© J.N. Urbanski
Back in England, I have a friend who has a spud bucket, a large metal rubbish bin filled with soil, into which she thrusts a needy hand and miraculously pulls out a spud or two for dinner. She keeps it in the backyard and, needless to say, does not need to buy spuds, ever. Potatoes need well-drained, loose soil, but lots of rain, so they are perfect for high elevations here in the Catskills. To have your own potato bucket simply:
1. Drill three or four holes in the bottom of a bucket, about half the size of a garbage pail;
2. Line the bottom of the bucket with a three-inch layer of rocks for drainage;
3. Add a six-inch layer of peat and compost on top of the rocks;
4. Throw in four seed potatoes;
5. Cover with a two-inch layer of peat/potting soil mix and pat down.
You should find out what grows best in your area, grow lots of it and swap with your neighbours. Here at Dispatch HQ we also have berries that are so prolific they are burrowing underneath the garden fence and making their escape into the wilderness. Today, we planted potatoes in the beds next to the asparagus.
1. Add compost/peat mix onto the existing bed;
2. Work it into the existing dirt;
3. Dig a four-inch trench;
4. Plant the spuds six inches apart.
© J.N. Urbanski
© J.N. Urbanski
© J.N. Urbanski
All winter, I vowed to repair the board fence around my garden. All the fence posts were leaning out. I needed to dismantle all the boards from the posts and add a few new posts so there is less space between them. I thought about this project all winter long. The job got bigger and bigger in my mind. Anxiety began to grow as spring approached. Would I still be up to the task. After all, I am 72 years old and not as strong as I was.
The moment was at hand. The first task was to hook up the post hole auger to the three point hitch on my tractor. The darn thing weighs a ton. It was laying horizontally on the floor of my barn. I had to stand it upright in order to hook it up. In the old days I would simply lift it up and stand it in place. I tried to do it and realized I couldn’t budge it. I pondered the situation for a while. Then I tied the darn thing to the front bucket of my tractor and lifted it that way. Once it was upright, I tied it to a ladder that I had straddling two horse stalls. I backed the tractor up to it and hooked it up with help from a six foot steel digging bar. Son of a gun, Archemedes was right.
The auger worked perfectly in spite of the Delaware County stones, and the project is well under way. The fence will serve as a trellis for my snow peas and my escarole is planted. All is well. Time for a scotch and soda.
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