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So I tried to be defiant. I tried to plant outside the dates.... Ya know that saying, "Man plans and God laughs"? I'm there. Handsome bought me those tomato plants, remember? I checked the month long forecast, remember? It said no more freezing temperatures well into May. We just had over a week of temps in the high 70s to low 80s; very unusual for this time of year. The long term forecast didn't show any temps down into the 30s. This weather ridge we were under moved and brought some talky storms, nothing super crazy. But they also brought the usual April lower temps with them. In anticipation of this, I had only planted 4 of the tomato plants. Whew. Do weather forecasters just go to school to learn how to lead people on? I'm just teasing, it's not their fault. It's mine. Temperatures were supposed to dip down to 35 last night. We made it to 39. It's supposed to be that cold again tonight. We did get a really nice and needed rain out of the system though. I have 4 little tomato plants happily under steam filled plastic containers; held down by rocks. The rest of them are shut in the car until this storm finishes blowing over. THEN, you know what's gonna happen? It's supposed to get BELOW FREEZING next weekend again. That's probably our last frost coming in. I'm going to go ahead and plant the rest of the tomatoes this week anyway. I will cover them next weekend. The life of a gardener.... I tried folks!

Hold tight, this gets a little confusing with all the brands.... Waaaayyyyy back in the day, when I was moving into my first house (at 17, with who was going to end up being Ex #1), I purchased a used washer and dryer set. It was my first that was my "own" and I was so excited because I loved to do laundry. And every few months, the washing machine would die. We could buy a different one with $25 or $50 at that time so it wasn't a terrible thing. Ex #1 was a sports guy so the heavy lifting was negligible for me. We simply couldn't afford new. (This was almost 30 years ago, some of those washers were pink, harvest gold, and avocado green; I never did end up with a gray one.) There was a Well-Poo dealer/service center 6 miles from us. Everybody local ran that brand of appliances. That meant that every used washer that we bought was a Well-Poo brand; because everybody originally purchased from the local service man. Fast forward a few years, a divorce, a move close to home with another Well-Poo used washer/dryer, a "love story", a different house, another used washer/dryer set.... Of course, Well-Poo cause I didn't get very far away from home that time either (10 miles). That was washing machine number THIRTEEN. And it didn't take long to kill it. At this point, we had the cash to buy a NEW, MATCHING washer/dryer set and I was going to town to buy them. I was not going to the local guy. I was done. I got a Gee-Yee set and when that marriage ended, I took them with me. I moved back close to home. The dryer actually died first this time, but it was 10 years old and I couldn't complain. The washer finally died in 2021 at 12 years old. A new (cha ching) El-Oh-Gee washer replaced the old Gee-Yee. The Gee-Yee washer died during a super cold and long winter and I didn't want to put up with a frozen used machine. That's the set that lives in my office. I chose El-Oh-Gee as I had one at my house that I used for 14 years that I really liked. I don't like this new one nearly as well. (I replaced the dryer with a used Frigid-Dare last year.) In early 2021, the basement flooded in my home. That took out all the major appliances down there, including the furnace. I just kept using the laundry set at the office and went on with life. Last summer, I decided I was done hoofing dirty laundry around in my truck. I couldn't afford a new set by any means but I could afford used. I found a kid that was building a used appliance business, he lived an hour and a half away but was willing to deliver and install. Score! I think I paid $125 or $150 for each machine. Both worked great and I was happy customer, still am. Would totally buy from him again. The washer is an El-Oh-Gee just like my old one (yay!) and the dryer is a Sammie. This past Friday night, Sammie the dryer died. I'm sure it was just the heating element but I am not dealing with that for a $125 machine. I didn't really like that machine but it worked and I was content with it for the time. Now that we've covered my laundry appliance drama, let's cover Handsome's..... After his divorce, he found a used Mayflower washer and dryer set. The washer needed repair but it served him well for a couple years. It was a simple set, easy to use. The dryer died first. Anticipating us needing machines, he found a front load, cherry red, El-Oh-Gee set and went to pick that up. Sometime later, he found a used front load, charcoal gray set and put them aside for me. (I drooled, It was purty.) He installed the red El-Oh-Gee dryer and used it with the Mayflower washer for awhile. The Mayflower washer died a few weeks ago and he brought the red El-Oh-Gee washer in and it was crap; he had been duped. So he took the pretty gray washing machine in and set it up.... Well, it isn't simple to use. It has FAR too many options for a guy that just needs to wash dirty work jeans. I went, looked it over, and watched YouTube videos about how to run it. We got it set up with settings that he can wash and go. He hates the thing. He can't wait to dump it in my lap. The entire time Handsome is fighting with