On Monday the 5th I had surgery to repair a hernia, so my gardening has been limited to shuffling out to the greenhouse to do some watering yesterday, and plotting in my mind how I can help my neighbor get 600 pounds of potatoes planted without straining anything. I have a 10 pound lifting limit until ?, at least until I see the Doc again on the 20th, but here is what I have decided I can do to help with potato planting. I can carry pieces of potato in a plastic grocery bag, walk along the string line and drop them through a 3 ft piece of plastic pipe so they land in the right place, then pat them down with my foot, and take another step. Easy. Ryan is using a single bottom walking plow (push as he walks) to fold the soil over one side, then comes back on the other side of the row to add more soil. These are organic potatoes that can be sold to upscale markets and restaurants in the cities. He bought a potato digger to pull behind his small tractor, which may also work for the garlic. We got some rain last night, so planting will be delayed for a couple of days at least.
