First find a suitable container. In this case I'll use a 55 gallon drum that I'm replacing as a rain barrel. Its the wrong color that lets to much light thru so algae grows in it.
This one also has molded ribs that will allow stacking after cutting. That way as you add dirt they will stay together better.
Drainage is important so drill a few holes in the bottom.
Now cover the holes with 1/4 hardware cloth to hold in the dirt.
Add dirt and ready to plant.
One has red pontiac and one has kennebec's. As the potato's grow I'll add the other rings, more dirt until its all full. Once the vines die off I can harvest a ring at a time, keeping the rest in the ground until needed.
Peace, Ken
I have tried almost every way listed on the internet to grow potatoes, tires, bags, boxes - but I have never seen this.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a wonderful idea, and next year I am going to try it out for myself. Thanks for posting such a cool new idea.
I tried this with a box set-up--no luck--I had less than an ice-cream pail (5 qt) of potatoes out of the entire thing. If you're going to do this, use potting soil, not top-soil. The top-soil is too heavy and dense, not allowing the potatoes to grow well. Also, hill (add dirt) to them often, covering them up to the very tip of the newest leaves.
ReplyDeleteHowdy, I'm using garden soil for my base. It's sandy with organic material in it. I also add quail poop from my coops as fertilizer. As the potato's grow I add another ring and more soil until all three rings are full. This will give me a three foot tall 'hill' of potatoes.
DeleteMy wife and I did this with ice cream pails last year. Won't bother again, the potatoes were few and tiny relative to the ones planted in the dirt.
ReplyDeleteThis is much bigger and taller as I add more rings and soil as the potatoes grow.
DeleteTried the tater on the ground covering with straw this year. Not much success. We have 4 tater seasons here in East Texas and this will be my next experiment. Looks like a good idea!!!
Deletewhy get all tricky? just put some potatoes on the ground and cover them with straw. keep covering. it's not hard, but it's not fancy either.
ReplyDeleteThe nicest thing is that I can move these in bad weather. I just slide the dolly underneath. We get hurricanes here and I can move them into the garage if need be. Folks in northern climates can do the same thing too when the snow gets deep. When I want potatoes I just remove a ring, pull out what I want. I leave the rest in the ground.
DeleteI'm doing this... again this season. My olde Granny warned me to "..rotate the soil Tommey boy o er the blight will take yer third or fourth crop an ruin the ground fer certian.." Taters carry there own worst enemy with em and so I rotate the soil outta me towers and use it only every forth year. Shredded some of my last, last years 'reds' this morning along with two pouched eggs. I also put some in an old 'trash' pile and damn if their not growing as well..... TTTinker
ReplyDeleteThat's great advise that my granny passed onto my mom, and she onto me. At the end of the year the soil will be tilled into my garden and the rings thoroughly cleaned. I will get fresh soil from a 55 gallon drum full that I have stored and do it again. I like my tater salad, the recipe is on this site, as well as shredding some for breakfast too?
DeleteWhat kind of harvest did you get? In our area having the hardware cloth at the bottom keeps out mice.
ReplyDeleteYep, I have quarter inch hardware cloth at the bottom over the holes. It's mostly to keep the dirt in the bins. This is the first time I've used these bins so I don't have a harvest yet. That will come in the fall. As a single level bed in my garden I get about ten pounds. I'm looking for about thirty pounds per bin to call it a success. I'll post the results this winter as I harvest.
DeleteI have tried everything except just growing them in the ground. I have not gotten any large amounts of harvest although what I get are good quality. This last year I grew them in hardware cloth cages. I put the seed potatoes in at ground level. I covered them with some good loose loam composed of my original garden dirt mixed half and half with some excellent leaf mulch. Then I kept layering them with the same mix as they grew. The plants themselves ended up buried in about 3 feet of soil that stayed so loose and fluffy the entire growing season. Still a small harvest.
ReplyDeleteSo next year I am going to just put them in my basic raised beds and hill them up. My 90 year old bachelor neighbors down the street tell me I have been trying to be too fancy and just grow them the old way. They get tons of potatoes, more than they can eat and give away.
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