mulch patatoes bed

[brownmule]

Im always trying somthing new , last summer i grew patatoes in much hay i had left over from winter that had gotten damp. i put a about a ft thick layer on the ground,put the patatoes in{ i planted them heavy} then coverd it with a layer of mulch hay about 1/2 ft just enough to make a good covering.. it worked great! now weeds no hilling, i didnt have to water them, they produced pretty good for planting them late. gathering them was a brezze.{ we have clay dirt here and digging is a pain in the butt.. no digging!!!!!we just pulled up the old plants and picked patatoes. and they were clean....extra bouns.. gonna plant a large patch this year like that,, Rose

[Pat]

Rose, Did you know that you can graft tomato tops onto potato bottoms and get tomatos and potatos from the same plant? Since you were into saving effort, I thought you might be interested.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

That one is interesting. Good for small gardens.

Is the grafting possible as both plants are nightshades?

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[brownmule]

no i didnt know you could graft tomatoes like that. Thanks, thats my "new project" for this summer souds like a great 4 h project for the kids... very intresting.... Rose [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[roho627]

Gosh, I hate to say this among all the GREEN thumbs but!!!!! Where can U buy them already growing!!!

[Pat]

Egon, I originally got the idea out of a biology text book that was printed in the 50's. It is more of a demonstration than a compact farming idea. The tomato plant's leaves can only perform so much photosynthesis to support the generation of only so much biomass. What that means is that the maximum total of potatoes and tomatoes is on the order of what you'd get from a single species, i.e. not a full production of both.

Still, the average gardener overplants tomatos and can't use all the fruit produced. This would cut back on your production AND give you potatos later.

If anyone wants to try as a curiosity, just take some small, 6-12 inch high, tomato and potato plants and cut them in two at something like a 15-20 degree angle and join the tomato top to the potato bottom, carefully wrapping the graft area and supporting the top witha stake. Don't expect every graft to "take" and every plant to survive unless you are a better or luckier gardener than most. "V" notches can be used as well. Cut the "V" in the potato trunk and point the tomato to fit it. Similarly bind together and support the top.

You can also graft the tomato bottom to the potato top if you like to play with grafting but don't like to eat fresh produce.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Rose, It should make a swell 4H project. Apples are frequently grafted such that you might get 5-10 different kinds of apples from the same tree. Similarly some of the nut trees are closely related and graft well giving you a viariety of nuts from a single tree. Hickory, wallnut, and pecan are three that are closely related. The leaves are very close in looks. I know folks who ID the tree by the nuts on the ground under it.

Citrus can be grafted to produce quite a variety from a single tree.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Next question - determinate or indeterminate tomatoes?

In our climate there is no such thing as too many tomatoes.

Egon

[brownmule]

Thanks pat for the directions ... we'll give it a try i planted peanuts one time, didnt know what they looked like when they first came up, i pulled up 1/2 them thinking it was clover LOL. the girls enjoyed watching them grow them putting down shoots in the ground, and producing peanuts. once we figured why that clover was growing in the row LOL Rose [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Egon, I'm sorry... unless otherwise indicated my general remarks are directed to those living in or within a few hundred miles of civilization.

Just plant a lot more grafted plants to get the result you seek.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]