Aphids on the potato...

...are partly responsible for the delay of this post. I've spent a lot of my free time squeesing the green buggers to death. It's the only effective cure I know, although it's a bit tedious. If I'd kept the potatoes outdoors I wouldn't care about it, but since it's indoors it's hard to get a natural balance between pest and predator, and the plant is stressed byt the indoor climate. That's why a pest easily can kill it comparably fast.

I have to admit I'm maltreating my gardens right now. They get boring when pests and diseases get a hold. On saturday I've wriggled some time from the family to clean the mess up. Taking the tour with a can and a mister will get much more fun when I have prospektive seedlings to wait for.

This time I need to make the gardens as selfgoing as possible. Our economy isn't at its best and I juggle two jobs beside my company. In one way that's good for this experiment - I want the result to work for a family where both adults work fulltime. I've already planned to use selfwatering containers and am now working on a 'selfmister' of some sorts. If I had money I'd just buy a humidifier, but now I need to find something that doesn't cost me a penny.

Back to work...

Soon it's time...

...to put some of the potatoes I grown on the "sprouting bench". This will be exciting!

Finally back to reality...

Aaaaaah! Daycare's open after summer vacation. The flat is silent and I can work. The son is probably as much relieved as I am, since he finally get to meet other children - where we live they are in rare supply during summer. Regardless of that I'll pick him up early since too much of a good thing is overwhelming in the beginning. After all we can visit the neighbour and take a look at the rabbit, something he like as long as I don't chat too much with its owner...

We'll have to visit the allotment wether he likes it or not, since we need to pick some more potatoes for dinner. I've taken the decision to not weed with him in tow - today my nerves won't stand explaining the difference between a weed and a usuful plant.
"Here we have a thistle, we are going to... NO! LEAVE THAT SUNFLOWER ALONE! Right, this thistle... Oh, you're a crane! And a pretty strong one too! Go for it! Now, this thistle... NO! THAT'S THE RHUBARB!"

Teaching threeyearolds to garden is not for the fainthearted. I think I take the easy way out and ask him to choose new plants for his window.

Potato slaughter

I've harvested the balcony potatoes. They were few and somewhat watery, but still tasty. I think I'll plant some more soon...

Happy Midsummer!

...from Indoor Gardener.

2008 is the International Year of the Potato!

Buy prints of the pic of today here. Look for older pics at Indoor Potager.

This is exciting! Will my potato plant bloom in time for Midsummer? According to tradition swedes eats pickled herring and boiled new potatoes on this day (we eat pickled herring given the slightest chance, mind you), and it would be cool to slaughter the bucket plant for summer solstice...

Potatoes weren't my thing when I was a kid. I remember them as those big mellow lumps left when I had eaten everything that tasted good on my plate. This disgust was shared by all my friends. Spagetthi was held much higher in esteem. Only when I grew up I met persons in my age that actually liked potatoes. When I hade collected my chin from the floor I started to reevalue the thing I loved to hate.

Rårakor (potato pancakes similar to rösti but fried in smaller entities) tastes good. Boiled potatoes are a must when you eat pickled herring. I tried rice once and that... let's just say I won't repeat this. Bread is a better addition, but the herring marinade irritates the stomach - only potatoes will round it off perfectly. And, potatoes satisfy hunger better, whatever any GIguru will tell you. In scientish this is explained as high satiety index. (Unfortunately I have to stop this culinary tale, since my keyboard is in danger from me drooling too much.)

The UN has realised how magnificent the potato is and have proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of the Potato. I'm surprised I haven't heard more about it in Sweden. The only celebration seems to be a photo exhibition in Alingsås. Lame, especially when you think of how deep roots the potato have in our country's customs. Or is this a consequence of the fact that most swedes live today because our ancestors survived on potatoes and herring marinade? A sort of collective cultural fatigue?

I don't know, but I do think the potato deserves an International Year, and I hope I'll be able to eat a lot more tubers in the future. There are many tasty varieties you have to grow yourself to get a taster - and this is possible to do indoors...

IKEA and mad potatoes

You're not allowed to take photos at IKEA. I suspect it's because they want to protect new patterns and furniture against pirating. Since I'm a nice person I left my camera at home when I went there to buy some plastic boxes. I WILL build that vermicompost I've planned for so long. After reviewing different kinds of boxes, evaluated wooden chests (I want a cover), taking meassures both inside and outside and had some lunch I stuck to my original plan anyhow.