this gorgeous charcoal gray washer, I'm not really registering what brand it is. SO, Handsome brought me the matching gray dryer. We got it down the basement steps and installed and it works beautifully. I had to watch some YouTube videos about how to run the thing. It's super fancy. AND.....the gorgeous gray set that half lives at his house and half lives at my house? It's a Well-Poo.... Does brand TRULY matter anymore? There's been so much consolidation.... And no, I'm not going to trade washers with him right now. The El-Oh-Gee at my house is getting weak and having trouble spinning out sometimes, so it's just a matter of time. Then we can go get him a washer that better suits his laundry needs and bring the gray one to my place. Our backs are both out from just doing the dryers yesterday! Just a note: I don't remember the back in the day dryers going out very quickly. I know one that I had back then, it was 15 years old when I got it and still worked well. And you know these old Well-Poo washers all came from hardworking farm families that didn't let the washers rest either. I have to give Well-Poo credit, now that I'm older, that the machines were hardily built during that era. Because of the colors, I have to assume that some of the machines were from the 70s and 80s and were going to their last home in the 90s/2000s. That's a very long life for a washer/dryer compared to nowadays.

A very common question in canning: If my product is already cooked, why does it need such a long processing time? The answer is density. The processing time is determined by how thick the product is and how long it takes for the heat to penetrate to the center of the product inside the jar. It doesn't matter if the product is raw or cooked; it requires the same processing time. Those beef chunks are just as dense cooked as they are raw, Margaret. The whole point of the canning process is to sterilize both the food and the jar. It's the same reason processing in half gallon jars is no longer recommended. The jar size is so large and it takes too long to penetrate enough heat to the center of the product. Not to mention, canning pots don't really come that large anymore unless you're a restaurant. There is this additional benefit to the processing time: Extra gases are eliminated from the jar while it is heating through. (This is why you can't crank the lids down super tight. If you do, they will buckle trying to exhaust the gases.) After processing, the lower air pressure inside the jar vs the higher air pressure outside the jar creates the vacuum seal. The higher air pressure pushes the lid down and the low air pressure inside the jar holds it. This vacuum seal keeps additional germies out long term. That's why when you open a properly sealed jar, you hear the whoosh of outside air entering the jar. Once this process is understood, it opens up a whole world of foods to be canned. Recommended or "tested" recipes or not. We will discuss that another day. Happy Canning!

Tomatoes! (Rawhide! Did I just date myself? Oh well.) Yes, I said TOMATOES. In early April. In the Midwest! I know, I know, you're thinking I'm nuts. I think I'm nuts. Our last frost date is April 19th and historically, it cannot be trusted. You really don't plant any summer crops until Mother's Day. BUT, I've checked the month forecast and it shows no freezing temps at night at all. Everything is mid 40s and higher. So I'm taking the risk. If there ends up a frost advisory, I will get them covered. Tomatoes can handle that. (Peppers cannot.) I haven't even planted my corn yet and I have 4 of the 20 tomato plants I bought in the ground! All the onions and garlic are planted. All the cole crops are planted. About a third of the potatoes are planted. It's gonna be like Idaho around here this year. My word. I've been given and given and given potato sets. Handsome is trying to get his 50 pound bag sowed. I had two 10 pound bags of mini potatoes, a chitted out bag of russets and all the leftover Yukon Gold potatoes from Handsome's crop last year. Bestie just gave me about 30 more pounds of both purple and red potato sets! Atleast potatoes are easy and I was able to find room. Now just to get the work done. The biggest thing is mulch. Mulch on the entire garden is HUGE for me. I have to plant and mulch basically at the same time. If I don't, I end up with a weedy mess. Most all my early season veggies are going in the previous wildflower bed and that area was completely bare. I was only able to get a couple of the beds built in it last year and no mulch happened. This year has been much better, strength wise. I've talked before about the change in my body and how much I can do now versus what I was not physically able to do even a year ago. Let's not even mention how little I could do a couple years ago. I still feel like I could be stronger and that is my goal. The other day, (over the course of the day and not all at once) I was able to plant the garlic, 9 broccoli plants, and a few hundred onion sets. Then that evening I dug TWENTY $10 tomato holes! (I will explain the $10 hole in another post.) I couldn't dig more than 3 to 4 $10 holes last year on each day, let alone at once. And Ibuprofen is my friend way too often.... I feel like I almost need strength training. I'm an introvert so going to a class is out. I know myself well enough to know I won't stick to a routine with something like that at home either. I guess I'm just going to keep lifting and setting rocks for garden bed edges! How's your garden growing?

