Potato Growing

I like Potatoes.



I am also a geek, and as such will try to mix in a little engineering when it comes to producing a crop. So here is my proposal for the garden: The Hundred Pounds of Potato producing garden High Rise! Maybe using the term 'High Rise' to describe something 4 ft cubed is a bit of unmitigated hyperbole, but I read it on the Internets somewhere...



I think Potatoes are fascinating because they grow where the branches/stalk of the plant are submerged in dirt (supposedly this is why the Irish grew potatoes to such a huge degree, because they are one of the few crop that will remain edible even after some army marches over your field). Problem being, traditionally potatoes are labor intensive and involve a lot of digging up and replanting the satisfy the demands of the thrice cursed spud. The basic idea is that you plant seed potatoes in the earth, and as the plant grows you keep submerging the plant as it grows. The planks divide the growing mass into layers, which will help you keep track of what potatoes will be ready when.

The hope is that this construct skirts the labor intensity issue by giving ready access to all the different layers of tubers.

My only concern is the feasibility of all this. I tend to trust the experience of your experience B^2 and that of your green-fingered mother, and I believe when you discussed Potatoes with her it was decided that they simply weren't worth it. On top of that , I don't know how down Kathryn will be with erecting a squat shrine to carbohydrates.

I still think it's a nifty idea, although maybe I should focus on growing a potato instead of diving right into making the monolith.

Linky Seattle Times
Linky Lifehacker (they have a cool diagram of the potato box thingamabob)

My vision of a perfect garden

My perfect garden should be mostly edible, self-sustaining, and pleasurable.

Because my garden will be mostly edible, there is very little use for lawns, except as a tool to keep the dust level down. However, there are other ways to accomplish that. Ornamental flowers sometimes can be edible. Plus, they fulfill the pleasurable aspect.

As for self-sustaining, I want animals as well. Chickens for eggs and meat, alpacas for their fibers, goose for eggs and watchfulness, horse to ride to neighbor's place, bees for pollination and dogs for herding and companionship. Of course all of them except bees provide fertilizer as well. I will raise them all together so they can hang out. Thus, their waste can be composted along with everything else and then go back to the soil.

One may argue that many of these, vegetables and animals alike, may be purchased in a grocery store. However, with the commercialization of food production, less emphasis is placed on flavor and healthfulness as on quantity and speediness to ripeness. Hence, flavors of vegetables and sweetness of fruits are often sacrificed. Sure the strawberry is beautifully big and red, but why such tartness? I prefer sweetness over size. As for animals, we really don't know what long term effects of all the antibiotics and hormones have on the human body. I'd rather not find out. Plus, one really doesn't need to eat all that much protein anyway.

In the garden, I would also love to experiment with a new plant each year. See what comes out.

I think I would love to have about two to two and a half acre of land. Seeing how much can be done on an acre and a half land, think about the possibilities of a 2 acre piece of land. So many fruits to plant, avocado, lime, lemon, orange, mandarin, kumquat, jujube, blueberry, apple, and pear. And maple trees for maple syrup. More to be added later as they come up.

Fragrant flowers

Just to get it off my head...I found out what 白兰花 in English is: Michelia alba. Of course, I have no idea how to pronounce the first word. It's times like these that I wish I took some rudimentary latin. Anyway, michelia alba is a member of the michelia family (obviously), and is distinguished from others by its white and intensely fragrant flowers. It's a shade tropical tree with light, glossy green leaves. Hence, they do not deal very well with frost when young (meaning less than 4ft tall). They start blooming in spring and lasts till late fall. They can grow into trees towering above a one story house or pruned to bush-shape about 5ft tall.

I love them and will definitely try to grow them as I love the fragrances of the flowers. They bring back memories of Shanghai where old ladies sell them on the streets enticing young women with promises of elegance and beauty, like the michelia flower that wilts at the slightest crimp. (Image)

Another fragrant flower that I love is 桂花 or osmanthus. I have yet to find the exact variety that produces the fragrance I remember. These can grow as hedges or a bush. I'm not sure if they can be trained to grow in vine or tree form. They are small flowers. I remember my dad plucking some flowers off and putting them in his coffee and singing his Chinese songs from the revolutionary days. (Image)

And finally, lilacs, the house sized tree in Ruby's backyard, and the stunted bush behind Khoa's old house. Fragrant for about a week or so, it heralds the onset of what little real spring we have in southern California. Though people might disparage the delicate bunches of pink-blue blossoms for their transience, I love waiting for them and their charming wafts of light fragrance. When the blooms are gone, I can't wait for the next year when it happens again and look forward to a whole new growing season in the garden. (Image)

As you might have noticed from my three choices, they are all flowers from my childhood. They have a way of capturing me that whenever I see or smell them, I have an urge to pluck one and hold them in my hand all day just so I can smell them whenever I'd like. I play a little game with myself: I fill my nostrils with their fragrance molecules and feel like my whole world is filled with them. As I feel saturated with their scents, I breath out to recalibrate my nose. And repeat. Nostalgia. Happiness.