The potato confusion is now behind us. You're welcome.

For those of you who have been holding your breath wondering when I should pull the potatoes, you are now free to exhale. I'm going with the wait-for-the-stalk-to-die method over the wait-for-the-flower-to-die route.

This is a potato from a stalk that has dead flowers yet still green. The color looks good and all, but it's pretty dinky compared to...

...a potato from the dead stalk. It's definitely bigger and more ready to be smothered in butter.

I love the smell of fresh mulch in the morning.

As much as I love the garden, I can understand why it hasn't been as inviting to others as it could be. It's on a slope, it's a bit out of the way, and it can get pretty muddy.

Well now there's one less excuse for not taking a visit. As of yesterday there's a fresh layer of shredded bark to help keep your fancy work shoes looking spiffy. So have at it people, a few moments in the garden can do wonders for a heavy head.

That was fun. Let's do it again.

It's that time (actually it's past that time)! Out with the winter/spring, in with summer/fall. Other than a couple of late blooming Integro cabbages, everything has been pulled out and given away. And hopefully eaten, btw.

So, what's for summer? Let's take a look at the planning wall shall we.

For summer the plan is to share. So I have a lot of sharable things: more carrots and radishes, squash, two types of cucumbers, pole beans. And lots and lots and lots of tomatoes. 6 varieties and 14 plants to be exact. See below for the actual planting map. You can tell it's real by all the dirt.

Funny thing about the tomatoes. I started one set at home several weeks ago and they moved very slowly. Image above contains said tomatoes.

Another set I started more recently in a little greenhouse kit and they exploded over a long weekend. Height-wise they were right there with the first group in no time, but not nearly as girthful. (Is that a word? Should be.)

Regardless, I put them both in the ground and have high hopes for big juicy tomatoes in 70 - 80 days.