Ask Jo Kids Edition: Questions Answered by My Kids

Every so often readers ask question and I think others of you might want to hear the answers as well.  Today I am featuring questions that readers asked me but my kids are answering as they are the experts.

After reading this post about Kayla’s potato adventure Mary writes:

Jo, just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog. I feel as though we are kindred spirits:)
I love reading about your adventures with your new home, and all the hows and whys. Of course your quilting and designing is always exciting! Sorry to leave this on your post about cross stitching, but —– I’m really interested in your method of growing potatoes that you posted a few days back. Could you elaborate? Size of pipe? How deep? Is it buried in the ground?
From one farm girl to another, Mary

(Kayla answering) Hi Mary! Mom asked me to answer your potato question. My method of growing potatoes was really a spontaneous, haphazard one. The pipe I used was about 10 inches wide, 20 inches deep, and was not buried. But, from this experience, I learned a lot! I’m having success on a much larger scale with potatoes grown in a bin.

My husband brought home a 55 gallon barrel from a car wash. We cut off the lid and drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. We put in about 6 inches of leaves and compost, dropped in our potato cuttings, and covered with about 6 inches of dirt. As the leaves have been poking through, when they are about 6 inches tall, we cover them with dirt again. The potatoes are almost growing out of their barrel! This method can be done with old tires. Plant the potatoes in a tire on the ground. As the leaves grow above the tire, stack a new tire on top and fill it with dirt. Continue until the tires are as tall as you!

I really like this method, especially with small-space gardening. I will keep you posted and do a guest post at harvest time.

After reading about our adventures with my nieces and nephews Ruth writes:
I would really like to know how to play Ghosts in the Graveyard! I’m up for any game that has flashlights and giggling and running in the dark – I can tell my grand kids how to play and then watch them!

(Karl answering)

1. First step, wait until it’s dark out.

2. Then, all participating members must run from wherever you currently are/were to your agreed upon base. The last person there is ‘it’.

3. The person who is ‘it’ gets the flashlight and counts to as high as the youngest member can count, usually thirty.

5. The person closes their eyes and then counts to 30 -during that counting the others go hide where in back of and around the house- once they reach 30 the person who is ‘it’ then goes to find people.

6. As soon as the ‘it’ person finds someone with the flashlight, they yell, “GHOOOOOOOOOOOOSTS IN THE GRAAAAAAAAAVEYAAAAAAAAARD!!!”

7. Then everyone runs to the base. Everyone, no matter how well they are hid, must run to home base, hoping not to get tagged. It’s like a wild goose chase tied in with a greased hog chasing competition, I mean, it gets FIERCE.

8. Whoever gets tagged is now ‘it’.

9. Repeat steps four through nine for about two rounds or until physically/mentally exhausted, whichever comes first. Then keep playing it because you need the exercise and maybe today’s the day you decide to start exercising and then you’re all like, “Pssh, who exercises?” and you decide to keep doing it because you’re closer to thirty than forty and hey, it isn’t every day where you can play Ghosts in the Graveyard.

That’s it for today’s Ask Jo…