A little bit of gardening

Got in a little bit of gardening. Harvested the sweet potatoes. Haha! : ) 3-4 pounds! : ) Not much of a harvest, mostly because I didn't get them planted till July 1st. While that is close to 4 months, they really needed longer than what they got. Next year. I dug up some of the roots that had not done much and potted them. The plan is to grow them inside until early spring, than cut them into slips, and put in water or soil (still in side). Than, April and May set them out. I am hoping next year to do about 250+ square feet of sweet potatoes. Speaking of potatoes hopefully at least that many sq ft of potatoes. Maybe closer to 4-5 hundred.

I cut the wheat down and harvested all the heads that were ripe, all but one. So, that is drying in the garage, sometime this winter I will thresh it and save the seed for spring sowing. I cut down the wheat to about 6 inches. Just to cut it down so that it doesn't shade the lettuce I planted in it. Also, it will grow out again a little before it gets killed by the frost, I think this stuff will get killed by the frost, maybe it is winter hardy. I transplanted about a dozen lettuce heads into the wheat.

I brought down a cold frame, put it over lettuce and put a window over it. It is not air tight, the window doesn't quite fit over it. But it should provide shelter for anything over 28ºF at least. Plus, it will have the greenhouse affect, warming it up during the day.

I cleared out some of the beans. Picked all the dry ones, will shell them when I get around to the wheat. I than dug it over a spade deep to loosen it. It is nice sandy soil so it didn't need much. I humped it some to make a row. I then planted 13 shallots. I found a bag downstairs. My dibble came in quite handy! I love that thing! : )

After planting them I marked the row with sticks and mulched about 4" thick with straw. The rest of the plots I will probably plant with onion seeds this spring. If you hadn't heard or couldn't tell. I'm planting all the onion family members up by the fence to keep the deer detered. Leeks, garlic, onions, shallots.

I am curing the sweet potatoes in my winery right now. I brought in a basil plant also along with the sweet potatoes.

Well, I'd better go. One of these days, probably early November I plan on camping out in the garden and staying out in it from that evening till supper the next day. Working out in the garden, keeping a fire going, and eating breakfast and lunch out in it. I think I could get it all cleaned up and most everything done in one full day of work.

English Vintner