While my blog is about Microsoft Certified Trainer stuff, on the weekends I’m not at the office/classroom; I’m out and about at the MCTDave farmstead.  So every Saturday I’ll blog a few lines about those adventures.  

My English peas are barely up; just now poking their stems above the soft crust of the garden bed.  My over-wintered cabbages are looking a little better, given all the frost we had.  The onions sets Nathan (Dave’s 9 year old son) and I planted haven’t got started, but we hope to see some activity soon.

Today I am planting potatoes, or as they’re called down here in Alabama, Irish potatoes.  They call them Irish to distinguish them from sweet potatoes, one of the old staples of the South.

I am going to use the mulch method to plant them, as follows:

Mulch Alternative Method

The Mulch Method is a good alternative if your soil is shallow, rocky or compact; if you’re planting in the heat of summer,
or have problems with scab in your soil. The best mulch to use is loose, seed-free hay or straw. Leaves and dried grass clippings
can be used. It is important to have plenty on hand.  Prepare your seed bed. Plant the seed pieces. They can be
placed on the surface or lightly trenched, spaced as usual.  Loosely shake mulch over the bed, 6" - 10" deep. As the plants
grow, continue to add more loose straw, as if hilling. Be sure you keep the tubers well covered so that sunlight doesn’t get to
them and turn them green. The mulching method provides excellent weed and moisture control and reduces stress due to
heat. At harvest, pull back mulch. Your nest of potatoes will be clean, uniform and easy to harvest.

Should look like this in about 60 days…