Surprise!

Back when I started this blog one of the first things I attempted to grow were potatoes. Partly because I’m Irish, partly because they were calling to me from a big display at the nursery, but mostly because it seemed so mysterious. Even carrots and radishes give you hints to what’s going on below the soil. Potatoes were this big green question mark.

I had to buy a whole bag of them at the nursery but when it came time for planting I only had space for two in my big pot. At this point I hadn’t even prepared a raised bed or tilled any of my garden’s hard, clayey soil. I hated to waste perfectly good seed potatoes though, so without a thought I threw a few of them straight into the dirt in a corner of my garden and essentially forgot about it.

That was over two months ago now, and while the potted potatoes shot up immediately and have flourished in their cushy digs,


the ones in the forgotten corner have stayed small and sad and neglected, barely growing 6 inches and then just sort of staying that size.

To be honest they made me feel more guilty than hungry and so today as I was watering the rest of the garden, I decided I may as well pull them out and get it over with. Put them out of their misery so to speak.

Imagine my surprise then when I yanked out the saddest of the bunch and found not shriveled barren roots as I had suspected, but two perfectly formed (tiny) little red potatoes!


I couldn’t believe they’d grown anything at all. I rushed inside to see if they were even edible and sure enough after about three minutes in the microwave in a bowl of water the little guys were about the most tender, butteriest, delightful little roots I’ve think I’ve ever had.


And they practically grew themselves! Now I can’t wait to find out what’s hiding in the big pot. I think I’ll have a potato party this weekend.

What Grows On

Florida, I think I’m in love with you.

These past few weeks have been glorious: sunshine, birdsong, and an explosion of flora. The dogwoods have mostly faded now, but they were incredible, like shimmering tufts of snow.


And the Azaleas, be still my heart, I’ve never seen anything like it. They’ve got every shade imaginable here, from office-paper-white to soft, fluttery pink to vibrant, electrifying violet. And when they flower it’s all at once, this avalanche of pure, saturated color. It’s overwhelming, really. I’ve almost crashed my car from it. Seriously!


While I haven’t been blogging much, it’s only because my fingers have been too caked in dirt to go near my computer. That’s right, the garden is in full effect, and I couldn’t be happier with it. To date I’ve planted an absurdly ambitious assortment of goodies in my little space. Though now that everything is starting to come up, I think there’ll be a lot of tough love to be shown as, well, 15 Buttercrunch lettuce heads can’t really share a one-foot square of bed space, how ever well-intentioned.

All in all there are about 25 containers out there now,

plus I’ve built two small raised beds and loaded them with seeds (most of which have sprouted!).

But the most exciting developments so far have to do with the plants I bought impulsively back at the end of February

The eggplants have displayed their first purple flowers,

the lettuce has been eaten and enjoyed, and my violet bell pepper plant is steadily growing two of the most fantastic-looking peppers I think I’ve ever seen.


!!!

Of course all this garden reverie is not without the occasional looming cloud. Lately the weather channel has been whispering about a serious chill sweeping in over much of the country. Down here’s not supposed to be hit nearly as hard as some of the North, but then again, gardeners up there probably don’t have such a precarious hope chest of tender seedlings already sprouting through the soil…

I’m crossing my fingers! Send warm thoughts, please!