Here Comes The Sun

The sun is, by some miracle, shining today. It's so lovely and warm outside - and while yesterday I wore an almost uncomfortable number of layers just to keep warm, today I'm in a t-shirt and leggings. It is, in essence, the perfect day for a Chore Day. Time to get out into the garden!

While the dishwasher and washing machine rumbled away indoors and I took advantage of the warmth to get some laundry dry out on the patio (they've already been inside two days and are still damp) - it was time to finally put these potatoes in the ground. I finally could see with my own eyes what my confused googling had told me: there are, in fact, two different types of potato sprouts.

Bad; white, pantry-grown shoots

Good: dark green, sun-grown shoots

And that's why you sit them in the sun to grow, rather than in the dark where the weird, white eyes pop up. My potatoes are now in the ground - I had to get a little creative to fit them all into the bed, but they should have enough space each. Only time will tell if it was the right time to plant them or not. Information on when to plant in my area varies, and conflicts to a degree with what my local friends and fellow backyard farmers have told me. So... let's cross our fingers that they keep growing!

So much dirt under my nails today.

I also put out the garlic: again, it's a little sooner than the information I'd read online, but we're in a slightly colder area here and I was advised to get them in early if I can. Well, it's barely early (only a week or so before the solstice now) but they're in. And, as with anything else, in a worst case scenario they don't grow and I try something different next time... but if they do grow it's going to be awfully exciting.

As my onion sprouts get taller it's also finally been time to thin them out. It felt really weird pulling out so many completely healthy plants. They even smelled like onions already, despite being so tiny. I wonder if you can eat them (or if it's even worth trying). The rows look quite sparse now that the plants have some space between them.

So watch this space to find out if I've totally wasted my bag of seed potatoes and garlic or to share my excitement if they actually grow! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go stand outside in that sun a while longer.