counterpoint

if the cucumbers in the community garden and the zucchini out back were quick to germinate the roja narino potatoes ( top photo ) from columbia ( via my potato colleagues at the potato introduction station insturgeons bay wisconsin ) were at pains to point out that gardening is as often as not a waiting game...i planted three of these inn a half barrel at the end of april ( and worried it might be late ) and only one is up more than a month later...and it pick a raw day ( for june ) to make its appearance...then again it is from the andes and perhaps this most resembles the climate at the altitude it evolved...stephen brush ( along with others i am sure ) holds that the numerous micro-climates made possible by the altitude changes in the andes mountains accounts for the startling number of individually distinguished potato landraces...this may just be a niche it's comfortable with...meanwhile the yema de huevos ( which were sprouted and ready to plant when i pulled them out of the box ) have filled their half barrel and continue to produce numerous and colorful blooms...if i can get the bolivian natives to both set tubers and got o seed it will be a major step ( for my backyard anyway ) towards a successful storage project...tubers with seeds for backup would be great...the bottom photo is of some jerusalem artichokes relentlessly filling a bed...they have driven the pesky lemon balm to the margins of the box..i look forward to seeing it expelled to the outside.