I started a new fall project this week - growing potatoes! The video pretty much shows you the what and how -- but I wanted to share a few other things with you about not just planting potatoes -- but about the potato video!
First, I think I made a few mistakes as I was planting the potatoes, but I only realized this after I re-watched the video at which time it was too late to do anything about it! I'm sure you know that in the videos, I am always myself, speaking extemporaneously without a script, and most of the time without a plan! For example, in the Roger's Gardens video yesterday, I just wandered around and narrated as I went. I didn't plan my route, or plan out what I might say as I toured. That was just me enjoying the nursery in real time with you.
This, however, can sometimes get me into trouble. It's like live TV, crazy things can happen! Here's some of the crazy things that happened in the potato video.
1) I'm expert in a lot of things: teaching, party planning, English literature, raising daughters (they might disagree with this!), cooking without a recipe, writing & editing writing, and Barbra Streisand movies...just to name a few. I am NOT an expert in videography, and boy do my videos bear that out. I can never seem to focus on the proper thing as I am speaking. In this video, I am crazily trying to record the grow bag, but completely miss the boat on properly showing it to the viewer. I also water the potato plants, but record the raised bed behind them. Most of the garden vloggers that I watch seem to have someone recording them. But I'm a one woman show - and so I'm gardening and videoing simultaneously. Hilarity often ensues.
2) Because I don't plan exactly what I am going to say, I often miss a step, or don't say everything that I mean to include. That's why I am glad to have this blog. Here I can correct any errors, and provide any additional information that might be helpful. For example, I don't think that I should have put the red potatoes in the first grow bag without mixing the fertilizer in the potting soil first. Ergh. Second, I wanted to note that my grow bags are small. I probably could have used just one potato plant per bag - but I had more potatoes than bags, so I decided to double up. Some grow bags are really large - it would be good to check the diameter before you purchase so you get what you want.
3) I am not sick. Well, not in the traditional, "I have cold" kind of way. You would never know that from this video, however. I sniff every other minute, like I do have a cold. I am not sure why I do that. My husband watched the video and told me that he thinks I have developed a nervous tick as a videographer. Maybe. When I am not recording, I never sniff -- so that's something to consider. As you may know, I am a hypochondriac, and I wonder if that plays into this problem. I did have a funny experience this morning, though. I have been waiting since quarantine began to visit an orthopedist for my back pain, hoping to get some answers about why I'm hurting, and what I can do about it. I expected the doctor to tell me that I had serious arthritis, and a problem disk, and that I would have to complete a long list of "to dos" in order to get it situated. Instead he (a very young male doctor) told me that he would trade my back for his any day, that it looked very healthy, and blah, blah, blah. We did settle on a diagnosis, but for the pain I'm having it seemed like what I really have is Big Baby-itis. I am not going to sniff any more - you can hold me to that, but I will be going to physical therapy.
Sometimes I think people's foibles make them more interesting. I sure hope you think so, otherwise this blog might be painful. I'm learning as I go - about gardening, about recording on my iphone, about how to use iMovie to share the videos with you, and about what it's like to be 64, retired after having worked as a professional all my life, with three grown daughters, and a new grandbaby. Everyday is a new experience. For all of us.
And I am glad to be sharing my new experiences with you.