When I was little, I watched Dad read through the family's King James Version Bible. I couldn't grasp the strange sounding English that was used during that time, but he made it through the entire book. Talk about an example. That has stuck with me all this time. Reading through the Bible was on my bucket list. I'm very much an introvert; always have been. Life has kicked me in the ass and I will say that has reinforced my introverted-ness. I'm not a hermit, per say, but it could happen.... Fitting into any type of group is basically out, I'm too different, or weird, or independent. Pick one. This is why I don't have a church home; that is a discussion for another day. I worship on my own and talk to my friends about Jesus. I was raised to believe but didn't choose to be baptized until I was 11. I received my first Bible then, a New International Version. I've been to every manner of Christ-based churches, services and ceremonies. There really isn't much difference between them, from my experience. The Catholics and Lutherans do alot of stand-up/sit-down. I've enjoyed the music at all of them. I've even made my own joyful noise and while everyone turned around to see where that awful screeching was coming from, I sang my heart out anyway. God still thinks it's beautiful praise! For Christmas, I purchased myself a New American Standard Bible. It's teal and leatherbound, so pretty. It's very easy to understand, there isn't alot of prose that doesn't make sense with today's dialect. This purchase was with the intention to read the Bible through. That hasn't gone as planned at all. I'm over 40 and with my eyes aging, I'm struggling with the print unless I'm under the office lights. I wasn't making time to read and basically got through the explanation pages and that was it. I needed a different way to be able to read the Bible and learn it. The local TV over-the-air stations is all I have at home; I basically turn the TV on when there's a bad storm or a news story I wanna see. When I want to watch something, I'm on YouTube and there are several folks on there that I follow and learn from. A few weeks ago, a lady's channel popped up and she was reading through the Bible in one year and making a video everyday! Well that looked interesting so I thought this might get it done. I was starting in March and not January First like she did but my personal goal wasn't a year anyway. Let me tell you, this process has been eye opening. I have learned so very much. I get a Bible Study in every few nights or a couple done on the weekends. The videos are a half hour to 1.5 hours long. Longer ones happen when there's alot to learn in that set of chapters. There's sooooo much information missing from regular church services. For example: I'm in the middle of Exodus right now. Moses has just gotten the people out of Egypt. Did you know that he had a speech impediment and his brother Aaron had to speak for him? We weren't taught that in any Sunday school or church service. I'm fascinated with the details of the stories; even the genealogy sections that tell you who came from whom. The whole point of Bible study is to reflect on yourself and learn. I have definitely been doing that. Talk about opening up my heart and mind even more to receive God's Word! Anyway, if this is something that is also on your list as well; look this lady up. She is explanatory and does the work and has dedicated alot of time and energy into doing this. The results have been amazing. Notes and Hues by Kanoe This has been worth my time and effort to accomplish. I'm already planning a second read through to grasp what I'm missing this time.

