- Joined
- Apr 11, 2013
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 16
I took on the task of growing potatoes two years ago, and after a bit of research, I ran across two really great ideas for making the harvest easier. Both, as it turns out, also turn a normally large scale operation into a much smaller space. I tried the tires because I had them.
The first method requires old automobile or truck tires. You'll need four or five of these, depending on the size of the tire and the length of your growing season. They should all be the same size, just for neatness and convenience, and you'll want to rinse any rubber dust from them; WASH any that have oil or auto grease with a mild soap. You may want to seed your potatoes indoors so that you have sturdy seedlings by the time you're ready to move them outdoors, but you can start them outdoors also. Start with one tire, a staple gun, and some weed sheeting. Staple the sheeting across one opening in the tire, and set this side down on the ground. Fill the tire with growing medium (I like the Square Foot Garden mix because it's rich and lightweight). Plant your seedlings deep enough in the tire that only about three fingers (2") of the plant is showing above the soil. Water regularly, but don't over water and keep any weeds that blow into it pulled. When your plant has grown about 6" - 8", set another tire on top of the first and fill with more growing medium or soil. Again, leave about 2" of the plant above the soil. Continue this pattern throughout the growing season until the plant turns brown and dies off of its own accord. To harvest, lift the tires one at a time. If you pull the tire sideways onto a tarp, your growing medium and potatoes will fall onto it, making it easy to just gather the potatoes and bag the medium or soil for the next time. You should get one or two potatoes for each time you covered the stem, up to ten per stack.
You can also use chicken wire fencing (this is a sort of hardware cloth with a 1" to 2" wire diamond pattern normally used for building chicken coops and similar) or hardware cloth. In this case the size of your "hill" is predetermined by the width of your fencing. This method is slightly more difficult to start, but much easier at the harvest stage. Begin by making a cylinder of fencing, roughly one foot in diameter, and wire weed preventative sheeting to one open end. Make sure that you can hook the side seam of the cylinder easily, and put a thin layer of growing medium in the bottom. Set your seed potato or seedling as in the tire method above, and fill the cylinder of wire carefully to within 2" of the plant's top, or if you're just starting your potatoes, you'll want them planted roughly 3" deep. You will need to pack the material a little more tightly with this method so that it stays inside the fencing. Water and weed regularly. As in the above method, allow the plant to grow a few inches, then bury it, leaving only a few leaves out to catch sunlight, continuing this process until the plant browns and dies at the end of the growing season. Lay a tarp at the side seam of the cylinder, unhook it, and shake your potatoes loose. Store your soil for next time. You can probably even save the fencing if the elements haven't taken a toll.
The fence method is a bit more flexible, as you can vary the diameter of the cylinder and get more plants in the space. Allow several inches between them so that you don't crowd the potatoes under the soil. The guide I read on this said no more than one seed potato or seedling per square foot of surface area.
Each time you cover the plant, a new root forms, so you do NOT want to add soil too frequently or you will only get one or two potatoes, all the way at the bottom of your stack, and none between there and the surface, or you will have tiny (golf ball sized) potatoes. Give the plant time to get some growth (about six inches, and several leaves) before you surprise it into starting another potato!
The first method requires old automobile or truck tires. You'll need four or five of these, depending on the size of the tire and the length of your growing season. They should all be the same size, just for neatness and convenience, and you'll want to rinse any rubber dust from them; WASH any that have oil or auto grease with a mild soap. You may want to seed your potatoes indoors so that you have sturdy seedlings by the time you're ready to move them outdoors, but you can start them outdoors also. Start with one tire, a staple gun, and some weed sheeting. Staple the sheeting across one opening in the tire, and set this side down on the ground. Fill the tire with growing medium (I like the Square Foot Garden mix because it's rich and lightweight). Plant your seedlings deep enough in the tire that only about three fingers (2") of the plant is showing above the soil. Water regularly, but don't over water and keep any weeds that blow into it pulled. When your plant has grown about 6" - 8", set another tire on top of the first and fill with more growing medium or soil. Again, leave about 2" of the plant above the soil. Continue this pattern throughout the growing season until the plant turns brown and dies off of its own accord. To harvest, lift the tires one at a time. If you pull the tire sideways onto a tarp, your growing medium and potatoes will fall onto it, making it easy to just gather the potatoes and bag the medium or soil for the next time. You should get one or two potatoes for each time you covered the stem, up to ten per stack.
You can also use chicken wire fencing (this is a sort of hardware cloth with a 1" to 2" wire diamond pattern normally used for building chicken coops and similar) or hardware cloth. In this case the size of your "hill" is predetermined by the width of your fencing. This method is slightly more difficult to start, but much easier at the harvest stage. Begin by making a cylinder of fencing, roughly one foot in diameter, and wire weed preventative sheeting to one open end. Make sure that you can hook the side seam of the cylinder easily, and put a thin layer of growing medium in the bottom. Set your seed potato or seedling as in the tire method above, and fill the cylinder of wire carefully to within 2" of the plant's top, or if you're just starting your potatoes, you'll want them planted roughly 3" deep. You will need to pack the material a little more tightly with this method so that it stays inside the fencing. Water and weed regularly. As in the above method, allow the plant to grow a few inches, then bury it, leaving only a few leaves out to catch sunlight, continuing this process until the plant browns and dies at the end of the growing season. Lay a tarp at the side seam of the cylinder, unhook it, and shake your potatoes loose. Store your soil for next time. You can probably even save the fencing if the elements haven't taken a toll.
The fence method is a bit more flexible, as you can vary the diameter of the cylinder and get more plants in the space. Allow several inches between them so that you don't crowd the potatoes under the soil. The guide I read on this said no more than one seed potato or seedling per square foot of surface area.
Each time you cover the plant, a new root forms, so you do NOT want to add soil too frequently or you will only get one or two potatoes, all the way at the bottom of your stack, and none between there and the surface, or you will have tiny (golf ball sized) potatoes. Give the plant time to get some growth (about six inches, and several leaves) before you surprise it into starting another potato!
