Growing Potatoes In A Trash Can

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Audrey Kirchner

For the gardener with little space, growing potatoes in containers can be just the ticket to having your potatoes and eating them too so to speak! 

It costs relatively little to grow potatoes and you can grow them several different ways. 

GROWING POTATOES IN CONTAINERS

Besides growing them in a 30+ gallon trash can, you can grow them these other ways:

  • In trash bags or potato bags
  • In any 30 gallon or larger containers such as drums or giant tree containers
  • Barrels or wooden boxes
  • Raised beds (about 3 x 5 will do)
  • Hills
  • Old tires
  • Smaller containers or bins – just add less potatoes

HOW TO GROW POTATOES IN A TRASH BIN

What you need:

  • Package or pound of seed potatoes cured (though some folks use store-bought potatoes).  Curing:  If large potatoes, cut potatoes so that only 2-3 “eyes” remain per piece.  Let sit out for at least 24 hours at room temperature
  • Trash can – metal or plastic will do – with a lid or makeshift cover
  • Shredded paper or crushed/torn newspaper (optional)
  • Good potting soil, preferably for vegetables
  • Time release fertilizer
  • Sterile manure if desired
  • Compost if desired
  • Dolly for bottom of trash can (optional)

Planting potatoes in a trash can:

  1. Drill holes in the bottom of your trash can and around the sides of the can, about 3-6 inches from the bottom every few inches – promotes drainage.
  2. Put a layer of crumpled newspaper or shredded paper in the bottom of the trash can if desired.  This prevents the soil from draining out through the drainage holes.  (Some people plant all their potatoes in straw or shredded paper in the can but I prefer using soil)
  3. In a wheelbarrow, mix up a combination of potting soil, sterile manure and compost (add in 1/4 cup of manure and compost to 1 cup of potting soil).  Add in some time release fertilizer pellets such as Osmocote.  (Or fertilize later as you water the plants)
  4. Keep extra soil mix on hand as you will add to the can as the potatoes sprout up and start to grow. 
  5. Add about 10 inches of the potting soil mix to the bottom of the trashcan atop the shredded paper.
  6. Plant seed potatoes about 5 inches apart and about 4 inches deep.  They need to be underneath the soil to start sending out vines below the surface.  The plants will grow up towards the light while the tubers grow below the soil.
  7. Water slightly but never make the soil soggy throughout your growing season.
  8. Potatoes like the soil to stay “about” 60 degrees though we have had much colder temperatures at night and they seem to survive.  A rolling pad under the trash can makes it easy to bring new plantings inside the garage if cold weather prevails.  If heavy rain, be sure and clamp on the lid to avoid saturating the soil.
  9. Keep the potato soil moist and wait for plant shoots to appear.  Take lid off during sunlight hours and soon the plants will break through the soil.  Potatoes like at least about 6 hours of sunlight per day.  
  10. Once plants break the surface and are about 6-8 inches tall, add another layer of soil mixture.  Mound it around the plants so that leaves are still above the soil. 
  11. Continue this process of adding soil mixture until your potatoes plants are above the trash can, lush and healthy.  You can also add plain compost if desired as you fill the can.  Continue the same watering practices and sunlight requirements.
  12. Should gnats or other insects attack potato leaves, spray with a citrus spray or a natural oily herbicide you can find at any hardware store.  Avoid overspraying or spraying in temperatures above 85 degrees.

HARVESTING YOUR POTATOES

Potatoes will be ready for harvesting in 4-6 weeks depending on the variety and the weather conditions. 

The plants start out as shoots, then progress to lovely green, leafy plants that grow higher and higher as you add more soil.

Towards the end of the growing season, the plants will develop berries and flowers and then the entire plant will wither and die off, turn brown and droopy.  Once the plant growth dies off, it’s harvest time for potatoes!

How to harvest your potatoes?  Simply lay out a tarp and turn out the trash can potatoes onto the tarp.  Brush off potatoes (do not wash until ready to use) and store in a dark, cool place. 

If done correctly, with the above ingredients, you should have a trash can full of potatoes. 

