The Electric Fencing and First Plantings

We put up fencing on Saturday and it gave the garden definition.  The fencing was easy to install.  Kevin and I planted about 500 potato plants and 30 shallot bulbs.  I didn't realize till I opened the garlic package and read the planting directions that garlic grows out from the individual clove.  So I had Kevin sit in the field and start tearing apart the garlic bulbs to the individual cloves.  I didn't realize how many I'd get-- looks like 250-300 cloves.  So we had to bring them home to finish the job up and will plant them this weekend.

After reading several ways to plant potatoes, I think I did ok with the method.  I planted them in a small trough in the hills.  Some websites show them being planted in the trough and then you use the hill to cover up the trough throughout the summer.  I think next year I will want to try out a method that uses more straw as covering.

We planted:

From Seeds of Change, 

Banana Potatoes

Yukon Gold

Yellow Finn

All Blue

Desiree

Red Sangre

Purple Viking

Russet Nugget

German Butterball

from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds,

French Red Shallots

Early Italian Purple Garlic

Red Ruby Potatoes

Princesse LaRatte Potatoes

Russian Banana

All Blue

Potato Bintje

I then went back and planted the strawberries.  I have Alpine Strawberries, and Seascape, Albion, and Aroma.  The Alpine were everbearing but the other 3 are June/July berries.  The Alpine Stawberries I grew from seed and the others I ordered as strawberry crowns.  What I got in the mail was a bag of strawberry roots about 6-8 inches long with a 1/2 inch strawberry crown on it.  We got our soil tests back and the soil is a PH 5 so the strawberries took off after only 3-4 days.  This will mean that the other berry bushes we get at some point should thrive as well!

It is so calm and peaceful on our lot.  There is no traffic noise, just the wind and the birds and animal sounds.  Sometimes there is a plane landing at the local airport- but not that often.  I cannot wait to move there and be able to experience that calm every day.  I might even have to make myself a little area in the middle of the property where I can sit and meditate each day.  I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.