Potatoes

I had "goals" for today, I always start my day out with what I want to get done for that day.  Today's goal was to start getting the potatoes into the ground.

  Every fall I buy about 200 lbs of potatoes to last the winter.  Man, that's alot, I just realized how much we go through!  Plus, one of the families from Mark's school gave us another 75 lbs!  I guess we do eat alot of potatoes.  So this year I decided I wanted to grow our own.  Now I'm realizing I may have not gotten enough seed, so may have to get some more.  I started a new garden this spring.  It's where the old clothes line was.  Mark built me a new one (much bigger) where the pool was.  

 

I started by cutting the potatoes in sections.  Then I went out to the garden to dig the rows.  Mark took the boys and got me a load of manure!  How sweet, he knows I love that stuff for my garden.  This was from a farm near by and it was already starting to rot and was loaded with worms!  So I got 2 rows in and had to quit to unload the manure.   

When Jordan and Brendan were near by, I rounded them up to help me build a better grape arbor.  So while they were busy getting that done, I got 2 more rows in.  Ugh, my goal was to get 5 lbs in.  I needed one more row to be done to reach my goal.  I went in for a drink and realized the time, past lunch hour  and only an hour and a half til we had to leave for the boy's first softball game.  Sadly, I went and started lunch, thinking I wouldn't get that last row in.  

We ate lunch and headed out to the game.  It was a fun game but sad because our team didn't win, in fact, they lost badly, but it was fun.  Hunter is old enough to play now, so I have 4 dudes to cheer for!  Although, they make me nervous too.  Brendan got trapped between 2nd base and 3rd, with both of the opposing team mates throwing it back and forth to get him out.  Brendan finally slid into 3rd and barely made it!  I was shouting a bit at that one :)   On the ride home, the air started to "smell" of rain.  We unloaded and I jumped into the garden and got that last row in!  Yippee, I reached the goal.  I got about 1/3 of the potatoes in but that's what I was hoping for.  The rain to come tonight is perfect timing, get those babies a good watering. 

There they are, 5 rows of potatoes, waiting to become Thanksgiving meal, shepherd's pie, and lots of yummy meals.  (the top part of the picture is where they are nestled, the sticks on each end are the row markers)

Couldn't resist a picture of my lovely manure pile.  I just have to work it in and then have some great, dark dirt for my veges to grow in.  That's garlic in the front.  I grow lots of that good stuff!