For new potatoes, close to the end of the growing season, reach just below the soil and hand pick out potatoes just beneath the surface.  Leave the others to finish growing.

Plant many varieties such as blue or red potatoes and see which ones give you the best yield or the best flavors.

This is a super easy way to grow potatoes and requires little to no space.

For more on growing potatoes in containers, read this article on Hubpages.com.

To learn more about growing potatoes in a trash bag, see this article on Pubwages.com.

Posted in Gardening and plants | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Kingfisher by Bard of Ely in song contest judged by Bob Geldof

Posted on June 6, 2011 by bardofely

I am delighted to say that I took second place as a winner of Heat 5 in the current YouBloom song contest, so thank you to all that commented, liked and voted for my song Mañana. I now have another track entitled Kingfisher entered in the next heat.

The YouBloom song contest offers some wonderful prizes to the winner of the finals and has an impressive team of judges headed by Bob Geldof. “Sir Bob”, as he is often called, is of course famous for his past role as singer for the Boomtown Rats and for the charity single by Band Aid with the title Do They Know It’s Christmas? Conor McNicholas, who was editor of the NME between 2002 and 2009, is also part of the panel of judges for the contest.

My winning song Mañana is being entered in the Quarter Finals with voting starting on 29 June but before that I have also got my song Kingfisher amongst the entries for the current heat.

Kingfisher started life as an acoustic blues song that I backed with guitar and included a solo using a kazoo. This fitted with the quirkiness of the song. Although it uses a bluesy basis in its structure it is very much a fun song!

The song has always been one of my most popular numbers and has been covered by my singer-songwriter and busker friend Pixie Morgan. I remember hearing him belting out the words to shoppers in Cardiff centre many years back. On another occasion I heard Kingfisher blaring out of a chip shop in the same city. It was being played on Steve Johnson’s show on Red Dragon FM radio.

The new version of Kingfisher was recorded and produced on Tenerife and features my friend Alan the Harp on harmonica and production by Tony “JazzRoc” Duncan, who created the backing track. At the time we were calling ourselves Totem 3 because we used to meet at a restaurant with that name and which had actual totem figures outside it.

Like Mañana, Kingfisher needs your votes to win and I am hoping for a second run of success at YouBloom. Please listen to my song and vote for it here: http://www.youbloom.com/ybsc/entry/2367/

 

Posted in Composers, Lyricists, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where the Personal and the Public Intersect: Memorial Day Musings

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Aya Katz

A picture from the Negev (from the Wikipedia)

This Memorial Day I didn’t go anywhere or do anything special. I asked a family member from Israel what she did, and she said that she stayed home, too. “A lot of people go out and celebrate around here,” I said. And she replied that it was strange that Americans celebrate the fact that other people died for them. “Isn’t there a memorial day in Israel?” I asked. “Yes, but people don’t celebrate it by having a picnic. They don’t celebrate it at all.” “What do they do?” “They stay home and think about the people who sacrificed their lives for them.”

I wonder if that’s really true. Or is it only true about people who have had a family member who has died in battle? I know for a fact that there are bitter conflicts between people who have lost someone and those who haven’t. They say that until you have lost a family member in a war, you really can’t know how that feels, and you have no right to talk about it or to speculate.

Be that as it may, I do think that there is a difference in attitude toward patriotism and how we honor the fallen between the U.S. I know and the Israel I used to know. For instance, American patriotic songs are seldom about people who die in battle. They are about love of country, but not about getting killed. At least, I can’t remember any American popular song about that subject. But there are many, many Israeli songs about that. Take for instance, the song  בערבות הנגב

What is this song about? It is about a young soldier who has just been killed in the Negev and how his mother feels about it, and about how another young man offers to take the fallen son’s place. It used to be a very popular song, and people sang all the verses. But with time, newer recordings only carry a fraction of the old verses, and people seem to enjoy it more for the melody than the words. They value the feelings it evokes, but they feel a little uncomfortable about the thoughts that go with those feelings.

