Has anyone ever grown potatoes in straw?

Frost has now finally been determined to be next years problem so in go the plants. Set up my self-mulching beds yesterday with some help from two little gardeners. They were very pleased with their efforts, but I may have been because of the reward of pizza at the end. Only a few rows set up so far (2x strawberries, radishes), but more to come.

I harvested 2 lbs 9.6 oz of blackberries this morning, and that wasn't even half of what's out there ready to pick! At the current rate of $0.67/oz for organic blackberries at the store, that makes this a ~ $28 harvest! Woohoo! 🙌 To celebrate, here are some fun facts about growing blackberries. 😊 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹: A pH of 6.0–6.5 is their sweet spot, the same range as blueberries and strawberries. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗻: Less sun = fewer berries. They want at least 6–8 hours a day. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗲: - Floricane varieties produce on second-year canes. So you plant, wait a year, then harvest. - Primocane (everbearing) varieties fruit in their very first season AND again the following year, giving you two crops from one plant. 𝗣𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 = 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: It feels counterintuitive, but pruning canes during the growing season encourages branching, which means more fruiting sites. Don't skip it! 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸: - Wait until there's zero red or pink left on the berry, AND it comes off the cane with almost no effort. If you're tugging, it's not ready. - Bonus tip: ripe blackberries lose their glossy shine and look slightly dull. That matte finish = peak sweetness. Pick those! 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱: A well-maintained planting can produce for 15+ years. Plant them once and enjoy them for a long, long time. ⚠️ 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘆𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺: - Blackberries spread, and they spread fast. New canes will pop up beyond where you planted them, so you want to be able to spot and remove any strays easily. - Keep them away from your main garden beds and annual veggie areas. They will absolutely take over if given the chance. A dedicated spot with clear boundaries is the move! Are you growing blackberries? Thinking about it?

I am new here and am excited to learn from like minded individuals such as yourselves 😎. We just built the garden enclosure (absolutely necessary..DEER👀) and it about killed us ☠️ but now we need to learn about what goes in it lol. We put down sticks and leaves and a friend gave us a truck load of year old horse manure (blessing!), and topped it off with soil and our compost that we have from our kitchen scraps. We have cattle fence panels to arch in between the beds to grow climbers on. I have a trellis (not pictured yet) to grow a grape vine on and a couple raised beds for strawberries. Don’t know what we’re doing yet but looking forward to learning. 👩🏻‍🌾

Winter has decided to actually disappear and the frost risk has gone. My seedings have rapidly grown in just a few days and will be ready to move outside in a week or so. Been very jealous of all of the harvests I have seen, but the season is now officially arrived.