Welcome to today’s daily kōrero!
Anyone can make the thread, first in first served. If you are here on a day and there’s no daily thread, feel free to create it!
Anyway, it’s just a chance to talk about your day, what you have planned, what you have done, etc.
So, how’s it going?
In the last couple of days I’ve planted some Butternut Pumpkin, Zucchini and Yams, into pots to get a start for when it warms up.
Potato seeds (yes seeds, not seed potatoes) I planted a little while ago have sprouted. First time I’ve planted potato seeds. I’m interested in how they grow and what the results are like. I collected the seeds last year.
The Grey Oyster mushrooms I bought last weekend have come on strong, and I’ve ordered some Shiitake mushrooms to try as well. Testing which ones the boss likes the best before inoculating some logs.
Amazing! I never really thought about seeds from potatoes. Typically when you use a non-seed to grow fruit or vegetables, it’s because you need a clone of a good plant to ensure a good crop. Have you grown potatoes from seed before? Do they typically vary much from plant to plant?
First time planting potato seeds. It’s supposed to be a bit hit and miss on what you get, but it leads to you to creating your own potato i.e. not a clone like when you plant seed potatoes.
I’m trying to get to a point where I don’t have to buy in much each year. Produce my own everything including seeds. Just something to have a go at, no doubt some things won’t go to plan. But that’s the fun.
That’s cool. Is your plan to get some nice ones of your own and start cloning them? Or to do seeds every year and see what happens?
Probably both since I collected a heap of seeds. If I find a spud that we like I’ll try to build up the numbers. We are in a particularly good spot for spuds as we don’t get any diseases carried in here.
Does that mean you can plant in the same place year after year without issue?
Pretty much. I think crop rotation is a bit overstated personally. If I find a spot that a particular veg. grows well in, why would I not keep growing it there. If you’ve got healthy soil and don’t introduce infected soil, all should be good, though some diseases can blow in with the wind, but here, where I am, due to geography, it’s not known to be an issue.
Some plants can build up bugs like nematodes in the soil if continually cropped in the same spot. However, that can be managed, either by planting companion plants that repel the pest, or growing a crop that inhibits it in the off season. I don’t go overboard on this type of thing, but it can be helpful in some cases.
With potatoes, the issue is spreading the disease - I’m not intending to sell or give-away potatoes as seed, so that’s not a problem. I’m more likely to bring in disease if I buy in seed potatoes, but certified seed potato should be okay.
Thanks for the info. I just rotate because that’s what people say you should do. It’s nice to have background info.
Which part of the country are you? I’ve got some acorn squash seeds I’m wanting to try this year, but feel it’s still too early to start them.
So far I’ve started fennel, tomatoes, korean peppers, nasturtiums, calendula and manuka. Still waiting on my lettuce and cayenne seeds to germinate. Also planning on doing some okra, basil and pigeon peas once we get further into spring.
Which mushroom kit did you get? I’ve been wanting to try one of the bucket kits from Sporeshift, but no extra money for experiments at the moment.
About as far South and West as you can get. Have a good sized hot house, so can get things started early. The weather says 0C or maybe -1C tonight but day temps get above 18 behind glass/polycarbonate.
Shiitake Mushroom Grow Kit - Splash & Grow Block
I’ll likely buy 1000 dowels when we decide which we prefer.
Many locals shut shop in the garden here over winter, but I manage some reasonable growth with the right plants.
Ah lucky, I wish I had the space for one. Day temps aren’t bad in Hamilton but the cold nights plus the ground being soaked the last few weeks makes it tough. Some of my trees have started new growth but have been damaged by the few nights where the temps dropped to 0C or below.
Where are you getting the logs from? Or is it just from your property? I’d be keen to see how you get on with growing on logs.
About half our property (~2 ha) is native bush - they tell me it has never been harvested, so it is as it was before whoever came here first. Actually, it was Europeans that stripped most of the bush for sheep/beef/dairy and some crops around here. I’ll either limb a couple of Southland Beech and try them, or there is a Gum overhanging our fence line that needs to go. Need to find out which is likely to be best - I’d prefer to use the Southland Beech as it’s native, and I can continually trim a few without any impact.
A slow process, but I’m happy to post in 6-12-24 months, or however long it takes, how things progress. I was considering growing some in bags, but the idea of growing in logs means so much less input in time and $'s. I’ll probably have a play with some wood chip beds in the meantime.
I look forward to your post then!