Because it’s so hard to find a recording with all the words these days, older people who like the words resort to playing records on a record player and then making a video of the phonograph playing, as the gentleman in this video did.

If you would like to see all the words in Hebrew, you can read them here. If on the other hand you would like to read my English translation, you can find it on the Inverted-A Press site. My translation is not word for word. Instead it is equimetrical, so you can sing it. Also, some words are hard to translate. Maybe literally the title should have been “The Steppes of the Negev”, but steppes isn’t in my active vocabulary, and adding the definite article would have ruined the meter. For purposes of this discussion, however, the verses in English will do.

When a mother mourns her fallen son, is this a personal grief, the same kind of grief she would have experienced if he’d died in a natural disaster or of a disease? Or is it a public grief, because he was serving his country?

Consider what she says:

“My eldest child I buried in the deep blue sea

“And then I raised you up, son, to keep our people free.

“They will never break us, in agony and thrall,

“They won’t uproot and take us, son, despite it all.”

The mothers who have lost their sons in battle that I know don’t say such public minded things. They say instead: “Why my son? Why not some other woman’s son? It’s not fair!”

This is the place where patriotism tends to break down, and these are the verses that people no longer sing. And here is where it gets even weirder: another soldier tries to comfort her and to take her son’s place.

Then a tall youth forward marched and made reply:

“Mother,” said he, “Please don’t… There’s no need to cry.

“Our boys are at your service, obeying your appeal.

“Against all those who hate us, we’re a wall of steel.

“Against bloodthirsty robbers and kings with hostile guns,

“Let me serve you, mother, let me be your son.”

In the plains of Negev, he went and shook her hand,

No, it’s not a legend, if you want, my friends.

Do you think it would be very comforting to be offered this kind of consolation for the loss of a son? Did she miss her son because he was her only defense against the enemy? Or did she miss him because she loved the person that he was?

Please understand: I love this song. So do a lot of other people. But because we are confused about the content of the words, we all tend to hum the melody, but leave out most of the verses. Were there ever such patriotic mothers as depicted in this song? Maybe in Rome or in Sparta. Do women today bring up sons to protect the motherland? Do they think: oh, good, a baby boy! He will be a mighty warrior some day!

In this day and age, people are embarrassed by the emotions that this poem conveys. They don’t mind at all singing about romantic love, but they feel that patriotism is too cloying. So I’ve heard a lot of new songs about people who are dating other people, but none about mothers who are raising their children to protect the freedom of their nation.

One of the most poignant parts of the poem is in the next to the last line, where the other youth steps forward to actually touch the mother. He has promised to protect her and to be another son to her. But does he hug her? No, because that would be too personal. So he just shakes her hand!

Songs that are this emotional and at the same time this impersonal are hard to find today. In Israel people still remember those thoughts and those feelings, even though they may no longer identify. But in the United States, I don’t think this kind of thinking was ever part of the culture. Which is why Memorial Day is celebrated, rather than being merely endured.

© 2011 Aya Katz

Posted in Music, Musical Styles, Opinion Pieces and Editorials | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sweet Potato Recipes

Posted on June 3, 2011 by habee

Sweet potato recipes. Photo by bengarland.

You probably already know that the sweet potato is a classic southern food. You can find all sorts of southern food sweet potato recipes. Sweet potatoes are healthy, delicious, and versatile, so they can be used in many different sweet potato recipes and utilized in lots of ways.

One of the best ways to enjoy sweet potatoes is by simply baking them whole, in the skin. This can be done in the oven or in the microwave. To cook the tubers in the oven, place them on a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan and bake at 400 until the sweet potatoes are soft. Depending on the size of the sweet potatoes you’re cooking, this will take from 45 minutes to an hour. In the microwave, cook sweet potatoes just as you would white potatoes. When the potatoes are done, serve with melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

Candied sweet potato recipes are very popular, too, especially at Christmas and Thanksgiving. These are often referred to as “candied yams.”

