Old School – Self Reliance 101

If you live in the northern hemisphere and are lucky enough to have a raspberry patch, you may notice little babies growing amidst the bigger plants. Raspberries reproduce freely, even more than the humans at the Cottage by the Mountains.

Some babies grow in line with the grownup plants. These are the good babies. But others grow willy-nilly, in the path between rows or even in your grass. You must do something with these. Otherwise, the babies grow up and start getting into trouble. They join gangs and hurt people. Your patch will get clogged with thorny plants until it’s pretty much impossible to walk among them without bleeding. The Damsel’s had problems with her raspberry babies in the past, so she’s passing on a word of warning. Don’t let your raspberry patch resemble the thorny hedge around Sleeping Beauty’s castle. This is her wish.

You can ruthlessly pull them up. It seems cruel, but you must remember that any plant that’s growing in the wrong place is a weed.

Or, you can use the babies to increase your raspberry kingdom. These plants aren’t that delicate, so they withstand transplanting well. Find a likely spot and dig about a bit, to loosen the soil. Make a hole to receive the baby, maybe six inches deep. Then simply dig the baby up with a shovel (not a hand trowel) and place it in the hole, disturbing the roots as little as possible. Add more soil if necessary and firm it around the baby. Water well.

If you’re making a row, place them at least two feet apart. The babies will grow into teenagers this year, and next year they’ll start making berries…and babies…of their own. Circle of Life.

If you’re local to the Cottage by the Mountains, (northern Utah) the Damsel is putting her raspberry babies up for adoption. It’s the right thing to do. Email her at mhovley at gmail dot com if you’re interested.

The Damsel adores potatoes. They are her food of choice. You know how people talk about what food they’d choose to be stranded on a desert island with? The Damsel does not hesitate to say potatoes potatoes potatoes.

And she especially loves new potatoes, which means freshly dug and not monstrous. She feels it a tragedy of modern life that many people don’t know about the wonderfulness that is a new potato. She’d like to invite these people over for a taste. One at a time.

Potatoes are easy-peasy to plant. Experts say it’s best to buy seed potatoes meant for your area, but just know that many a potato plant has been grown from a regular old potato taken from the eating-stash.

First cut the seed potatoes into pieces. See the little dimple in the middle? That’s an “eye,” and that’s what the roots will grow from. It’s best if you can plan the cuts so each piece has three or so of these “eyes.” Even one is okay, but three is better.

Put some anti-fungal garden dust in a container such as a paper bag, and add the cut potatoes. Coat with the dust. (Shake the bag) You could skip this step, but your potatoes might not grow as well, and that’s too sad to think about.

The Damsel’s father once grew potatoes on a large scale so he was the font of wisdom for her. He told the Damsel many interesting tidbits, including the fact that poor folks used to plant potato peelings because they needed their potatoes for eating. And they’d actually sorta grow. He also used to mix the anti-fungal with talcum to make it go farther. It sealed the “wound” of the cut potato and stopped fungus from growing thereon.

Make a trench about six inches deep, but don’t fuss. Plant potatoes about a foot apart.

Note: The Damsel’s family is owned by a dog-shaped horse whose job is “fertilizing” the back yard, which he does with great thoroughness. One year, the potato trenches were lined with “fertilizer” as an experiment. The potatoes grew in lush abundance.

Cover the taters with a nice dirt blanky…

…and then tamp the soil down. Get the neighbor kids involved whenever possible. The Damsel has found that when she provides the damp earth, little boys are happy to provide the bare feet. Water well if needed.

Now then. After the potatoes sprout, there’s more to do. It’s best to add more dirt as they grow, etc. etc.. But for now, we’re just planting and calling it good. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.