IKEA isn't a furniturestore, by the way, it's a game were you're supposed to walk through the entire building without buying more than you came for. Today I almost succeeded, some terry towels followed me home. Even a master makes mistakes sometimes*.

To give you something to look at I went out and snapped some pictures on my potato instead. Do you see that it looks somewhat uptight and angry? Two days ago I raised the level in the bucket by scooping some more soil into it. The reason is that this is supposed to challenge the plant to grow higher and develop a longer root cluster with potatoes. Challenged it was - the plant nearly glared at me from the bucket, and it had become five centimeters (two inches) taller in two days.

So I scooped some more soil in the bucket. By Midsummers Eve I'll have filled the bucket and in addition to that raised the maddest potatoes of the neighbourhood.

*Several times I've walked through the entire IKEA without buying anything. That should make me eligible for some sort of diploma.

NightShades: Potato and Tomato

Patti Moreno again, she has uploaded one of the few serious vids on tomato cultivation, topped up with facts on potatoes.



(And yes, I fell for the cartoon version of "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes". Yesterday I spent at least one and a half hour watching old episodes on YouTube. B-movies have a special place in my heart.)

Potatoes...

...deserves at least one song of their own.

The first potato planted!

I bought seed potatoes which were full of sprouts already at the plantmall. Most of the customers had ignored them, but the other varieties were out and this one is slightly frost hardy, so I decided to take the chance. Most of the taters stands proudly in a window to grow better sprouts while they wait for the day they'll be planted. One, however, is already in soil. I can't do anything without adding at least one experiment, and this one sprouted (ahaha) balconypotatoes.

My neighbours subscribe to washingpowder in buckets, and were kind enough to give me one of the empty ones. The proportions compared to a normal bucket are slightly different - it's a bit taller. This means you can make a selfwatering container out of it with plenty of room for the water and still have big enough space for serious cultivation.



But why end the experiment there? Those disks of cocosfibre I bought at the latest faire have been searching for their purpose over the last weeks. (Yes, I know I bought them to use them as bedding in my vermicompost, but being able to change plans at the drop of a hat is a virtue.) I decided to sacrifice one of them.



According to the instructions I put the disk in lukewarm water for ten minutes. Everyone who's used peat pellets knows what's happening; you put a flat little disk into water and a tower of fluffy 'soil' raises to greet your seeds. I have to admit, though, that it's somewhat scary when the disk says "vooom!" and a thirty centimeter (one foot) tower erupts from the bucket.

The cocos fibres was enough for the layer under the potato, so what should I use for the top layer? I took a look at the bag with balcony soil. It was icecold, dripping wet and slimey since it's been left out for the entire winter. Unfortunately this was the only soil I could use. I decided to make this quality a part of the experiment. To bolster the chock I fluffed the soil thoroughly and refrained from watering. Usually I fill the water magazine this way, but I can do it some other day with this one.

Taters...

Today I left one of the gardening malls carrying (among other things) a small bag of seed potatoes 'Marine'. In search for inspiration I took a look at how Patti Moreno grows hers. It's interesting to see that she doesn't 'presprout' her potatoes before she plants them - this is common, almost compulsory procedure in Sweden. To get some meat on the bones I then looked at a person I've never before seen in action (believe it or not). I have to admit that I'm now tempted to grow some in a bucket on my balcony too.

Still not a vegetable, though...

I have a friend who knows a good pot when she sees one. This one has been standing at her home with a gigantic houseplant inside. Unfortunately she's moving to another part of Sweden and has gifted me, a very happy indoor gardener, with it (this is not a manipulated photo - I do fit in there).

Now I'm pondering two things. A; where to put it, since I don't have a spare corner for it, and B; what to plant inside. I've decided to ask you to help me come to a decision. To the right you find a small poll, you have a week to answer and the help is deeply appreciated. The pot is deep enough for potatoes, although the fruits are poisonous (twoyearold in da house). Or perhaps I should call the Uppsala University Botanical Gardens and ask if they can sell me some ulluco to plant, so I can try this mythic plant at last. Another alternative is to buy loads of strawberryplants to satiate the sweet tooth of my son even during the winter. On the other hand, if I plant tiger nuts I can provide him with a toy lawn and the family some cooking oil (if I ever can figure out how to extract it).

Thankyou Irene, Johan and Anders for all your precious gifts! We'll miss you much in Uppsala - good thing we know where you live... :-)