June 2, 2009

Despite the setbacks with the seedlings, progress is being made on other front.

The potatoes were planted in late May.  Most other farmers have had their potatoes in for a while but my soil is clayey and stays wet for a long time in the spring.  But late planting has one major advantage - it stymies the Colorado potato beetle - the major pest of potatoes in Northern Illinois.  While the potato beetles are just now emerging they will end up going hungry because the potatoes are not yet up.  By the time the potatoes do emerge most of the potato beetles will be gone.  Timed planting is a great way to avoid using pesticides (a no-no on  a vegan farm) or rowcover (expensive).

This year I used my own seed potatoes - saved from last year's bumper crop.  I stored them in a fridge in the basement. (BIG P.S. here - do not store food in a fridge in your garage once the temps in the garage dip below freezing - whatever is in the freezer compartment will thaw while whatever is in the fridge portion will freeze - ask me how I know...).  Anyway - I took the potatoes out of the fridge about two weeks before I was ready to plant and let them warm up on the kitchen table where they had plenty of light.  This helps them set nice stocky eyes.  I personally like to cut up my potatoes a few days before planting to allow the cut ends to heal over to forestall problems with rot.  I build raised rows and plant the potatoes about an inch deep - eyes up.  Since I do have problems with drainage this helps the potatoes survive heavy rains and the shallow planting depth helps them emerge more quickly - important since I plant late in the season.  The downside to planting in raised rows is that it makes the later hilling more difficult since I have to push the dirt up higher than if I had just planted into furrows - but you do what you have to do based on the characteristics of your land.

Corn is another crop that benefits from timed planting - too early and you risk the seed rotting in the ground - too late and the striped cucumber beetles and Japanese beetles will eat the silks down before the pollen can make it's way down to the individual kernel.  Here in Northern Illinois, mid-May is an ideal time to plant sweet corn.

The winter squash also went in this past week.  With luck the recent rain and colder temperatures won't cause the seed to rot.  A similar cold rainy spell led to a lot of crop loss last year...only time will tell at this point.  I knew it was going to rain - but at some point you just have plant and take the risk.

The snap beans also made it into the ground - and I am hoping that they too survive the rain and cold.  However, like the corn and the potatoes, it's a good idea to get beans in sometime in mid to late May to avoid bean pests - especially Japanese beetles.  I don't have the dry beans or soybeans in yet but need to get that done within the next few days to avoid beetle predation.

One thing any beginning gardener or farmer should know - it doesn't matter how much you read about planting or how much you talk to other farmers in your area - you won't really learn what works and what doesn't work for your particular situation until you start growing.  Some things will fail miserably - others will succeed beyond your wildest dreams.  Last year my potatoes did fabulously and my garlic was much bigger than that grown by the veteran farmer across the street from me - even as my eggplants stubbornly refused to yield a single fruit.  So - bottom line - get out there and try it - and keep good notes - that way you can work on reproducing your successes and avoiding your failures.  And remember - the prime objective of any plant is to grow!