Recap: Potato Planting Potluck

Success! Ten sets of hands turned what would have been a lot of work for Elliott, Dillon (our current WWOOFer), and I alone into a pleasurable community event. So how did we do it, exactly? We started with seed potatoes--purple, pink, and yellow ones--and cut them into pieces no smaller than an egg, making sure each piece had a sprouted eye. This was done a day before planting to allow the cuts to seal to prevent rotting in the ground.



Then we prepared the garden beds, which looked like tearing away last year's plastic mulch, making two 6-inch trenches per bed, and lining the trenches with composted chicken manure/straw mix from the farm. The cured potato hunks were then placed--eye up--every 8 inches along the trench.



Then the trenches were covered over with soil, lined with drip tape, and mulched with straw. Now all we have to do is have another "party" when it's time to dig them up. But in fairness we did feast after working up an appetite--on roasted chicken from the farm with greens, potato salad (ha!), and bread from some farmer/gardener friends...and local wine!



For some, potato planting was old hat. For others, this was their first time. For all, it was a worthwhile and delicious affair. Note: All persons over 21 years of age.



Let's do it again soon.
Arianne