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Old April 1, 2015   #1
Geezer
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Default Good Friday is almost here!

Greetings all!

When I was growing up, my Dad always said that potatoes were ALWAYS to be planted on Good Friday!
Does anyone know where this comes from, or have others heard this?

T Minus 48 hours to planting.........
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Old April 1, 2015   #2
mecktom
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My father always said similar things about planting garden on Good Friday.
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Old April 1, 2015   #3
KarenO
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That saying did not originate in my neck of the woods:no
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Old April 1, 2015   #4
shelleybean
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I have heard peas are planted Easter weekend but I find this very interesting because Easter can fall pretty much any time of March or April, whenever the church calendar says it will be. That's a range of up to 60 days!! The sign I follow is that peas should be planted when the forsythia blooms. I'm sorry to say I don't know about the potatoes. I've only grown regular potatoes twice and they didn't do very well in our heat. Sweet potatoes are a lot easier.
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Old April 1, 2015   #5
shelleybean
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I've looked into this a little further. So it's not the whole month of March. Late March and any part of April is when Easter will fall. The date is chosen according to the moon, right? Does this go along with planting according to the moon, maybe?
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Old April 1, 2015   #6
JohnJones
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Karen,

I've got so much respect for you folks in the Great White North. You really have to work for your bounty! We can be kinda lazy down here.
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Old April 2, 2015   #7
KarenO
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Canada, "the true north strong and free"
True North Tomatoes, that's what I secretly call my crosses... Trying to make the great Canadian tomato up here. It needs to be stubborn like me.
KO
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Old April 2, 2015   #8
Marcus1
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Growing up we planted potatoes on Good Friday when the weather permitted. I still try to plant at least a few. Good Friday is always on the full moon and vegetables that produce under ground, potatoes,carrots, beets, etc. should be planted on a full moon. Vegs that produce above ground, toms,peppers,eggplant,etc. get planted on the new moon. Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. If I remember right it was to help convert the pagans whose lives were centered on lunar cycles.
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Old April 2, 2015   #9
Stvrob
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Always plant potatoes on Good Friday? Regardless of latitude? Hemisphere? Did he tell you why? or how many? Will just planting one or two be satisfactory?
Unfortunately, many things that fathers tell their children turn out to be incorrect. I suspect this is one of them.
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Old April 2, 2015   #10
rxkeith
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we still have snow covered frozen ground here, although the big melt is going on.

i like to go by the when the dandelions start to bloom, its time to plant potatoes saying.



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Old April 3, 2015   #11
spereira
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Default oak trees

I think the saying is "when the oak leaves are as big as a squirrel's ear"
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Old April 3, 2015   #12
Catherine+twin
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All gardening is local.

I grew up hearing that peas and potatoes (and spinach and lettuce and carrot seed) needed to be planted between St Patrick's day and Easter, and the heat-loving plants go out on Memorial Day weekend. Where I live now, the heat-loving stuff doesn't go out until the snow melts off the "chickens," two high mountain valley meadows east of us (they look like folk-art chickens, or a chicken and a rooster) that face northwest and hold the snow until early May, sometimes later. I actually can't see the chickens from my yard (there's a mesa in the way), but I can from my step-dad's house.

Of course, the last couple of winters there hasn't been much snow, so the snow chickens are of less use any more.

Anyway, I have planted two plots of potatoes (blue flesh and yellow flesh/red skin), and still have the sprouted spuds from the pantry to put in. Yes, I do that, but I am the only gardener in the near neighborhood so I'm not threatening anyone else's garden. The only peas that got planted were the seeds that dropped because I didn't clean up last year's pea garden until Thanksgiving. The carrots I grew for seed have seeded, too. But I really bought five more varieties of carrot, and I have radishes and lettuce and such that will go in this weekend.

My cute little tomato seedlings should be big enough to put out in early to mid May, but on the Memorial Day weekend at the latest, just like my mom taught me.

Catherine
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Old April 4, 2015   #13
MrBig46
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My dad told me that Good Friday is the biggest holiday of the Christians, and that in this day does not dig into the ground. He kept it even though he was an atheist.
Vladimír
Merry Easter!
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Old April 5, 2015   #14
ChristinaJo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spereira View Post
I think the saying is "when the oak leaves are as big as a squirrel's ear"
I think that's hen to plant okra! But I'm here in Texas
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Old April 5, 2015   #15
AlittleSalt
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ChristinaJo, this year, I'm starting to believe in a new saying: "I wish I had planted it a few weeks ago." If I can get done what needs to be done tomorrow, I'll be planting some Jing Orange Okra tomorrow. Weeks earlier than I have in years past. Today's 1.5 inches of cold rain dropped the soil temp to 61F. Okra likes 65-70F soil temps to germinate.
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