On many occasions, we've been tempted to grow our own potatoes. They're fairly low maintenance, can be grown in a pot or in the ground, last a fairly long time if stored properly, and can be very nutritious (high in potassium and vitamin C). Here's more incentive: according to this article, you can grow 100 pounds of potatoes in 4 sq. feet. Learn how after the jump...
According to this article from the Seattle Times, potatoes planted inside a box with this method can grow up to 100 pounds of potatoes in just 4 square feet. All that is required:
- Lumber
- Seed potatoes
- Soil
- Careful attention to watering
The Times' guide for building a potato growing box yields up to a 100 lbs. of potatoes in a mere 4 square feet is shown below:
Plant as early as April or as late as August 1, with an approximated 3 month till harvest turnaround time.
Here are some pointers from the article:
- Cut apart larger seed potatoes, making sure there are at least two eyes in each piece you plant.
- Dust the cut pieces with fir dust, which seals the open ends from bacteria.
- Fertilize with 10-20-20 fertilizer at planting and a couple of times during the season.
- Water so that the plants are kept at an even level of moisture.
- Don't plant in the same area in consecutive years or use the same soil to fill your potato box, as potatoes can attract various diseases.
"To save space, Lutovsky recommends building a box and planting inside it, adding sides to the box as the plant grows and filling the new space with mulch or soil. When the plant blossoms, it starts setting potatoes in this added soil. Soon after that, you can start removing the bottom boards from your box and "robbing" the plant, reaching in carefully and pulling out new potatoes."
And if you're unsure of the nutrition content of potatoes, here's a handy label, compliments of the US Potato Board:
Seattle Times via LifeHacker.
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hello! where do i get fir dust? i'm ready to plant!
this thrills me. potatoes are sooooo much tastier when they're garden-grown! i am looking up fir dust now....
You can use this technique to recycle old tyres. Basically instead of making the wooden frame, just use an old tyre on the ground, and as the potatoes grow, add another tyre on top.
If you don't want to mess around with lumber, you can also grow them in a garbage can. Link here...from Seattle's other (now defunct) paper:
http://www.seattlepi.com/nwgardens/310303_ciscoe07.html
I'd be concerned about the tyres off-gassing or leaching chemicals... but wood could do that too, if you're not sure where it's from.
You can also use a hessian sack (like the sacks coffee beans come in) and some wooden stakes.
I've seen this done with stakes and garden cloth, same stuff you put down to deter weeds.
Brilliant step-wise harvesting! Who knew?
Pah! This article makes it way too expensive and difficult. I've done this with a tube of welded wire fencing and straw (we have both for our chickens). Easy, and nearly free.
While the initial cost of the wood may be a bit pricey, it makes harvesting from the bottom a lot easier than the other methods. Plus, wouldn't you be using the wood again season after season? Don't get me wrong, I often question some of the price points on this site labeled "affordable" but in this case the option shown appears to be money well-spent.
i used the garbage can method this year just as a whim for some reds that sprouted in the cupboard, and was amazed to find ten little tiny potatoes when i turned it out today - the yield would've been much better if they hadn't gone in late and gotten soaked by frequent thunderstorms, i think.
A friend just sent this article to me and suggested a neighbourhood potato-growing contest... i'm in!
better garden planning - check.
Maybe a silly question, but is this at all possible to do indoors?
We have done this for the last two years. Make sure you plant where you get plenty of sunshine. We grew purple and white potatoes. Not sure we actually got 100 pounds, but it was successful. And immensely satisfying! :-)
Are there any issues related to growing different types of potatoes in the same box? Or what about sweet potatoes/yams?
I can hardly wait to get started. We have enough room for a couple, so we're going to do potatoes in one and sweets in the other!
Love the setup; don't love the pic below it! Sure, potatoes are fat-free, but I thought we were long past the notion that eating fat is what makes you fat! I am not by anti-potato by any means, and long live real food grown by real people, but as any woman of a certain age (i.e. old enough to remember tried-and-true dietary wisdom from before the low-fat craze) will tell you, if you want to lose weight, don't eat "white food" (sugar, white bread, white pasta, white rice, and white potatoes). See also Julia Child, who, when she and her husband needed to trim down, wrote that they attempted to reduce their carbohydrate intake - tricky, with all that wonderful bread in France! Off my soapbox now, sorry :)
Can't wait for April to get here...
I tried this, but gophers and moles tunneled up and ate absolutely everything, I now have waist-high raised beds for growing vegetables/ herbs (rabbit wire fence to foil the gophers and moles) and grow all the potatoes in garbage cans.
Maybe it's where I live, but we just pile to dirt up around all the little "hairs" on the stems as the plant grows. No steaks, bags, wood, tires or anything. The pile stays, the new potatoes sprout and we can dig for the lower ones.
HI
I want to try this. I think it's awesome! But one thing: everytime the plant grows I have to add another board and add soil without covering more then 1/3 of the plant?
So there's going to be soil till the top when it's finished?
Thank you
I am going to try making holes in the sides just like those topsy-turvy planters do, and I will grow basil along with the potatoes!
In reply to jennesy's question, I do not think it will grow indoors, but you can try!
My peas are blooming...totally unrelated topic!!!
Obviously in Seattle, there are a lot of fir trees, so that's why they said fir dust. I'm assuming you can just use sawdust from any wood that hasn't been chemically treated. When I cut up seed potatoes, I just let them dry overnight to "scab over".