Now 21 days later it looks like this.....
In front of the rock wall I planted taro roots, actually to tops of the corms. When I planted them they had no leaves. But in three weeks they have developed nicely. This variety is very unusual in that it is variegated with dark splashes rather than white ones. Quite ornamental. I have no idea what it's name is or if it will turn out to be suitable for eating. All taro is edible if cooked long enough, though some need a long, long cooking time. Some don't taste very good either and fall into the category of "famine food". I plan to try this one when it is mature, most likely in a year from now, give or take a couple of months.
Radishes are such good markers for other seeded plants, with slow-pokes like carrots poking their first leaves out just as the rad's are getting snack-size. Pulling the radish leaves a miniature water-well that fills in but also giving some root-space for the other seeds' roots to expand. Re-seeding along really pokey growers also works like a natural 3-week timer, so that a failed-to-germinate crop might be overseeded if the first seeds were all duds. And, I like to poke in some random radish seeds just to give them an "inter-cropping" effect to taller and maturing plants like tomatoes, beans, and peppers. (Right now, we are heading smack into snow and cold time, so the radish games will wait for springtime). You get some use of the remaining lawn, as a cushion when you are getting a nose to the rose moment with the plants, yeah?
ReplyDeleteBarry, you've got some real super ideas for using radishes. Interplanting them with slower crops is something I now plan to do. I've always planted radishes in their own bed by themselves, but why? I could use them to mark rows that I've seeded, and like you said, harvest them in 3-4 weeks way before the companion crop gets big. Or tuck a few seeds around the base of tomatoes and other taller crops. Thanks for the ideas!
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