Sweet Potatoes in a Pot

We’ve had success growing stuff in Fabric Pots and that led us to trying to thinking that maybe we could grow Sweet Potatoes in one of the large, plastic Pots (27.5 Gallons) we’d acquired. We’d seen several people on YouTube videos grow ‘em that way so why not try it. The Pots had been free. We had much of the constituents recommended for the dirt. There’s lots of Mulch here and making Compost is a fact of life for us, so why not?

Like a lot of Gardening, it’s an experiment that might result in a lot of good Sweet Potatoes just like using our variation on the No Dig/No Till garden bed preparation. Our success with Cucumber in Fabric Pots is a prime example of an experiment that will be a Gardening Way of Life in the future.

One obstacle we have to overcome is our suburban herd of Deer for whom Sweet Potato Vines are a major attraction as the past has proven. ‘Course, fencing is another of those Way of Life things that was brought home significantly a few years ago when Deer leaned over out 4 feet high fence and ate all the Okra leaves they could reach. Is there anything they will not eat? How, then, do we use Pots AND deter roaming White Tails?

We decided to place the Pots against a large stand of Azaleas and encircle the Pots with Chicken Wire. The idea being that any of the Vines that poke through the Wire are available to the Deer while most of the Vines will be directed into the tall Azaleas.

There was a natural half circle area where the Pot would fit and allow for a good Southern exposure for 6 to 8 hours of sun. Getting the filled pot from the garage where we mixed the dirt to its resting place. Well . . . the moving was easy. Getting the Dirt-filled Pot in/on the Foldit Cart was a bit of an adventure, but I’d put the Fence in place so it was an easy transition.

A week later the Vines look good and they have not escapes the Fence. The actual sun time will increase as the season progresses. We have had regular Deer visits recently after not having much action for months; likely to have our theory tested.

Then and Now

Keeping up with this and real life has been challenging for several reasons. One, is the social/political state of real life that often makes tomorrow seem, potentially, pretty bleak. Mostly, though, it’s been the arrival of dry and hot. It’s not normal for the weather to be dry for months and daily temperatures to be so elevated. And since Climate Change isn’t permitted here it must be something else. Makes working outside difficult and dangerous for an old guy, so I’m limited to however many hours of sub-80 degrees I get each morning. Even though it’s dry, often the humidity gets in the way even thought it hasn’t resulted in rain.

One thing I have managed to do, finally, is remove almost of the debris fro the Porch/Deck deconstruction. I figured that was a worthwhile thing to acknowledge with a picture of then and now.

Catchin' Up

Sometimes reality gets in the way of what you actually wanna be doing. One thing we’ve been able to do following deconstruction of the Porch/Desk was to return potted stuff.

We like using Fabric Pots for their positive qualities, specifically that transplanting can be done much more successively. For this group it’s an experiment to see if we can get ongoing harvest of Cucumbers if the weather gets unbearably hot despite Climate Change being illegal or something like that. The Peppers have already proven to be durable and movable for several years.

We engage in a lotta “make do” meaning we make do with stuff we have on hand or that can be acquired cheaply. With the sun getting to the “beating down” state stuff preferring cool night and mild days suffer. We hope to minimize the sun’s negative by shading stuff; greens, peas celery especially. Over one bed we’re repurposing a twin, fitted sheet as a shade. The fitted corners fit on Bamboo Stakes, too! As a result we are still getting Peas. And some captive, Wasabi Arugula where I reinstalled Drip.

Tree Collards are not happy with too much sun, but they weather heat well if irrigation is in place.

This Makes No Sense, Does It?

A December 24 visit to a local hospital emergency room was a disconcerting event. What began as Cellulitis then became Cutaneous Abscess then Localized Edema and for no good reason, Primary Osteoarthritis, was actually Cutaneous Nocardiosis, a potentially fatal infection.

None of that is as perplexing as the numbers on the monthly billing statement. ‘Splain it to your-own-self if you can.

“You Owe” column; $0.00
“Amount Billed” column; $37,588.63
“Amount Allowed” column; $2,037.00
“Amount Paid” column; $2,037.00

Cold Weather Is Not Our Friend

When freezing temperatures threaten we have to do things that might save plants or minimize damage. Checking multiple WX sites and applications does not change the reality of freezing and subfreezing temperatures happening for about five nights. When cold comes plants go . . . inside or get covered. It’s plant judgment night(s). And we had five nights to anticipate.

There’re numerous plants thriving here that don’t like cold one damn bit! Not at all. Just, “No!” Being on the northern edge of semi-tropical means semi-tropical and tropical plants can survive and thrive in pots and in the ground. Until they can’t.

For a couple of hours before darkness on the day before the coldness was expected to arrive we did the Cold Night Backyard Contemporary Dance. Using boxes and tarps and sheets and blankets and a badly torn parachute we did enveloped vulnerable plants as much as possible and probably not enough for the Peppers.

We are in Plant Hardiness Zone 9 which says temperatures in the 20°F to 25°F range can happen here. Because it’s sub-tropical we don’t have truly cold temperatures regularly or even often, but we can. There’s also this; our most productive backyard growing season runs Fall through Spring. We take a chance and plant things that are borderline hardy and hope for cold but not frigid. Peas, for instance, are probably going to survive. The beans I, fortunately, did not plant recently would not have. The greens, the leafy stuff, lettuce, cilantro, Swiss chard, spinach, dill, mustard and kohlrabi will do fine.

I harvested all the ripe Peppers; Datil, Tabasco, a few Caribbean Reds and Lemon Drops. We have never had such large Lemon Drops. There are many more very green ones still on the bushes and all we can do is hope that the covering we did makes a difference.

We also have a lot of potted plants — citrus, date, fig, banana — and other very vulnerable things like some cherry/grape tomatoes and Banana Palm that has the potential to bear fruit.

Those trees fill much of the double driveway, garage access and they have to be moved into the garage that requires annual rearrangement so it can handle the great outdoors inside. You know how empty horizontal spaces attract clutter; it acts to fill the “vacuum”. Citrus trees have thorns and our Key Lime is especially vicious and the pot is not suitable for lifting and it’s a physical challenge, but it’s always a source of some scratches, a little blood and a few good stories after it’s all over.