Help with squash & melon patch

[Britesea]

feed bags are good for so many things! You can even transport a chicken or duck in one if you don't have a carrier.
I know a woman that turns them into shopping bags as well

 

[CrealCritter]

feed bags are good for so many things! You can even transport a chicken or duck in one if you don't have a carrier.
I know a woman that turns them into shopping bags as well

Well I got A LOT of them... My wife asked me to save them. Last year we cut the sides of them and laid them down, pinned them with some bent lengths of left over electric fence wire in-between the rows of the garden. They are great for keeping the weeds down.

 

[baymule]

Don't use the plastic ones in the garden, only the paper. The plastic breaks down and makes a mess! The paper feed bags will rot. Use the plastic bags, rolled down and cuffed, for growing your potatoes. And the plastic bags make great shopping bags, beach bags or kids overnight bags.

 

[CrealCritter]

Dang and @ $15.00 a pop that's more than the cost of a full bag of feed.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Tires can also leach chemicals. Barrel "rings" work well too.(use a food grade barrel, and just cut it in rings. Put up a few stakes to keep your outer edge. Add a new ring and soil as your plant grows.) Good project if you're using old pallets too. If you put in a few stakes, then slats to make a simple frame. Add dirt and plant your potatoes. As the plant grows, add more slats to raise the sides of your bed, add more dirt. Keep the top 2 -3 inches of potato plant above the top of the soil each time you raise the level. At the end of the season, you can reverse the process by taking off a foot or two at a time.

 

[baymule]

Most potato varieties do not make potatoes above the initial "eye" you plant. Potatoes grow below the eye you planted. Most will not put out roots along the stem like a tomato does. Try burying your potato plant, but don't be disappointed if it does not increase production. The whole hilling dirt on the potatoes concept is to keep sunlight off the growing potatoes to keep them from turning green.

If anyone has potatoes that will sprout up and down the length of the plant, above the planted eye, share with the rest of us!

 

[CrealCritter]

Most potato varieties do not make potatoes above the initial "eye" you plant. Potatoes grow below the eye you planted. Most will not put out roots along the stem like a tomato does. Try burying your potato plant, but don't be disappointed if it does not increase production. The whole hilling dirt on the potatoes concept is to keep sunlight off the growing potatoes to keep them from turning green.

If anyone has potatoes that will sprout up and down the length of the plant, above the planted eye, share with the rest of us!

That's my experience also... I always thought the reason for mounding was to keep sunlight from reaching the potatoes and causing green spots. The same can be done with a thick layer of mulch also though.

I know sweet potatoes don't produce until the roots hit "hard pan" (non plowed or tilled soil). The deeper the hard pan the longer it takes for the plants to set potatoes and under idea growing conditions will set more & bigger potatoes but you have to dig deeper for them. I've grown some big sweet potatoes in the past in very deep hills. I felt they could have grown longer but I had to pull/dig them before the first frost. So deep vs shallow hills is a trade off...

 

[FarmerJamie]

For the squash and melon question, I always did hills of 3-5 plants 4-6 apart and literally move the vines into the yard. Less grass to mow. Lolol. Temporary garden expansion, leaving more growing room in the "real" garden space. You could also use planters out in the yard, and not plant in the garden at all

Something fun for the wee kiddos if you do pumpkins. Before they get too big and get ready to turn orange, have the kiddos pick out one or two, and then score their name into the outer layer. The scored area will turn tan and really stands out later. The kids get to watch "their" pumpkin mature.

 

[NH Homesteader]

My parents do that with the grandkids names. They love it.

 

[baymule]

Gotta put growing pumpkins on the list.