My potatoes have emerged! Got carrots and onions too.
I leased some farmland last month and started planting out vegetables right away. I was worried about the potatoes because it has been a while since they went in and I am trying a method I have never done before -- 12 inch deep trench, drop in the seed potatoes and then put only 4 inches of soil back, so they are still sitting in a trench (that is wetter than surface soil). I saw nothing for weeks and noticed the soil in the trench crusting. I was ready to go get more seed potatoes and start over but yesterday after the weekend rain there they were... like miniature heads of cabbage. Little groups of leaves straight down the row at 12 inch intervals. German Butterballs, Adirondack Blues, Kennebecs, Yukon Golds.
Then peaked under the mulch and there are carrots. Quite a bit of wheat grass or winter rye right in the middle of the row and I am not sure how that happened. The soil is mildly rocky; too rocky for good carrots so I dug a trench 10 inches deep and ran all the soil through a 1/4 inch screen before putting it back into the trench. During this ordeal I reminded myself many times that carrots are $1 pound or less at the store...but they taste like nothing and where's the challenge in picking a plastic bag off the shelf?) Topped this with the thinnest stripe of compost, then seed free top soil and then carrot seeds. Somehow there is grass growing right in with the carrots.
Onions are standing up and invincible. Birds pulled a few out (the sprout looks like a worm to them), I popped them right back in and they grow. Heck, onions are so durable you could pull them all out, till the row and put them back and they would be back to growing within hours.
I built a little bamboo fence for the snow peas. The black beans are sunburned but seem to be recovering. And the edamame is looking good so I direct seeded about another 30 plants.
Looks like the last cold snap was last night. Can't wait to put in the peppers, tomatoes and ever-bearing strawberries!
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All your hard work paid off. I like your carrot philosophy, very true 