Once you have a ham bone, ya gotta make Ham & Beans! It's just necessary. This is my stovetop version. There is a separate recipe for canned ham and beans; next time I'm able to can some, I will post about it and include the recipe. You can use whatever type of bean you have on hand. I like to use White Navy Beans but I've seen this done with Pinto Beans and Cranberry Beans before too. Back when I was young and a far pickier eater, I wouldn't eat this type of ham and beans. I would only eat green beans! Things have changed. You have to sort and rinse off the beans. Don't do what I did the very first time I made beans years ago; we were picking gravel out of the finished soup. I picked out any discolored beans along with any that looked like rocks or were very shriveled. Then I rinsed them in the colander. Place your clean beans into a stock pot and add in whatever ham broth you have left from roasting the ham and a quart of chicken broth. I don't soak my beans in water, I soak my beans in broth. "They" say not to add salt to beans when soaking because it will make them tough. I don't add salt because I figure the broth has enough salt in it and I have not experienced tough beans by soaking my beans in broth instead of water. I want flavor and to add flavor you need broth. Once the beans and broth are combined, I let them sit out for a couple hours, but they finish their soak in the fridge. IF there is not enough broth to cover the beans, add water. You can add in your ham, ham bone, and sauteed veggies during the soaking or afterwards. I did this batch during soaking because I was right there and ready to take care of that part. The whole shebang went into the fridge. The next day, set your pot on medium heat and get the broth up to a good simmer. Adjust your seasonings. Add water if the mixture is too thick. Then reduce the heat to low and let the beans cook until they are tender. You can then take out the ham bone and pick any meat from it and add the ham back to the beans. Package up the bone for the freezer because it isn't done making broth yet. Don't keep the bone in your finished dish. Serve up your ham and beans with cornbread. The flavors are so complimentary. I don't have a good recipe for homemade corn bread yet. I'm still using *gasp* Jiffy Mix..... (hangs head in shame) What's your recipe?

For several years now, I've spent Easter alone. McDonald's was the only "Easter Dinner" I got. There just wasn't any reason to cook a big meal for one person and I could spend the day doing what I wanted instead. This year was different. I was finally getting to spend Easter with Handsome and I was going to get to cook!! I was super excited. While I was ready to cook a feast, we are still only 2 people and there just isn't any reason to make a table full of food for 2. Saturday before Easter, we had a trip to the vet to take care of his farm dog's yearly exam. That took all morning so we were ready for lunch when we ended up home. I was hungry so I pulled out a jar of turkey from the shelf, made some gravy and instant mashed potatoes. Heated up a can of corn and that was lunch. We were full. I started to rethink all the things I had planned for Easter Dinner. While I had already thawed the ham earlier in the week, I could adjust the other items I intended to make. Instead of the feast that I intended; I downsized my plan. Ham, scalloped potatoes, corn. No dessert. You read that right; no dessert. With the change in the weather, we just haven't been eating as much. So I did not make dessert, nor any fruit salads. Just those 3 things and we were satisfied. HAM GLAZE: Glazing ham isn't complicated. Maybe my way of doing it is unconventional but it works without making a huge sticky mess. You can use whatever type of jam or jelly you have on hand. I mean that. I've used blackberry, peach, apple, even apple butter once. (Apple butter wasn't as pretty as jam, but the flavor was very good.) Take the lid off and heat the jar in the microwave so the jam will spread easily. (I used my too-loose apple jelly this year; some of the cinnamon vanilla version. It was good.) Dip your spoon into the jam and dribble it over the ham. I used about half when I started the ham and the rest halfway through cooking. HOW TO ROAST A HAM: I always roast my hams the same way. They can be done in a roaster oven or regular oven. I haven't tried it in a crock pot before but I don't see why that wouldn't work. This works for a whole or half bone-in, smoked, cured, ham. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Find a pan large enough to comfortably hold the ham and some broth. (This particular ham let off quite a bit of broth.) Grease the pan. Place ham cut side down if it's a half. Pour a few ounces of water into the pan to create some steam. Glaze the ham. Cover the ham and pan tightly with greased foil; or the lid if you're using a roaster pan that fits the ham. Roast the ham for 10-15 minutes per pound. (My ham was about 8 pounds so I went almost 2 hours because I wanted the bone to fall out.) About halfway through, glaze the ham again and cover it back up. You will also see if your ham has produced any broth or if you need to add additional water. After the ham is ready, let it rest 20-30 minutes before serving so the meat reabsorbs some of the juices and it is easier to handle while carving. Carve it up and serve. Now you've eaten and you're very full and ready for a nap. Go take the nap and let the ham completely cool. It will be fine setting out while it cools. Cut the ham chunks away from the bone. There is no pretty way to do this. Just hack away until you have the bone out. Set the bone aside or package it for the freezer for another day. Slice or cube the remaining ham. Trim away the fat and gristle, package them for the freezer to make stock with later. You can add the bone to the trimmings container or keep it out for beans. If you're going to make beans, cube up about 2 cups of ham for that. Leftover ham ideas: ham salad, ham and beans, can some ham in broth, can some ham and beans, various soups, cubed ham for breakfast hash.... This time, I just cubed everything and kept some aside for beans. The rest went into the freezer. Handsome has been asking for ham salad so I think that's next. Now go find some beans cause you know what we're doing!

