I’m going to try growing potatoes in a stack of tires. As it grows you add another tire on top and bury all but a few inches and the stem turns into more roots. In the end you’re supposed to be able to grow 30-40 lbs of potatoes in a 4 tire high stack from 3 or 4 “seed” potatoes.
Photos
Collections
Planting Data
Milestones
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02 Nov 2008
Harvesting day 177 Failure
1.0 x item
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14 Jul 2008
Dying Down day 66 Looks Sad
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06 Jun 2008
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31 May 2008
Sprouting day 22 Potatoes Sprouting
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09 May 2008
Comments
SpiritWind wrote:
I really wanted to try this on our potatoes this year. I think my husband thought it was to good to be true. Please keep us updated.. Keep us updated on not just the yield of potatoes but on hoe easy the whole task is.. adding tire, after tire.. thanks and good luck
Posted on 05 Jun 08 (about 5 years ago)
LeafyLori wrote:
What a cool idea. How’s it going?
Posted on 05 Jun 08 (about 5 years ago)
Katxena wrote:
Awesome! I’ve also read that you can fill them with straw instead of dirt. I want to try this next year — garden grown potatoes are the best!
Posted on 05 Jun 08 (about 5 years ago)
tbuser wrote:
They’re growing great. I was getting a little worried since it took a good 3 weeks or so before they started coming up. I’ll have to take another picture this weekend, they’re growing pretty fast now.
Yeah, I heard you can just use straw or even just chopped up leaves. I ended up mixing about 50/50 with my awful clay soil and miracle grow organic choice garden soil.
Posted on 05 Jun 08 (about 5 years ago)
TheLibra wrote:
I’ll be very curious to hear what your yield turns out to be in the end. Also, I read your journal and noticed that you really hate your clay soil. Don’t hate the clay. It’s actually fantastic soil full of minerals and nutrients that plants love, it’s just bound a bit too tight for them to take advantage of. Try adding some expanded shale to your clay. I’m not sure why, or how, but it breaks apart the clay, and over time, the shale’s effect spreads, preventing the clay from bonding. I think it has something to do with it expanding and contracting with moisture, or something. Anyway, I usually mix my own clay like so:
In that order, over and over again, till I fill one of those large 5gal buckets. You don’t want to just put each of your parts in bulk at once because that lessens the mixture. Just add it in nifty layers. It takes a little longer, but it’s worth it. You might also try letting your clay dry out above-ground for a couple of days before you mix it, that way it’ll break down easier and mix more easily.
Something else that seems to help a lot is using your lawn clippings for mulch. For some reason, this also has a great complimentary effect on clay mixes. You may get a little grass growing, but that’s actually to your benefit, as it’ll shade the base of the plant, which is also important for clay, because you don’t want that clay to bake in the sun.
Anyway, hope that helps.
Posted on 15 Jul 08 (almost 5 years ago)
tbuser wrote:
Hey thanks for the advice!
I get my lawn treated so I’ve avoided using it in the garden. I’m thinking of stopping the lawn treatments though. I’ve also started composting this year, so hopefully I’ll have a ton of compost to mix in this fall.
Posted on 21 Jul 08 (almost 5 years ago)
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