Central Virginia Organic Gardener

"And 'tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes." - William Wordsworth, 1798

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Potato Bin Success!

Potato Bin Success!
[Photo: potato bin under construction-I lined it with cardboard and filled it half way up with soil).

The potato bin was a success! The garden cloth/wire fencing kept the voles and moles out of the potatoes and I harvested more than I planted! Next year I will need to remember to "hill up" which I didn't do much at all this year. What this means is to plant the seed potato tubers in a shallow bed, then as the tubers sprout and grow, add more soil, peat and compost and continue to build layers. This will cause more potatoes to grow more tubers along the sprout and increase the yield.

Other updates: my veg garden is winding down, as the tomatoes are spent and are succumbing to late blight (a rough year for later blight in the north east this year, not as bad in VA I think: see: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html?emc=eta1 ) and the cucumbers and eggplants are fading...but the figs are coming in gangbusters! I had a fresh fig smoothie for breakfast- yum!
Happy gardening!

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