie at Julie.mavity@gmail.com (or 615-364-8459).

Aug. 16: Lunch and Lecture: New & Unique Plants for your Garden, noon – 1 p.m. at Cheekwood. Learn how to add color throughout the season and other helpful tips from Cheekwood’s garden staff. $15 for members, $25 for non-members (includes lunch). Call 615-353-9827 to register.

Aug. 21: Two meetings at Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall:

- The Perennial Plant Society meets at 6:30, beginning with refreshments and plant swap. Program begins at 7 p.m., and the speaker is Audubon naturalist Sherra Owens, presenting “Gardenening On The Wild Side With Nature’s Most Important Plant.”

- The Orchid Society of Middle Tennessee meets at 7 p.m. Michael Wenzel of the AtlanticBotanical Garden will speak on Phalaenopsis species.

Both meetings are open to the public.

Aug. 23: The Middle Tennessee Hosta Society meets at Cheekwood, 6:30 p.m., in the Potter Room. Guest speaker is landscape designer, photographer and writer Troy Marden; his topic: In a Southern Garden: Lessons from 20 Years of Gardening in the South.” To learn more about MTHS, visit http://www.mths-hosta.com.

Tomatoes out of control

QUESTION: I grow tomatoes every year, and in the past I have used cages – first the round ones commonly available at the big box stores, and later some of the square type. Even with the square ones the plants always overcome the cage. They get leggy and end up coming out of the cages on the sides and then bend over the wires. This year I tried staking the plants and did not use cages, but I encounter the same issues, the side growth spreads out and I have to tie them every which way. What am I doing wrong? — Wayne

Tomato plants quickly overwhelm flimsy wire cages.

Those flimsy wire cages – the round ones – must be some kind of joke. Anyone who grows tomatoes knows that they don’t do much to support a full-size plant. Even if the vine doesn’t grow out over the top, the weight of a bumper crop of ‘Better Boys’ will topple those supports. The square cages are a little better, but they still won’t contain all those wayward limbs.

If you want to use cages, the best bet is to build your own, using sturdy wire fencing (or some suggest panels of concrete mesh, which has openings large enough to reach your hand through). Using the cage in addition to a tall, sturdy stake should keep the tomatoes standing upright and within bounds a little better.

Still, if the tomatoes are indeterminate varieties – that is, they continue to form tomatoes throughout the growing season — it helps to do a little pruning. As the plant grows, it will develop “suckers” in the angles between the main stem and the side stems. You should pinch or snap or cut these suckers off to keep the plant from getting too bushy. As the tomato plant grows taller, tie the main stem loosely to the stake.

By the way, it’s best to install stakes and cages at planting time. It’s surprising how quickly a tomato plant can grow out of control. Keep that in mind for next year.

Events

June 2: Seeds of Hope self-guided garden tour. Six gardens in Belle Meade, Green Hills and Oak Hill, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tickets $25; proceeds benefit Monroe Harding programs for children. www.monroeharding.org.

June 3: The Nashville African Violet Club meets at 1:45 at the Green Hill Women’s Center, 10905 Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet. E-mail Julie.mavity@gmail.com to learn more.

June 9: The Robertson County Master Gardeners are hosting a garden tour of some of the most beautiful gardens in theSpringfield area. Visitors will see garden ponds, a greenhouse, garden sculptures, and woodland settings and some unique plants in these private gardens. Hours are10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; tickets are $5 per person, $8 per couple and will be available on the day of the tour on the pavilion of the UT Extension Office on the square inSpringfield, and at the Potting Shed in Greenbrier.

June 9: Plan a road trip to Rugby, Tenn., for an all-day event at Historic Rugby Cumberland Plateau Gardens. The day begins at 9 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) with “Rugby Landscape Gardening From 1880 to 2012” by Rick Murphy, followed by  “Garden Design Sun to Shade” a workshop by Bob Washburn of Wolf River Valley Growers. Lunch, garden tours and a British Cream Tea round out the schedule. The cost is $40, and advance reservations are required. Proceeds benefit Historic Rugby. Information, 888-214-3400.

June 10: The Tennessee Gesneriad Society meets in Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall at2 p.m. Program is a Mini Show. Contact Julie at 615-364-8459 to learn more.

