Cooking for Company

We grilled with a bigger cast iron skillet when company came over recently.  There were 3 extra here, so we threw another potato in the pot and nobody left hungry.

My son H. told me that as I was putting the brats on it looked like I was building a company logo in Photoshop.  I can see it.  Brats-R-Us, maybe?

Weak Potato Harvest in 2012

The white potato plants (the part above-ground) died back early this year, so I was forced to harvest whatever was down there.  I ended up with about  twice as much weight in harvested potatoes as I used for seed potatoes.  Meh.

I definitely have a lot to learn about growing white potatoes, but I can blame the drought this year.

Cast Iron Grilling and Brats

It would appear that this cast iron pan and these bratwurst were made for each other.  Just look how nicely they fit onto the grill.

When grilling outdoors, whether charcoal, gas or an open camp fire, cast iron pans always work. Don’t try this with your teflon coated pans or your stainless steel with built-in rubber grips on the handles!

June Garden Panorama

I have had panorama photos that turned out much better than this one, but it gets the idea across. Things are starting to get a bit unruly down there. Weeding needs lots of attention soon. It’s time to harvest beets and their greens. Soon I will harvest the carrots, followed by the cabbages and then the garlic. By that time I will be getting many red tomatoes.

I still need to plant the green beans I promised my wife.

Garden Overview, Early May

Okra, Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes, Garlic, Cabbage, Strawberries, Beets, Carrots, Peas, Potatoes, Squash, Watermelons, Zucchini.

I need to plant cucumbers where those peas are, but I’m giving them ONE MORE week before they are evicted.

Planted Sweet Potato Hills

This is my third time growing sweet potatoes.

• In 2010 I grew a 1 x 2 ft square of them in a deep new raised bed.  I raised 8 pounds of sweet potatoes in that loose, rich soil.
• In 2011 I grew an 8 x 2 ft row of them in a deep old raised bed.  My yield was 2 or 3 pounds of potatoes in that hard, dry, clay soil.

This year I am trying a hilled approach.

This is just bagged dirt, mixed with what I already had in the bed, and amended with some Dr. Earth fertilizer.  My hope is that if I keep these hills moist, the soil will remain loose and friable enough for the sweet potatoes to go bonkers and grow well for me.

I shouldn’t mix experiments, but another thing I’m trying that is different this year is that I didn’t cut the sweet potato slips off the mother spud…I just pulled the whole piece from the jar where I sprouted it and stuck it in the dirt.

There are six hopeful sweet potato plants in these 3 hills.  The dirt under the hills was worked loose down to 8 or 10 inches.  As the vines grow and sprawl over this bed, I’ll let them root wherever they want.  Anywhere a vine roots, potatoes start to grow down from there.

My wife says it looks like I buried somebody here.

Potatoes growing well

On St. Patrick’s Day weekend, about 6 weeks ago now, I planted potatoes in this space that used to be a walkway between two garden beds.  It’s 6 ft by 18 inches.  Rarely have I had any crop grow this fast or well as the potatoes this year.  They are loving the spot I chose for them.