FEELIN' LUCKY

Way back at the end of January I decided I was going to try growing potatoes this year, so I picked up some seed potatoes at King Feed. You're supposed to cut them up into sections -- making sure there are at least a couple of "eyes" in each one -- then you lay them out to dry for a couple of days before planting them. So that's what I did. Only, on January 31st we ended up making a run to the hospital, and I forgot all about those potatoes. By the time I remembered, they had gone well beyond "dry" and on to "sorta black and shriveled." I planted 'em anyway. After about a month, with no sign of green, I finally gave up on them. I figured I just wasn't meant to be a veggie gardener, seeing as how nothing ever seems to pan out for me. But then these guys showed up at The Bountiful Sprout.

No, I'm not planning to grow armadillos (gawd forbid!). It's a new seed company located right here in the Texas Hill Country, and their goal is to breed the vegetable seeds that are best suited to our particularly crazy climate conditions, since the seeds from up north tend to think our winters are way too mild, and that our summers are freakin' un-be-LIEVE-able! It seemed like such a worthy endeavor, I ended up ordering one packet of just about everything they had to offer. Luckily, they were all things that could be direct seeded into the garden, and this was the perfect time to do it. So, I pulled out my books and tablets, and I drew me up a plan for my two raised beds, which somehow managed to stay fairly deer resistant with the somewhat wobbly net covers we put on them last year.

I decided to try the "square foot" method this time, and had every inch allotted for, only, when I went out to plant the seeds, you'll never guess what was there waiting for me?

A beautiful row of potato plants, running from one end of the bed to the other!

Sure, it meant reworking my entire garden plan, but I didn't care. This year? I'm feelin' lucky!