potato planting!

Yesterday was a wonderfully warm day, and I just knew we'd have time to get out in the yard in the evening as a family and do some planting! All the snow from last weekend had melted and the sun had warmed the soil (it's not good to plant in wet soil).

First priority was planting potatoes. We are very excited to venture into this area! We planted Yukon Gold potatoes and LaRatte fingerling potatoes. They were both purchased from Maine Potato Lady, a company that provides certified organic potato, onion, and garlic starters.

Yukon Gold potatoes cut in half

Each potato was cut in half, and I ended up with 32 fingerling pieces and 31 Yukon Gold pieces, even to fill a total of 4 - 4x4 beds. We have zero experience growing potatoes, but we are excited about what this could yield for our family. Potatoes are a staple in our diet. It would be quite something to grow our own potatoes, have them in storage and not purchase them from the store.

Little hands planting Yukon Gold potatoes

 

LaRatte fingerling potatoes in a 4x4 box

I also had time to fill an 4x8 garden bed with kale, lettuce, cilantro and golden beets. The golden beets are a new item and specifically request by my daughter. We are new at growing beets, too, so I'm hopeful these grow well for us, for her!

The aforementioned, overwintering spinach is ready for consumption. Doesn't it look lovely? My children eat   spinach salads better then lettuce or kale so this is nice now to have ready for us.

I still need to plant peas, spinach, parsnips and carrots, and will probably do that in the next few days. 

Gardening is here! As my son said recently (with a sigh), "It finally feels like Spring."