June 15 – 16: The American Hosta Society is convening in Nashville this year, and the public is invited to visited the National Hosta Show at the Nashville Airport Marriott Friday, June 15,2  – 5:30 p.m., and Saturday June 16,9 a.m. –noon. Vendor areas will be open during those times, as well. This is expected to be one of the largest hosta shows in recent history with more than 800 entries expected. Visitors to the show will have the opportunity to see a wide range of sizes and colors of hostas, displayed as single leaves, hostas not yet on the market, hostas grown in containers, and hostas used in artistic designs. Read more about the convention here.

Garden seeds: How old is too old?

QUESTION: How long do seeds last? If a seed packet says “purchase by 12/11,” would the seeds still be good for this year?  I’m looking at sunflowers, green beans, and other summer vegetables.

Packed for 2011. Still good? Probably, if they’ve been kept dry and cool.

It’s probably a common experience among gardeners to find packets of last year’s seeds – or seeds from two or more years ago (opened or unopened) stashed in a forgotten corner. They look too good to throw away, but is it worth wasting time and space in the garden to plant them if they may not germinate?

The good news is that many seeds last beyond the “sell-by” or “packaged for” date that’s printed on the packet, especially if they’ve been kept in favorable conditions – dry and reasonably cool. Seeds of parsnips, onions and leeks are among those that will only be good for a year, but seeds of most of the common garden vegetables can last two, three, or some, even five years. Here’s a short list from vegetable researchers atOregonStateUniversity:

Two years: sweet corn, lettuce, parsley, peppers, chard.

Three years: Bush and pole beans, carrots, cucumbers, melons, peas, squashes, tomatoes.

Four years: radishes, turnips.

Seeds of annual flowers are generally good for 1 – 3 years, the researchers say; seeds of perennials can last 2 – 4 years.

You can test the viability of a packet of seeds by placing a few in a moist paper towel in a warm room for a few days to see if they germinate. Seed Savers Exchange provides detailed instructions here.

If you have seeds left at the end of the season, the best way to store them is in a sealed jar with something to absorb moisture (rice or powdered milk are two suggestions). Store the jar in the refrigerator or a cool area in the house, such as a basement.

Garden events

The Mid-South Chapter of the Lupus Foundation’s Down the Garden Path garden tour and plant sale May 19 and 20. Visit nine gardens in Belle Meade, Green Hills and Franklin. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.Saturday, noon– 6 p.m.Sunday. Tickets are $20 prior to the event, $25 on tour days, and proceeds benefit the Lupus Foundation of America, Mid-South chapter. www.lupusmidsouth.org.

Coming in June

Seeds of Hope self-guided garden tour, June 2. Six gardens in Belle Meade, Green Hills and Oak Hill, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tickets $25; proceeds benefit Monroe Harding programs for children. www.monroeharding.org.

The Nashville African Violet Club meets June 3 at 1:45 at the Green Hill Women’s Center, 10905 Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet. E-mail Julie.mavity@gmail.com to learn more.

Gardens in Rugby, Tenn. will be open to visitors on June 9.

Plan a road trip on June 9 to Rugby, Tenn., for an all-day event at Historic Rugby Cumberland Plateau Gardens. The day begins at 9 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) with “Rugby Landscape Gardening From 1880 to 2012” by Rick Murphy, followed by  “Garden Design Sun to Shade” a workshop by Bob Washburn of Wolf River Valley Growers. Lunch, garden tours and a British Cream Tea round out the schedule. The cost is $40, and advance reservations are required. Proceeds benefit Historic Rugby. Information, 888-214-3400.

The Tennessee Gesneriad Society meets June 10 in Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall at2 p.m. Program is a Mini Show. Contact Julie at 615-364-8459 to learn more.

Perennial Plant Society monthly meeting at Cheekwood, June 19,7 p.m. in Botanic Hall. June meeting is potluck dinner and photos of members’ gardens.

Mulching trees; and a stack of new books

QUESTION: How should mulch be put around trees — piled high or spread even with the ground and good edging to keep water within?

Unfortunately, this is not the best way to mulch trees.

