This is my first time growing potatoes. We go through so many of them in our house. And for years I kept hearing how there is nothing better then a fresh, homegrown potato! I chose to grow the Yukon Gold, they are my favorite! I love the creamy texture and the buttery taste of them.
So last week I finally made it to Gertens garden center to get my straw bales and had planned to get five bales so I can cover my potatoes and then mulch the rest of my vegetable garden with it. Much to my surprise the price of straw has doubled since I last purchased it a few years ago as a Halloween decoration for my yard. It was $9.50 for one straw bale, needless to say I only purchased one and that will be used for the potatoes. (I mean, there has to be a reasonable limit to how much money I stick into this garden right?)
Here's how my potatoes looked before mounding them with straw.
I'm hoping I didn't wait too long and let the plants get too tall. They were about a 12 inches high before I got them covered. I guess we wait and see!
And here they are all covered up. I have nine plants in a three foot section of a raised bed. I used chicken wire to make a cage to hold the straw in. They are a little crowded, but I didn't want to give up any more space in my garden.
I left the top four inches exposed to sunlight so they can continue growing. And with all the rain we've been having here in Minnesota, I've had to re-cover them again since I took this picture just a couple of days ago as they grew another eight inches.
I would love to know if any of you have had success growing potatoes this way?
Lisa
No comments:
Post a Comment