Most people also enjoy sweet potato soufflé, sweet potato casserole, and sweet potato pudding. These are similar dishes that contain mashed sweet potatoes, butter, eggs, cream, and/or spices. Some people add raisins, nuts, and/or pineapple. These concoctions are often topped with a crunchy nut coating or toasted marshmallows.

For a real treat and a healthier alternative to French fries and potato chips, try some fried sweet potatoes. To make crispy fried sweet potatoes, the tubers need to be sliced very thin. Fry just as you would French fries, home fries, or homemade potato chips. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with your favorite spices, brown sugar, and/or salt.

In the South, one of our favorite ways to eat sweet potatoes is in sweet potato pies. A sweet potato pie is made much the same as a pumpkin pie, and they have a similar taste and texture. Sweet potato pies, however, are usually just a little sweeter than traditional pumpkin pie.

 Wait…we’re not quite done yet! Sweet potatoes can also be cooked on a grill. They first need to be peeled, then they can be sliced into planks, wedges, or circles. Brush the peeled, sliced tubers with olive oil before grilling, and make sure your grate is cleaned and oiled.

Posted in Food, Eating and Cooking | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

My song Mañana in song competition with Bob Geldof as a judge

Posted on June 3, 2011 by bardofely

My song Mañana has been entered in the current heat of a song contest organised by the YouBloom website and is currently in second place. Bob Geldof, of Boomtown Rats and the Band Aid charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? fame, is leading the celebrity panel of judges and there is a big cash prize for the winner of the finals.
My song Harvest Home was in an earlier heat but despite a lot of people ‘Liking’ it it didn’t get enough votes to be in the top three which are classed as winners of a heat. This time I have done a lot better but whether I will be able to hold my position or better still make it to first place lies with the number of votes my song gets before the voting ends.
Mañana represents a new style of song for me and I am very optimistic about it doing well outside the YouBloom contest too. It is already confirmed to be released fronting an EP on DMMG Records in the near future, so its current success is great publicity for the actual release.
Voting ends on the night of 5 June at 23:59 GMT so only a couple of days left.
Please join YouBloom, log in and vote for my song: http://www.youbloom.com/ybsc/entry/2351/

Posted in Lyricists, Music, Musical Styles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Eggplant and Tomato Casserole

Posted on May 30, 2011 by habee

southern food - eggplant recipes

Eggplant and tomatoes are both common in the South, so you’ll see them in many southern food recipes. Some people cook their eggplant with the peel on, but I always remove the peel before cooking. Also, eggplant can be bitter sometimes. To avoid this, I sprinkle the eggplant slices with a little salt and let them rest for a few minutes before cooking.

Eggplant and Tomato Casserole recipe

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 2 eggplants, medium sized
  • Salt
  • Olive oil
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Grated mozzarella cheese
  • Italian bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions: Peel eggplant and slice ¼-inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and let rest for five minutes. Rinse off salt and pat dry.

Drizzle skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add eggplant slices and cook for one minute. Flip and cook other side for one minute. Remove from pan.

To the same skillet or pan, add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, garlic, sugar, and salt. Bring to a full boil and immediately reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for five minutes.

Place half the cooked tomatoes in a buttered baking dish. Top with half the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Add remaining tomatoes and remaining eggplant slices. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs, then with parmesan cheese. Drizzle with melted butter.

Bake casserole for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until firm. Let stand for at least five minutes before serving.

Posted in Food, Eating and Cooking | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Growing Potatoes In A Trash Bag

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Audrey Kirchner

This gallery contains 2 photos.

GROWING POTATOES IN CONTAINERS If you have limited space and still want to grow potatoes, there are several ways that you can accomplish this.  By far the easiest way, requiring the least amount of materials is to grow potatoes in … Continue reading →

More Galleries | 4 Comments

PubWages Review

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Peppergum01

Pubwages is an amazing site similiar to hubpages where you can post pubs, check other comments, and look at reviews. If you liked hubpages then you’ll LOVE pubwages. Check pubwages everyday and get many views and comments. New things will be added to pubwages later on.