There are many good reasons to use mulch around trees in a landscape. It keeps the soil warmer in winter and cooler in summer; it helps the soil retain moisture; it helps control weeds, and improves soil fertility by adding organic matter. It keeps mowers and string trimmers at a safe distance from the tree trunk, plus, it looks nice.

There are a few “rules” for proper mulching, but none of them include piling mulch up high around the trunks of trees. In fact, it’s a bad idea. Here’s why:

Plants need oxygen in the soil, and mulch that is too thick – more than 4 inches – restricts the soil oxygen exchange, according to the UT Extension’s publication on mulching trees and shrubs. Roots will grow up to find more oxygen, instead of down and outward through the soil. Too much mulch also causes too much moisture in the root zone, making roots susceptible to rot, insects and diseases. Cracking in the bark creates an entry point for insects and fungal growth, and invites rodents to chew the bark and damage the trunk or even girdle the tree – destroying the bark all the way around, which is a quick cause of a tree’s demise.

Unfortunately, this so-called “volcano” mulching, with the mulch placed in a cone around and next to the trunk, is a common practice. Here’s the proper way to place mulch, according to UT Extension (and other good sources):

Apply mulch in a ring no more than 2 to 4 inches deep, at least 4 to 6 feet in diameter around the base of the tree. Place it so that it tapers out to the ground level at the edge of the ring. Do not pile the mulch around the trunk; pull it several inches away so that the base of the trunk is exposed and air moves freely.

Spring reading

There are several new gardening books out this spring. Here’s a roundup:

* I’m slowly making my way through Women and Their Gardens: A History from the Elizabethan Era to Today, by Catherine Horwood (published by Ball Publishing, an imprint of Chicago Review Press). Focusing on the fact of history that women have often been excluded from the serious study of plants, Horwood brings these women into their rightful place in the horticultural spotlight. At more than 400 pages, there is much to be discovered about these pioneering women. I have just learned, for instance, that in 1897, Beatrix Potter was snubbed in her attempt to present research on spore germination of a rare form of fungi. She went back to private research and to her other specialty, detailed watercolor illustrations. A hundred years later, the artist famous for her beautiful childrens’ book illustrations was honored by the Linnean Society with a distinguished lecture entitled “Beatrix Potter as Mycologist.” So there.

* You may remember Graham Kerr as a cookbook author, TV personality and chef who called himself The Galloping Gourmet. His new book is Growing At the Speed of Life: A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden (published by Perigee Trade Paperbacks). He acknowledges from the first page – from the cover, really – “As the Galloping Gourmet, I cooked just about everything that grows – but I’d never grown a thing I’d cooked.” He set out to change that, and the book outlines much of what he learned in that year, and what he expects to learn about growing food in the years ahead. It’s a charmingly personal account, and with a shout-out to “First Lady Michelle Obama putting spade to turf on the White House lawn.” His focus is on the basics, the favorite vegetables and most-used herbs, and with recipes, of course.

* Local gardener and garden blogger Barbara Wise, author of Container Gardening For All Seasons (published by Cool Springs Press) makes assembling gorgeous containers easy by providing, cookbook-style, “recipes” and shopping lists and assembly instructions for about 100 container combinations. (My thanks to Barbara, because I heard about the book just as I was compiling information on container planting for the “Grow a Green Thumb” class I’m leading right now for Lipscomb University’s Lifelong Learning series. What a great resource!)

* For the more ambitious gardeners who include fruit-growing in their garden and landscape plans, there is Grow Fruit Naturally: A Hands-On Guide to Luscious, Homegrown Fruit, by Lee Reich. In my semi-sunny garden, strawberries (apparently, to feed the rabbits) and blueberries (for the birds) are about as far as I’m willing to venture into fruit-growing territory, but if you’re serious about getting fruit from tree to table, this book is for you. It helps you plan, choose and maintain plants in the garden or in containers, and learn ways to control (or avoid) common pests and diseases without toxic sprays. I did just buy a ‘Meyer’ lemon shrub to add to our container collection of things that need to be pampered, so maybe this will help us keep it alive. The eye-candy photos make leafing through the book a pleasant distraction. It’s published by Taunton Press.

