Dateline: 28 April 2014
Economic catastrophe. Government tyranny. Conspiracies on top of conspiracies. The crumbling American empire. Impending civil unrest. Wars and rumors of wars. It's a lot to consider these days. But I'm being as proactive as I can by thinking about this year's potato crop. In addition to my Agrarian-Style Economic Self Defense Plan, you may recall from This Past Essay that growing and storing a crop of potatoes is one of the smartest things a person, or family, or community can do to be prepared for the troubles that lie ahead of us. I have my potato seed. I have my Bulls-Eye Bioinsecticide. I have soil ready to plant. All I need now is a dandelion blossom. Dandelion flowers open here in the northeast when the soil temperature is just right for planting potatoes. If you plant potatoes before the dandelions blossom, they may rot in the ground. Don't plant by calendar dates. Plant when the dandelions blossom.
I have not heard that about dandelions here in the Virginia as they bloom some all winter and probably aren't a good indicator in our area. I tend to plant a little early to get the crop up before summer heat works it over. I suppose a good indicator for our area might be when weeping willow start to put out green.
ReplyDeleteInteresting observation on planting potatoes after dandelions blossom - thanks for passing it along to your readers. I think that one will be easy to remember.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I see you have word verification for comments. You may find this beneficial to yourself and your readers. I know I did, and it works beautifully. http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com/2012/02/word-verification-woes.html
p.s. I've purchased two of your clothespin kits and am overjoyed to have them. Thanks so much for offering them!
We have our seed potatoes but they aren't in the ground yet as we are still building our raised beds. Good to know that we aren't late... no dandelions blooming yet.
ReplyDeleteJust ordered your book for my Kindle.
ReplyDelete'Hope to lean a lot, too. By the way, I plant my potatoes in cinder blocks and for some strange reason, the deer don't bother with them!
Thanks for the info. I didn't know that. I guess we're a long way from planting potatoes up here in northern Minnesota. :)
ReplyDeleteDo they have any indication of the last frost? Is this a good time to plant any seeds, or just root crops?
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