Snag wrote:

I planted some Yukon Gold taters last summer , and they didn't do diddly -
maybe because I planted them kinda late . The rows are well defined , so I
can avoid that area when I till new ground for next year - the question is
should I leave them and hope for new growth and a crop next year or just
till 'em under and try again ? I did dig a little and found a few very small
potatoes , but nothing I felt was worth harvesting .

tilling them under won't accomplish anything as the
plants for next season will come up from the mini-potatoes
so if you don't get all of those out of there you'll
have sprouts next season.


Also , is this the right time to get garlic in the ground for next year ?
As much as we like it I'd like to have some out in the garden , and try out
using the scapes . note to self , get some daffydills for the wife this
fall!!

planting time depends upon variety, but i have had
no problems planting the hard-necked garlic as early
as August and as late as November. plant the largest
cloves possible. if planting from scapes, you will
be waiting two years to harvest bulbs with cloves.
the single bulb from a one year scape is edible but
they are not easy to peel. instead i plant them a
few inches deeper and use them as a green onion substitute
through the winter and into spring (up until the plants
start forming hard stems and the papery tunics on the
cloves).


I'll be expanding the garden space next year down hill some more . The
soil further from the edge of the woods seems much more fertile if this
year's results are any indication , and while I'll lose part of the
blackberry patch I feel the trade off is worth it - those berries grow wild
all over the place up here and they're a bi**h to pick .

seedless variety is a great help and avoids much
bloodshed. i won't let the thorny kind even get
started around here, the red raspberries and wild
roses are bad enough (and the sumac and poison ivy).


songbird