Gloriously, we have had sunshine. Almost a full week of sunshine and warmer temps without rain until the next go round! Between paperwork and the garden, I haven't been cooking much. Handsome has been taking me out to eat or picking up food for us. I've been catching lunches and some suppers from the canned goods in the pantry. I'm still working on planting potatoes. I've replanted what some of the ones the critters (doggies included) had dug up. I've been working mainly in what used to be the F'd Up Flowerbed that used to be a wildflower bed. This year it is growing mostly veggies. There are already quite a few volunteer sunflowers, I'm trying to save them as I go. We were finally able to find some reasonably priced plant starts. I also picked up some pansies for the planters, some garlic (yeah I know it's really late for that), and some Vidalia onion sets. Then I went to the Mennonite store and bought regular purple and yellow onion sets. And the farm store had tomato plants.... shhhhh..... The cole crops I purchased are: broccoli, red kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, red cabbage and kohlrabi. I've not been successful growing some of these before but I'm still hopeful. All are planted, along with the garlic and onions. I was hoping to plant some beans but it just isn't warm enough yet. I'm loving the early spring but you cannot trust the frost dates around here anymore. Soil temp is still in the 40 degree range, that won't bring the summer crops up yet. I have some leafy greens and roots to plant but I've not prepared the beds yet. I don't have any turnip seeds so that is on my list next trip to town. Will I like turnips now that I'm an adult? I dunno! And what about parsnips? I've never even tasted a parsnip, but I sure would like to grow them! Do you plan your garden layout each year? I don't anymore. I can't keep track of it and I just plant as I'm able and what I have on hand at the time. I learned last year not to buy too many starts at once if I'm not planning to plant them right away. I would love to start my own seeds but that just didn't get done this spring; too many other things to do! Thanks to help from Handsome and his machinery, I was able to get a good portion of the potatoes mulched and some of the flower beds mulched too. He brought out the skidsteer and moved a compost pile for me. Then he took out the old rotten tree stump. He also worked on smoothing some areas left from previous construction. And we have "hatched" a plan for some new raised beds out front. Spring has sprung and we are taking full advantage!

