March 28,
Potato seeds are in the ground. After much research on trying to find the method that would best suit me on how to plant my potatoes, I finally select the trenching method. I had ordered many pounds of organic potato seeds from West Coast Seed and to my surprise a couple of days later I found two little white and red cards in my mailbox, indicating that two boxes were waiting for me at the Gabriola Post Office.
I rushed to the post office with excitement and anticipation in my little Smart Car. I soon found out that one of the two boxes was too big for the clerk to carry, so I had to meet her at the loading dock, a place I have never been in 17 years of living on island! I’m talking small Smart Car… How will I fit this box in the “trunk”? A photo is worth a thousand words… and I should of taken one!
Fortunately the loading dock is out of the public eye… so I think!
I had a boxing match with the large, oh so large box of potato seeds. I did win the match and off to the Ranch we went with a car loaded with pounds of potatoes and a perma grin! Trying to order the right amount of potato seeds was a huge challenge and I couldn’t find out a miracle formula in my research.
So this time I forget my “Less is More” moto and opt for the “The More the Merrier” formula.
On each of the little potato seed box, carefully placed in a larger box, was a sticker saying “Cut Open Immediately”, and I’m thinking “then what???”. Back to the drawing board for more research as I’m not ready to plant the potato seeds as they did arrive a bit prematurely and I haven’t even started the trenches and I don’t even know if the eyes of the potato go up or down or will I cut the potato seeds and if so do I have the space to lay all the potato seeds on tables to let them build callus before planting .I also have to decide if I will cover the little boxes to keep them out of the light and place them in a cool spot with constant temperature, or will I leave them in the warm studio with lots of light and sun so they can burst more eyes? Again, so many different methods and everyone is an expert! My number one goal is to get help to dig the trenches and leave the potatoes and myself in the dark for a couple of days….
So far I know that a box of 2.5kg of potato seeds contains between 34 and 50 potatoes of all sizes. A potato seed requires 12” X 12” of space and the rows need 3’ to 3.5’ between them. My garden is 50’x 100’ I did the math many times and the reality is at time overwhelming!
Weather is perfect on Gabriola and I do find help to dig the trenches and two days later I have planted about 400 potato plants and 170 Gladiolus. Now I can loose sleep and wonder if Gladiolus are compan
