Growing Tators In Buckets

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     You know that amazingly awesome neighbor I have? Well, last summer, we helped her pull up her red potatoes and harvest them. When we were finished, she sent us home with a big box of home-grown red potatoes. We ate most of them but there were a few little ones that I stored under the cabinet in the kitchen. As you can see by the photo, they are crazy covered in eyes! So we thought, why wait for spring? Why not try planting them in a 5 gallon bucket now? 
     Zoey got on the computer and googled 'How to grow potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket.' She found an awesome site called Five Gallon Ideas.com. There was a lot of great information on this site. We made notes in her Scientific Discoveries Notebook as we read and watched the videos. We are going to do more research later on and add that to her notebook as well. The hubby brought us in a bucket from the shed and I drilled holes in it while Zoey looked at me terrified. No, I am not as quick and efficient as Daddy, but I got it done by myself by golly! She insists Daddy needs to help next time. I told her we didn't need a man for anything. She just shook her head and laughed at me. 

    Above,  you can see her Scientific Discoveries Notebook and our computer. Also in the background is the radish we picked from the garden today. We washed it up and added it to our dinner salad. We even added the stems and leaves. Did you know radishes leaves are more nutritious than the radish it's self? They have a little kick to them, and need to be ate a little younger than what we picked it at. Some of the leaves were a bit of a tougher texture than we like in our salad. We like the flavor though and radishes are super easy to grow. 

     
    Finally, we went outside. There is a spot in our front yard where we put fresh tree mulch, many many years ago. It has broke down into a very good growing medium. Zoey put the composted mulch into the bucket about 3 inches deep. Then she placed 4 of the potatoes she chose into the bucket and just barely covered the pototoes with more soil. 

     When tops start to form and peek out, we will cover them up with a little more soil, repeating until the bucket is full. We talked about the 5 elements that plants need and decided with this project the sun would not be needed since we will be covering the tops as it grows. We did place the bucket closer to the stove than the window in our garage. We think the warmth of the fire will help it to grow. We will make sure it does not get too hot though. 

      We found our 5 gallon bucket on the side of the road. It was food grade so we decided it would be a good bucket to grow in. How can you tell if your bucket is food grade? Wiki How says to check the number within the arrows on the bottom of your bucket. #s 1,2,4, and 5 are all safe for food, with the best being #2 for food grade. Check out that link. Lots of good info there! You can buy food grade buckets online HERE or check out your local bakery. A lot of times they will give you their buckets for free or sell them to you for a low cost. 

Well, wish us luck! :D

We will update you soon! 

Have you ever grown potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket? How did it do? We LOVE your comments!  

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Very Proud Mommy Moment

     Very proud mommy moment. For months my daughter has spent time making a Barbie Doll House Diorama made from mostly recycled materials. She gets a lot of her inspiration from My Froggy Stuff. It is a mom and daughter duo that has the slogan "Happy Crafting!" If you would like to get your child's imagination juices flowing, I would definitely check out their blog and YouTube videos!
     Not all of her inspiration comes from what she has seen, however. My child has always had an amazing artistic ability, even back in toddler days. So while most of my friends and family were hiding the markers and scissors, I was buying her paints, drawing kits, glue and craft items. The ONLY time we have ever had a problem with her using any of her supplies, was when she was 3. I told her she could decorate her room with all of her artwork and gave her a bunch of push pins to hang her masterpieces on her walls. Unfortunately, I did not give her enough. When I went in to see her finished room, I noticed several of the pictures did not have push pins holding them up. "Don't worry mommy, I used clear glue. You wont even see it when I take them down!" Uhhh.... Okay... valid reasoning, but NO!
     Every time she was tested in public school, her artistic/spacial reasoning was off of the charts. Teachers and parents have brought me her art work and said how amazing it is. When we are at my job during the day and they are doing a fun craft project, her eyes grow big and her fingers twitch like Dennis the Menace until she is allowed to do it too. This child is an artistic, crafting fanatic! The more I step back and let her do on her own, the better the outcome! Even when she does cookie cutter projects (everyone cuts out the same shapes, glues in the places, and everyone's project comes out the same,) there is always something... special and different about hers.
     She designs her own line of clothing she will one day grow up to make. I have seen her turn water bottle caps inside out with her teeth to create the cutest little bowls for her dolls. She created her own line of doll bedding I sell in my Etsy shop. My daughter has her own sewing machine. Countless times I have found her on her bed pausing her t.v. so she can draw what is on the screen frame by frame. She is amazing.
     Today, she entered her doll house diorama in the Creative Arts Competition at our local county fall festival. I have never seen her so nervous! They closed the exhibit from 10-1 for judging. Every 10 minutes I heard, "Is it 1 yet?" We were going nuts waiting to see if she won a ribbon! I even had my sons friend watch our booth for us so I could go with her. When we got to the conference hall where the competition was being held, the doors were still closed. We waited out side in the hall, our stomachs flip flopping in excitement! Through the tiny windows on the conference room door, we could see her project sitting on one of the display tables. Suddenly, my daughter grabbed my arm tight. "Mommy, look! There is a big purple ribbon in front of my doll house!" She quietly squealed as they opened the doors. BEST IN SHOW for her division! That's MY baby girl! Proud Momma right here! :)

Jar of carrots she made out of a used water bottle and some craft foam.