We live in the middle of nowhere, just a tiny town that is 45 minutes from the nearest larger population. DG and Casey's are available, we have a local grocery store, but if you need anything else, you gotta drive. And I needed to run to the bank.... Tuesdays are usually egg and errand day, in the closest town; and it takes all day. I have a couple customers that I deliver to and they didn't need any eggs so I decided to just use my Tuesday to catch up on little things around here. Bestie was gonna run and grab groceries so she picked up for me too. I hadn't washed eggs yet but she said she was free so I ran over to her place to pick the groceries up and check out her garden. Then I took off for the bank. That's an hour and a half trip so I grabbed a sandwich at the Mennonite store (on the way) and put on some tunes to drive to. I had just gotten back and sat down to eat. A message pops up that Bestie had some folks visit and they NEEDED 2 dozen eggs! Right now! It's an egg- mergency! Well yes ma''am; I will get right on that. I grabbed a cookie and ate that quick so I had some "lunch" in me and hurried up and washed the eggs and delivered 2 dozen eggs for her friends and a dozen pullet eggs for her. Whew! Crisis averted but I was HANGRY. I had set the pot of ham and beans I started on the stove that morning. They had smelled good all day.... OH! They are ready! I hurried up and mixed a box of cornbread (don't judge), baked that, and I had me some ham and beans for lun-der (lunch/dinner). Tuesday was just one of those days. Everything I tried to do got interrupted 3 times. I would start something and get distracted and start something else. By 4 pm I was exhausted and I never did really feel like I accomplished anything. Time for a nap to reset the day. "Learn to rest when you're tired; not to quit." I didn't wake up for 2 hours. It was 6 by the time I got up and I had forgotten what day it was and where I was. It took me a few minutes to get oriented. I don't remember any dreams, but I sure had crashed out! Of course, I was a little bit hungry when I woke up but didn't want supper yet. I grabbed a couple peanut butter cookies and went outside. Of course, peanut butter cookies make me pretty popular with the doggies so it was a challenge to get those eaten without them getting stolen or nibbled on when I wasn't looking. Then it was time for chores and I needed to check on the garden. (Cause even though it was just planted, everything should be up and thriving already, right?) The cauliflower was wilted and pitiful so I watered them. All the animals were happy to see me since I brought food. Got cleaned up and ready for bed; still wasn't super hungry. Oh well, I will eat that sandwich in the middle of the night. Crap, forgot the dog's pill; get up and do that. Finally about 10pm I was still awake and got hungry. Then I ate the sandwich that I originally intended for lunch and it was tasty. What a day. Do you ever have all mixed up crazy days like this? I'm thinking I should have just gone ahead and ran errands and kept the usual Tuesday schedule!

He is Risen! Hallelujah!

Dirt Therapy: getting your hands dirty in the garden! Dirt is good for you; and what it grows is good for your belly and soul. Dirt Therapy has kept me going the past couple weeks. Just getting to dig in the soil raises my mood. It doesn't matter what I'm working on during a particular week. I do prefer to take Sundays "off" and do something I enjoy or even just take a nap. I did both yesterday. A little nap and some dirt therapy never hurt anybody. Even got some laundry done! Very often, I spend Sunday working on this blog. Chores are every day. Looks like it's gonna be another stormy week starting tomorrow. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to plant anything since Friday's storms; everything was just hanging wet. The high spot where I'm planting the potatoes dried out enough yesterday that I was able to get another 48 sets in. I'm still putting an egg and antacid tablet under each, but I'm running out of extra eggs so the next round might not get an egg. I'm saving the extra turkey eggs for the tomatoes. "Why are you planting so many potatoes CJL?" These are leftover potatoes from winter. They have all started to sprout so I'm gonna try and get something out of them. First they gotta grow and produce. The next challenge will be to keep them nice over winter. I think the basement is damp enough but I'm afraid it will still be too warm. If nothing comes of them, I've fertilized the area they are going in very well and that spot will be ready for a different crop instead. Handsome bought a 50 lb bag of Red Norland potato sets to plant! He said his garden is just now ready to till for the first time. Handsome is a tillage, commercial fertilizer and bare soil gardener. I am a no-diggy, mulch and compost gardener. We have very different gardening styles. He can do his however he likes and I help him. He lets me do mine the way I like and he helps me. We both have weeds and bugs! Ha! I'm still eye balling a spot to try to get some sweet corn planted. I haven't gotten to do that for YEARS! The goal is to plant it in stages so we don't have an entire harvest at once. Will see how that goes. The soil isn't warm enough to plant beans yet but I have a spot picked out for them too. And then there's the onion sets I want to put in. An insane amount as well. I've been working so much I haven't been cooking very often. It's all been canned items I've put up or frozen food. Can't wait for a kitchen day again! How are things in your neck of the woods? Have you planted anything yet? Seen any flowers blooming? My daffodils haven't thought about peeking their heads through, but I did see some along the road that put a smile on my face! p.s. My back hurts!