* Speaking of nice photos, Rodale Books has published The Photographic Garden: Mastering the Art of Digital Garden Photography, by Matthew Benson, a professional photographer and contributing editor to Organic Gardening magazine. Since part of the joy of gardening is taking pictures of what you grow and sharing them with other gardeners, it would be lovely to know how to do it beautifully. Read the book before the next time you take your camera out, and maybe your garden photos will jump to the next level right away.

* Finally, in the stack of new books: Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way: 18^th Century Methods for Today’s Organic Gardeners by Wesley Green (also published by Rodale). Do you grow salsify? Have you ever heard of skirret? These may not be at the top of everyone’s list of favorite vegetables, but in the 18^th Century they were likely growing alongside the onions, garlic, melons, chives, sweet potatoes, beets, parsley and many other things that are familiar in our gardens, and they grow now at Colonial Williamsburg, one of the nation’s best historical preservation sites. The focus in this book is the traditional cultivation methods that are still good for today’s organic gardens. Green, the author, founded the Colonial Garden and Plant Nursery in the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg and he and another gardener, Don McKelvey, study and interpret 18^th-Century plants, tools and techniques. This book is the beautiful record of that impressive work.

Events coming up

Garden author Barbara Wise (see above, with her new book Container Gardening For All Seasons) will be at Freeman Flowers in the Westhaven Town Center on April 26, 4 – 6 p.m. Barbara will show how to plant several container “recipes,” and will answer container-scaping questions. Light refreshments will be served.

*

The Herb Society of Nashville’s annual plant sale is April 21 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. It’s 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., but get there early to browse through 15,000 herbs (including some of those hard-to-find varieties) and talk to the Answer Ladies and all the other herb fanciers who turn out for this annual event. Look for more info at the Society’s website, www.herbsocietynashville.org and Facebook page.

*

Cheekwood is celebrating its gardens all through April with a series of Cheekwood in Bloom events.

The grand opening of the Howe Garden at Cheekwood (after a million-dollar renovation) will be April 21, with activities, live music, guided tours and refreshments,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

In honor of national Arbor Day, April 28, there will be several drop-in activities and demonstrations. By the way, Cheekwood is now a certified Level IV arboretum, with more than 120 identified species of trees.

Every Sunday in April there will be guided greenhouse tours atnoon; guided museum tours at1 p.m.; and a drawing room concert series featuring Blair School of Music at 2 p.m.

Complete details on Cheekwood in Bloom are at Cheekwood’s web site.

* Coming in May: The Robertson County Master Gardeners annual plant sale is planned for May 12, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. It will be held at the UT Extension office pavilion on the square in Springfield.

Making plans for a great year in the garden

QUESTION: What are YOUR garden goals for 2012? Here are mine:

-Grow more flowers. In my yard, that means finding more flowers that thrive in the semi-shade that’s provided by the graceful maples and the giant, beautiful elm tree in our back yard.

-Keep trying for better success with tomatoes. That means figuring out how to outsmart squirrels. (Maybe I should give up on tomatoes in the kitchen garden out back and move tomato production to my garden plot at Farm in the City, the community garden I belong to downtown.)

-Double the produce by doubling the space for growing. I’d like to take on another raised bed at Farm in the City if there’s one available.

-Grow better peppers. I know that the secret is lots of sun and consistent water. There’s a lot of sun at Farm in the City; I need to work on the water part.

-Okra: plant less, pick more often.

-Grow more pole beans. Grow more cucumbers. Try squash again.

-Plant more shade-tolerant herbs. This is a project I started last spring – finding herbs that can grow happily in the shadiest of the eight raised beds in the kitchen garden out back. Success so far with curly parsley and red-veined sorrel. Hope to plant sweet woodruff and more borage, maybe nasturtium. Still trying to find lovage.

-Make peace with the wildlife in the backyard, while at the same time finding a way to keep the rabbits from eating the hostas.

-Plant more big, blooming perennials and annuals in the three little garden beds at Mom’s house.

-Visit as many public gardens as I can manage (especially interested in visiting Eudora Welty’s home and garden in Jackson, Miss. this spring).

-Enjoy every minute I can spend gardening, and writing, talking and teaching about gardening.

What plans do you have for your garden this year?

