Well, it's time to give some much-needed attention to our poor, neglected Yellow Finn potatoes that we planted in our potato bins almost two months ago. (Click here to learn how to build your own!)
They're growing nicely and, as you can see from the measuring tape in the pic below, they are about 9 inches tall. Oops... *blush* We should have had these mulched about 3 inches ago, but we were too busy with our vacation. Luckily, they're not flowering or anything, so I think we're good.
As the potatoes grow, it's best to keep them mulched with straw or add more dirt so that 2/3 of the plant are buried. We opted to use straw because it will be much easier to harvest the potatoes and not as heavy as dirt. In keeping with our original bin design, we added another level of boards all the way around the bin and then added a heavy layer of mulch in between the plants. Don't worry about burying some of the leaves - that's OK. Just pack it in there real good, but be careful not to break any of the stems or leaves.
Here are our two bins after we were done:
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| Growing potatoes in bins is easy. Add boards and mulch or dirt as the potatoes grow, leaving 1/3 of the plant exposed. Rinse and repeat! |
We also mulched the Yukon Gold potatoes that are growing in the laundry tubs as well, since they are up about 8 inches or so. They grew really fast considering that we just planted them in late April!
While we were pulling weeds and mulching, I found a little friend hanging out on one of the potato plants. I'm sure he doesn't eat much, but I'm not sure I want him hanging out too much. In real life, he was about 1/2 the size shown in the picture below. Cute, isn't he?
Speaking of baby wildlife, we noticed that a couple of our Rutgers tomato plants were looking a little chewed on. I think I know who the culprit was. Look who I found lurking in the tall grass right outside the garden bed?
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| Eyes now open and hopping about, this teeny little rabbit is about 10 or 11 days old. |
What's going on in your backyard this weekend?
I'm sharing this post with this week's Rural Thursday, Farmgirl Friday, Ole' Saturday Homesteading Trading Post, Foto Friday and Garden Life hops.
Such a cute bunny! It's hard to get mad at something that adorable.
ReplyDeleteThey are so adorable that I just want to pick them up and cuddle them. I'm resisting the urge. Last night, mama showed up and the two babies were out hopping down my garden path. They scattered when I walked up. No sign of where the other 2 or 3 babies are, but they could be elsewhere in the yard. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteAwesome potato bins! Not so awesome garden pests! Hope you planted enough to share with everyone?? You are invited to share your fresh garden produce and ideas with us at Farm Fresh Friday! Happy Gardening!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Sall! I sure hope I planted enough. :-)
DeleteBy the way, your website really faked me out this morning. The music starts with a rooster crowing and it's so real that I freaked out thinking that one of my ladies was really a rooster! *laugh*
Awe..he's hungry. We are cutting the lawn in our yard!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with Foto Friday,
Lori
Thanks for stopping by, Lori! Just so you know...I aspire to someday take pictures as beautiful as the ones on your blog. You're my hero.
ReplyDeleteI love the potato bins! I've seen the same concept using a garbage bag or can but hate the idea of growing food in plastic. I hope I can get my hubby to build me one :)
ReplyDeleteYou can do this! If you have Home Depot cut the boards for you, all you'll need is a drill to screw the boards together. It just takes 10 minutes or so to finish the box (and then the time to dump the dirt in.) Or have hubby do it and it takes no time at all. :-)
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