I've had a few bags of sprouting taters waiting for the right day to get to plant them. The original plan was to plant them on St Patrick's Day like Grandpa used to; that was not in the cards with all this wet weather we've been having! (That is a bit early for our region nowadays anyway. Handsome hopes to get his planted on Good Friday.) It has rained a couple days and then dried off for one or 2 days. Then it rains again. Finally there was a break in the weather for almost a week! And the wind dried it out enough that I could atleast dig holes and get the fertilizer underneath the plants. It was still a bit wet underneath, about 3 inches down. I wouldn't want to try and do real yard work yet, the yard would still rut up. My back pain and overall strength have been improving steadily over the past couple years. Last year, I couldn't work more than an hour at a time in the garden, regardless of the task. I wasn't strong enough to keep going and my back would just scream. I would also be "down" the following day to recover. If you ever want to realize how far you've come, take a glance back to see what you were doing the year before. It will remind you that you can do whatever you set your mind to; even if you're impatient and want it now. Yesterday was a blustery day but it was 68 degrees!!!! I was determined to get some of these taters planted. Sadly, one bag was too far gone and they made it into the compost pile instead. I had a 5 pound bag of russets that I cut up that gave me quite a few starts. Then there was the 10 lb bag of mixed baby taters that were all sprouting. I sorted through those and still have a few handfuls of those left to plant. Overall, I was able to get almost 100 sets planted in about 3 hours or so. It was so satisfying. I worked until I kept thinking that I wasn't going to be able to move today; but I can still move today!! If there is anything I've learned the past couple years with my gardening is to be more aggressive with fertilization. I grow most things as organically as possible. I don't pull out the chemicals unless I absolutely have to in order to save a crop; this pertains to fertilizing as well. I use items that I've either raised or can find around home to fertilize with. I have a big pile of aged cow manure at my disposal and that helps tremendously. It is over 10 years old and alot of the actual fertility has leached out over time. It is fantastic compost and planting medium at this point. I add it all around the garden and use it quite copiously every spring for seeding and transplants. If you can find a source of some type of animal manure and either allow it to age, add it to your compost pile OR even add it to your garden in the fall while the manure is still "hot"; do it! Last year, I perfected a fertilizing technique for the tomato plants that I will be repeating this year. Dig below where the plant will set atleast a few inches, throw in an egg, a tablespoon of pickling (or hydrated) lime and a tablespoon of epsom salt. Then add in a hand trowel full of organic fertilizer**. (This Espoma is my favorite. One bag will last an entire season.) Be sure to crack the egg before adding soil ontop of the concoction. Add a couple inches of soil or compost ontop of the mixture and then plant your transplant ontop of it. No-Diggy Taters: My potato planting technique is a bit different from what's recommended. I don't like having to dig deep for potatoes when I harvest them. I always end up sticking the potato fork through them and it's frustrating. I want to be able to scratch the mulch back and literally pluck the potatoes from the soil. Occasionally, there is a rogue tater that runs off further into the earth, but I can usually scratch it out with my fingers. Potatoes and peppers are closely related to tomatoes so my thought process was do something similar for them. I did not have pickling lime on hand and wasn't fond of hunting down the epsom salt yesterday so each potato start got an antacid tablet in each hole to account for the magnesium and calcium. I also did not add an entire trowel of fertilizer as potatoes aren't as heavy of feeders as tomatoes so I only used half a trowel. After the fertilizer installment, I back filled the holes to the original soil level with compost. Then I placed each potato set into the compost and covered each one up with another shovel full of compost. Once the potatoes start to stick through the tops of their piles, they will be covered with mulch to keep the weeds out and allow the potatoes to grow at soil level without turning green. I use the used bedding from the chicken coop and bottle calves for the mulch. There's a little bit of oomph in the bedding from their poo and pee but it will wash away quickly with all this rain; that will just leave the pine chips behind. Once the potatoes grow up and their stems die back this summer, I will be able to pull the mulch aside and gather the potatoes off the top of the soil. No-Diggy. Then I will scoot the mulch back together and the spot will be ready to replant with something else. No tilling to prepare for the next crop. Since becoming a proponent of the no-dig gardening movement; I've seen the soil in my garden change. Flat black dirt surrounds my home and while the conventional farmers use all their tillage and chemicals on their acreage, my little spot of dirt has become overrun with worms and soil tilth that I wouldn't find in the crop field 100 feet away. Anyway, if any of these ideas sound good to you, give them a try! What are you planting in your area right now? **I have signed up with the Amazon Associates Program. 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