Seed saving at the end of summer

What is the best way to keep some of my garlic and seeds from the sunflowers to plant next year?  How do I store them? Do black eyed peas and green beans save well for next year? Seeds from bell peppers? I’ve never saved seeds before, so this is all new to me. – Anne-Marie

You know you’re a real gardener when you start thinking about saving seeds for next year. Congratulations! In most cases, seed-saving is ridiculously easy. Here are some guidelines:

Harvest sunflower seeds when the heads droop and the petals drop.

For garlic, if you’ve harvested and cured the bulbs properly, all you need to do is set some aside to plant this fall. Keep a few heads of garlic in a dry, cool place, and when the time comes (late September to mid-October is a good time to shoot for), break them apart and plant individual cloves in a prepared bed. They’ll get a good start in the ground this fall, and be ready to harvest early next
summer.

Sunflowers are also easy to harvest. When the back of the flower’s head turns yellow, cover it with a paper bag. This will keep the birds and squirrels from harvesting before you do, and as the seeds fall naturally, they will drop into the bag. You can also cut the flower off with about a foot of stem and hang the flower head upside-down in a paper bag in a warm, dry place. Shake the flower head every now and then to let the seeds fall into the bag. The important thing here is to keep things dry so the seeds don’t get moldy, and a paper bag allows the air to circulate. After they are completely dry, a canning jar makes a good seed-storage container.

Peas and beans can be left on the plant until they are dry, then harvested. Make sure they are
absolutely dry (I’ve dried them on a window screen “shelf” in the attic), then open them by hand and store the seeds in a jar. If frost threatens before you harvest, pull up the whole plant by the roots and hang it upside down in a dry place until the pods are dry.

For peppers, cut the bottom off a fully mature pepper and strip the seeds out of the center. Spread them to dry on a paper towel and allow them to dry in a cool location until the seeds are dry enough to break when folded.

You didn’t ask about saving seeds of tomatoes, but a lot of people do, so I’ll include it here. This is  one of the more labor intensive processes. Select a tomato that is completely ripe. Cut it in half crosswise, and squeeze out the jelly-like substance the holds the seeds. Place this into a small jar and add a little water, cover the jar loosely and place it in a warm location for about three days, stirring it once a day.

You’ll notice that a layer of fungus begins to form on the top of the mixture after a couple of days. This is a good sign, because the fungus eats away the gelatinous coat and produces substances that help control some diseases. After three days, fill the jar with warm water and let the contents settle, then begin pouring out the water, tomato pulp and immature seeds, which will have floated to the top (the good, viable seeds will settle at the bottom of the jar). Repeat the process until the water is almost clear and the bottom of the jar is lined with clean seeds, then strain the water off these seeds and spread them out onto paper towels or newspaper. Allow the seeds to dry completely before you store them.

After you’ve harvested, dried and packaged the seeds, be sure to label them carefully so you’ll know next year what you have.

The International Seed-Saving Institute (where I found most of this information) has a straightforward, non-flashy but excellent Web site that walks you through the process of saving seeds of the most common vegetables. Check it out at www.seedsave.org.

–

Look in today’s Tennessean and at Tennessean.com to find suggestions for shrubs to use beside a front porch.

Click over to Turning Toward the Sun: A Garden Journal for an update on the rabbit situation.

For asparagus, a good bed is the best way to begin

Question: I want to start an asparagus bed in my garden. Where can I get some plants? – James W.

Before we talk about plants, let’s talk about where to put them. I’ve pulled out my copy of the Guide to Tennessee Vegetable Gardening by Walter Reeves & Felder Rushing and turned to the “Asparagus” page. The first thing the authors say here is, “Planning is essential for these plants because a well-prepared asparagus bed can last many years before needing reworking.” After that, Rushing and Reeves instruct to “Plant asparagus as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring.” Asparagus is a cool-climate plant, and we are about to slide into the hot season, so maybe now is not the time to rush out to buy plants, especially if you haven’t already prepared a place to put them.

But maybe you have. Here are the details: The bed should be in full sun, away from trees or shrubs whose roots would complete with the asparagus. It has to be well-drained, because if it’s boggy or soggy the plants will rot and die out. The recommend planting in sandy soil, but any well-drained soil will do.

In this bed, dig a 6-inch deep trench, about 15 inches wide. Asparagus plants are sold as crowns, clusters of roots. Set the crowns in the trench about 1 foot apart, spread the roots out and cover with soil. Water and wait.

