tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post7449822334713705917..comments2023-11-24T12:31:19.294-07:00Comments on Microcosm: Hope Springs EternalStacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297253093260251145noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-78871113458569625622011-12-04T23:22:12.998-07:002011-12-04T23:22:12.998-07:00Oh, Donna, that one hurt. Why I didn't see th...Oh, Donna, that one hurt. Why I didn't see that pun coming I don't know...<br /><br />Dave, I didn't realize potatoes could overwinter like that--they didn't in Vermont, but winters there were a whole different ballgame. If only I'd had the sense to plant them in a vegetable bed, like you seem to have done... Must make crop rotation tricky; on the other hand, you have everything you need for leek and potato soup all in one convenient place!Stacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08297253093260251145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-34022543585720900902011-12-04T03:49:40.563-07:002011-12-04T03:49:40.563-07:00However careful I am, however much time I spend se...However careful I am, however much time I spend searching for tiny little tubers, I always leave some little spuds behind when harvesting. The following year I have a potato plant or two sidling up against a leek, a courgette or a sweet corn plant. Leave one or two behind and they won't be denied their moment in the sun (or frost).David Marsdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10194429506546837258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-13739463038074528212011-12-03T18:56:48.392-07:002011-12-03T18:56:48.392-07:00I guess we shout root it on, poor little guy. Funn...I guess we shout root it on, poor little guy. Funny story though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-70937931751952363242011-12-02T22:40:07.128-07:002011-12-02T22:40:07.128-07:00b-a-g, I haven't checked in the last three yea...b-a-g, I haven't checked in the last three years or so—by now other plants' roots have spread into the potato patch and I'm just concerned that they'll get damaged. There might well be a whole colony of potatoes setting up shop...<br /><br />With your frost-free winters, Diana, you really <i>might</i> end up with a colony of potatoes! (I don't actually have any idea whether that matters in the long run to potatoes or not.) On behalf of the embattled potato, I thank you kindly for your sympathy.<br /><br />Holley, when something (that isn't a weed) struggles as hard against the odds as your mandevilla must have, it has earned the right to live! It's hard not to love an underdog that triumphs (no matter how inconveniently...).<br /><br />Donna, it hadn't the last time I checked, but that's been several years ago. The next time the yarrow growing next to it needs divided and I'm digging around anyway, I'll see what all it's accomplished.<br /><br />Mark, the description might be a <i>little</i> over the top for potato leafhoppers...Stacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08297253093260251145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-83219087349760866182011-12-02T22:38:43.703-07:002011-12-02T22:38:43.703-07:00It's sad, Kathy, the way potatoes' hopes a...It's sad, Kathy, the way potatoes' hopes and dreams get crushed. You almost don't want to bring young potatoes into the world at all. ::sniff::<br /><br />Baffled, this potato has had more than its share of hard knocks. Maybe they're building its character.<br /><br />Karen, it is <i>just</i> like us—the little part that is sure that this time will be the exception. Of course, if you plant <i>enough</i> of the ninebarks, maybe the deer will just lose track of which ones they have or haven't bothered... My own favorite way to tempt fate is to plant things too close together—surely 12” is close enough to being 18?<br /><br />I will put a little sign out for it, Janet, with a big “A” to encourage it to even greater efforts next year. It's hard to believe that a plant can change its whole growing cycle to respond to different conditions.<br /><br />Sheila, just that plants come up with new “strategies” when the first one didn't work is astonishing—it's the kind of thing you expect in an animal, but not so much in a spud.Stacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08297253093260251145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-65667477183206832462011-12-02T17:01:34.090-07:002011-12-02T17:01:34.090-07:00"freshly sharpened tungsten carbide circular ..."freshly sharpened tungsten carbide circular sawblade of reality"<br /><br />Wow!!!<br /><br />Enough said...<br /><br />MarkNDenverMarkNDenvernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-2795833043355953182011-12-02T13:08:50.114-07:002011-12-02T13:08:50.114-07:00Hope does spring eternal...a lesson in tenacity......Hope does spring eternal...a lesson in tenacity...did it ever have potatoes?Donna@Gardens Eye Viewhttp://gardenseyeview.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-34864215643907831612011-12-02T12:16:57.264-07:002011-12-02T12:16:57.264-07:00Plants are much like people - they fight death, an...Plants are much like people - they fight death, and want to live. I have a mandevilla that I dug out several years ago (besides, it shouldn't be winter hardy here), and I noticed this week that it has sent up a shoot and is blooming! I haven't the heart to kill it again!HolleyGardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14892421871044249940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-45525771205647773082011-12-02T11:23:34.648-07:002011-12-02T11:23:34.648-07:00We had a volunteer potato. I saw the leaves. But n...We had a volunteer potato. I saw the leaves. But never did look to see what lurks beneath ... Your poor little embattled potato, sob.Diana Studerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12286066768376135880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-31927933644446122392011-12-02T09:25:11.411-07:002011-12-02T09:25:11.411-07:00Stacy - I assume that you checked for potatoes ben...Stacy - I assume that you checked for potatoes beneath ? Could it be possible that it saved its energy to produce potatoes instead of leaves ?b-a-ghttp://experiments-with-plants.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-28862228655984853952011-12-02T07:40:39.463-07:002011-12-02T07:40:39.463-07:00These kind of stories are my favorite thing about ...These kind of stories are my favorite thing about gardening. The hope and creativity and tenacity of plants!Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16932826147522119761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-77567377740863019122011-12-01T21:31:27.700-07:002011-12-01T21:31:27.700-07:00I think your tattle plant gets an "A" fo...I think your tattle plant gets an "A" for effort. Isn't nature amazing in the way it grasps every opportunity just in case this is the time and the place?Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999513105724635810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-28975655842125284832011-12-01T20:10:54.834-07:002011-12-01T20:10:54.834-07:00SO funny! Love the tenacity. Isn't that potato...SO funny! Love the tenacity. Isn't that potato just like us die hard gardeners though? We KNOW that the deer love the ninebarks (Physocarpus), yet we still grow them in deer-happy country assuming that perhaps they won't notice this one.Karen Chapmanhttp://www.karensgardenadventures.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-69509557890280815632011-12-01T19:19:14.464-07:002011-12-01T19:19:14.464-07:00Oh the poor thing.Oh the poor thing.Baffledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16763003920036754454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534450478022541384.post-10858769362115305462011-12-01T19:10:09.116-07:002011-12-01T19:10:09.116-07:00I wiped away a tear at the cruelty of a world that...I wiped away a tear at the cruelty of a world that does not allow for the survival of a lone tenacious tuber. (It was better than Cats.)Kathy R.noreply@blogger.com