it's december so it must be time to fire up the grow lights

lavender is a traditional andean method of deterring spuds from sprouting in storage...i introduced it into the paper bags i am storing my seed potatoes from last season's harvest in...they came in from july through october so some have been in storage for around five months and it is beginning to show...the system has worked reasonably well with most of the varieties ( morene, michigan purple, elmer's blue, german butterball )...

these basadre are not buying it however...admittedly they are among the first to have come in and lavender inhibits sprouting, it does not prevent it...so they are chitting merrily away and the time has come to act...

past experience helped me intuit this might happen so i spent part of yesterday cleaning up the plant room in anticipation...

i set them in peat pots on top of a shallow layer of potting soil...

covered them with soil pretty much up to the end of the chits...added water...

and brought the grow light down as close as possible...i am not sanguine about indoor seasons...the past plants have produced tubers...but nothing spectacular...some drops for spring planting has been about the extent of it...which, in itself, is not a bad result...the next year's outdoor spuds did perform and produce...even to the point of bearing fruits...still it is a lot of time and attention for a number of months...if i do the same things this year i surmise i will reap the same results...so, like anyone trying to change habitual behavior, i will be mixing things up a bit...there will be more dark time and less grow light to begin with...watering in abasement is always tricky...a balance is not simple to come by...so i will be withholding water until i see clear evidence of need...which may take some disciple...and there will be ample ventilation...a small fan to move air because i am leery of mold every time i do this...and we will see what comes of it...one hopes for drops at least...there may be more varieties added as the winter progresses...the lavender will not hold off the chits indefinitely.