Growth in the first year will be spindly, and you shouldn’t harvest any the first year. Keep the soil moist throughout the first year, and pull weeds as they appear. Mulch will help keep weeds under control. Cut the ferns back in the spring before new growth begins. In the second year, harvest a few spears in mid-spring. The third year is the time for a bigger harvest – 4 to 6 weeks, and every year thereafter harvest asparagus for 6 to 8 weeks in the spring.

Now, the plants. Local nurseries that offer vegetable starts are likely to have asparagus crowns for sale. There are several different types, and you may find different varieties at different locations. Or check garden catalogs/Web sites. Several 2011 mail-order companies offer asparagus crowns. The variety called ‘Jersey Knight’ seems to be a popular favorite. Check Seeds of Change, The Cook’s Garden, Burpee Gardening, Territorial Seed Company or any others for asparagus crowns. 

Plants, gifts & goodies at the Herb Fair

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville is hosting an Herb Fair today (May 7), offering herbs, heirloom tomatoes and native plants, and a variety of goodies and gifts – herb vinegars, pressed flower cards and calendars (including a month-by-month gardening calendar that my friend Lisa Pasto-Crosby and I have put together) homemade breads, handpainted silk eye pillows, handmade soaps and more.

The fair is 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. today (Saturday, May 7). First UU Nashville is at 1808 Woodmont Blvd. in Green Hills.

May in the garden

This month is a beautiful time to be in the garden. Check out the May landscape & gardening calendar in today’s Tennessean and at Tennessean.com.

Going underground

QUESTION: I’d like to take a first stab this year at growing potatoes. When do I plant these? Is this the right time of year? Any tips or pointers? – Anne-Marie Farmer

Potatoes in bloom.

The time to plant potatoes is now. And what a great thing to try if you’ve never done it before! Freshly-dug potatoes, washed and then cooked and served with a little butter, a little salt and pepper, are a real treat. 

Potatoes grow best in soil that drains well, so if you need to improve the drainage in your garden bed, add organic matter in the form of compost or rotted manure and till it in. In their book Guide to Tennessee Vegetable Gardening, garden experts Felder Rushing and Walter Reeves suggest spreading a complete fertilizer (1 pound of 10-10-10 per square foot). Till or spade the bed to a depth of 6 or 8 inches, remove any roots and rocks and break up any clods.

You probably already know that what you plant is not seeds, but seed pieces – sections of potatoes cut in such a way that each piece contains one or two “eyes.” Be sure to use certified seed potatoes, not potatoes from the grocery store (which have been treated with inhibitors that keep them from sprouting too soon).  If the seed potato has already sprouted, you have a head start. Cut the tuber into pieces and spread them out to dry a couple of days before you plant them.

When you plant in rows, place the seed pieces 12 to 15 inches apart, with 24 inches between rows. In a bed, space the pieces 18 to 24 inches apart. Plant them 2 to 3 inches deep with the eyes up, and cover them with soil.

Now here’s where a little care and attention pays off: When the sprouts reach about 6 inches, pile soil from between the rows up around the plants. Potatoes develop in the dark, and this covers the tubers growing underground. The hills of soil should end up being about 6 inches high. If we don’t get regular rain, provide about an inch of water a week to the potato bed because dry weather hampers potato production.

Eventually, the plants will open pretty little flowers, and small potatoes are usually ready when those first flowers appear. You’ll find them 4 to 6 inches below the top of the soil, so dig carefully to find those little gems. When the vines begin to turn yellow, dig the potatoes that are left in the ground.

There are other potato growing methods that are more unusual. If your soil is poor, you can grow potatoes above ground by pushing them into the soil surface and covering them with 6 inches of clean straw. The seed pieces will root into the soil, but the potatoes will grow at the soil surface. Add more straw as the tubers develop.

There are also potato-growing containers available. Gardener’s Supply Company has polypropylene grow bags that they say make it possible to grow potatoes in any sunny location. (A side note: I tried two grow bags for potatoes last year, but had better luck growing potatoes in the ground).

There are dozens of potato varieties available. The advantage of growing your own, of course, is that you can try varieties that you won’t normally find in the grocery store.

–

Potatoes – Solanum tuberosum