Potatoes... and more basil

Yesterday, I could not wait any longer.

There's on potato plant (of the 50+) that bloomed and looked to be on the downward slide. Wilty. Sad looking.

So, I decided to poke around JUST on one side of this weepy plant.

Holy shoot sherlock, there ARE potatoes in there:


Growing potatoes is always a bit of a mystery, wait-and-see game. You really want to poke around, but really, you just can't. You don't want to disturb the plant. So, you anxiously wait. Is there growth in that ground? The same mystery goes for carrots, onions, and garlic. WHAT IS DOWN THERE??

I made B poke around a bit when he came home. A few more fingerlings were found. I planted 2 fingerlings in the yukon gold bed, so I must have been poking around in that section, since I found a mix of potato types.

Exciting, huh?

And now, I have to go back to waiting.

In other fun news....
It is supposed to get to be 95 degrees today. My tomatoes and peppers are jumping for joy.

The thing is, we don't often get hot weather. And few people feel the need to have air conditioning, since (generally...) you only would use it for 1-3 days out of the year.

As a result of this not being our typical weather and also lacking AC, I had to spend last night and this morning preparing. SOAK all my outdoor plants, that way they have plenty of time to soak up the water before the heat of today. Fill up the chicken water bucket, and ensure they get fed early on in the day (so they do not have to expend energy eating later on). Put a watermelon in the fridge for the chickens to have a cold treat this afternoon. Shut all windows (except for the top skylights and the one crazy high kitchen window (they will let the heat out). Put teeny chicken in a bin (with a lid) in the bathroom (since the laundry room gets hot). Close shades in certain areas of the house. Drive to work. Ridiculousness.

Speaking of little hen, I gave the teeny tiny red chicken away. She went to a home with a small yard where should could be babied. Here, she'd have to worry about cats and cars and lack of fencing. But, I still have the one tiny buff orpington. I re-examined her yesterday, and I think I've discovered (FINALLY) the cause of her weakness: mites.

BLEH!

So, I figured out the type (northern poultry mites) and treatment (Diatomaceous earth dust) and I've covered the straw in her bin and really rubbed it well into her feathers. None of the other birds have any, and the northern type mostly remain on the bird (rather than in the coop bedding), so I'm hoping that I'm going to beat this pretty easily.

No, nothing is odd about these suckers. They occur pretty frequently, and I'm surprised I haven't had to deal with them before this. Such is life though.

Tomorrow though, the entire coop gets cleaned, new bedding laid, and this dust will also be sprinkled throughout the coop too. Just in case, you know.

And finally, I should have photos of my latest acquisition: Another trash-bag-sized produce bag of basil. Deliciousness.