If you also want to sell things on pubwages in your reviews and pubs you can. Hubpages has been losing many people ever since the bugs they got. Hopefully pubwages will be a fresh new and better start for the ones who don’t go on hubpages anymore. Don’t forget to check out new updates.

If you run out of ideas for pubs on pubwages then a good idea is to read a book, go outside, or exercise. This small review of pubwages will hopefully help you realize that you can do a lot with just one pub!

Posted in Language | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Spicy Homemade Hamburgers

Posted on May 27, 2011 by habee

Homemade hamburgers...yum!

Who doesn’t enjoy sinking their teeth into juicy homemade hamburgers? With burgers you cook at home, the sky’s the limit when it comes to seasonings. We like all kinds of hamburgers, ranging from plain burgers with just salt and pepper, to more complicated hamburgers with layers of different flavors. This homemade hamburger recipe makes a hot, spicy burger, but the heat is cooled down by the cool dressing. For the jalapeno peppers, you can use fresh peppers or pickled jalapeno rings. I actually prefer the pickled jalapenos, but use whichever you like best or have on hand. Give it a try next time you fire up the grill!

Spicy Homemade Hamburgers recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • ½ pound hot ground sausage
  • 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers
  • 2 tablespoons minced onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • Hot sauce, to taste

Directions: Combine all ingredients and shape into six burger patties. Refrigerate hamburger patties for thirty minutes to an hour. Cook over medium coals until one side is brown. Flip burgers and grill other side until burgers are cooked completely.

Since you’re making six hamburgers, you’ll need six buns. You can use traditional burger buns, but I like to use toasted onion rolls. I split the onion rolls, spread both halves with mayonnaise, and broil until lightly toasted.

Now you need to make the sauce!

Cool Ranch Sauce recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup bottled ranch dressing
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions: Combine ingredients, making sure sugar has dissolved. Chill in the refrigerator until very cold. Sometimes I actually leave my sauce in the freezer for a few minutes. I love the contrast between the hot, spicy burger and the cold, creamy sauce.

Assemble your burger. Place a patty on each bun. Top burger with thinly sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and ranch sauce.

Posted in Food, Eating and Cooking | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

American Recipes – Southern Fried Food

Posted on May 27, 2011 by habee

Southern food - fried squash

When Americans refer to southern food, they mean dishes and recipes traditional in the southern states of the U.S. In my opinion, these are among the very best American recipes. Why do I think this? Okay, I’ll admit I don’t look at southern food with an objective eye. I’m a southerner, from an old southern family. We have a strong heritage that’s rich in traditions and customs, like most southern families. We’re proud of our history and of our food, and we enjoy introducing others to these delicacies and sharing our bounty.

Some of the most popular southern foods are fried foods. We’ll fry almost anything. At the top of the list for favorites would have to be fried chicken. Not far behind fried chicken are other fried meats, including pork chops and beef cubed steak, also called “country fried steak.” How do southerners fry these meats? The meats are dredged in seasoned flour before frying. They might or might not be dipped in buttermilk, eggs, or whole milk first. The floured portions of poultry or meat can be fried in a skillet in a relatively small amount of oil, or they might be fried in deep oil. Southerners used to use lard for frying, but now many southern cooks are using peanut oil, corn oil, or canola oil, instead.

Another popular fried item in the South is fried vegetables. We commonly fry okra, green tomatoes, squash, eggplant, and zucchini. The vegetables are first washed and sliced, and sometimes they go through an egg wash before being rolled or shaken in a coating. The wash helps the coating stick better. The coating might be flour, cornmeal, cracker crumbs, or seasoned bread crumbs. sometimes grated parmesan cheese is added to the breading for extra flavor.

Fritters are another southern fried food favorite. A fritter is made by combining flour and/or cornmeal, eggs, milk or buttermilk, seasonings, and chopped or diced vegetables, corn, or fruit. The wet mixture is dropped by spoonfuls into hot oil or formed into “pancakes” and fried in a skillet. Some popular fritters include okra fritters, squash fritters, zucchini fritters, and apple fritters.

Posted in Food, Eating and Cooking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment