Unusual Ideas for growing Potatoes

[MorningSong]

I think this was posted at the old Avalon, but it so intrigued me, I want to put it up again for any backyard gardeners out there:

Build-As-You-Grow Potato Bins

http://ft2garden.powweb.com/sinfonian/?page_id=12


MOD edit: the above link is no longer active. Thanks to the wayback machine I was able to retrieve the page and reproduce it here: http://projectavalon.net/forum4/index.php?id=potatoebin

[MorningSong]

Here in the Alps, the growing season is pretty short, so the "oldtimers" have learned to plant potatoes in hay.

The decaying hay keeps the plants warm and when it's time to harvest, well, it's really easy and not very messy at all.

Here's an idea on how to do it:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/vegetable/tips-for-growing-potatoes-in-straw.htm

[Vidya Moksha]

I think this was posted at the old Avalon, but it so intrigued me, I want to put it up again for any backyard gardeners out there:

Build-As-You-Grow Potato Bins

http://ft2garden.powweb.com/sinfonian/?page_id=12

build as you go potato beds = old car tyres. Keep it simple :)

[Arrowwind]

Potatoes can really grow in most anything... I like the potato bin idea. will really save space. I may try it.

Last year I did lasagna method gardening... learn about it on Youtube..

I made lasagna beds for the potatoes and they did well.

I got my seed potato from my neighbors brother who is a huge commercial farmer, and come to find out they don't do much to damage the qualilty of product with chemicals..

He says you have to let your potatoes get hit with a frost, they do use a chemical for this on large farms but it is nontoxic.
After the greens die the potoatos will almost triple in size in 3 weeks... thats when you harvest, 3 weeks after the tops die.

[Arrowwind]

I am wondering how durable peet moss is. Does it break down after a season or does it endure for a few years.. Its kinda spendy stuff.

[Kari Lynn]

Thanks Arrowwind for the instructions on growing potatoes. I grow garden each year. But have never tried growing potatoes yet.
But, have better luck growing weeds than vegetables. lol Was my first lesson in not using my barn yard manure without composting first! 12 foot tall wild sunflower seeds! Augh!
So now, I've been told to "burn" my garden to kill all the wild seed in it. That's going to be quite the feat, 18 x 70 foot garden I have to burn brush piles over. sigh. So I'm thinking i'm going to go with square foot gardening and raised beds. I'm tired of tilling anyway. lol

[Arrowwind]

Kari Lynn, I suggest that you get on to youtube and search Lasagna gardening
and this does not have to be done in frames. PLace your cardboard down first
to kill weeds from below.

I had a next to no weeds in my garden, rich new soil, and will be working my way out of turning compost piles.. Most things do not need to compost in a pile.. They can compost in the bed with plants growing on top.

Since your garden is so large only take a percentage of it to convert over.
You have to be dilligent in collecting materials to build your beds out of.
like hay, grass clippings, dead leaves, staw, bokoshi, compost, and I usually gather several large pails of mulch from pine forests when we go to chop wood during the summer.
When you are in the woods or meadows you can also gather plant life for the garden to layer in just with scissors or scathe.. all kinds of weeds are good if they have not gone to seed.


I wrote this detailed plan for my garden on another forum and am bringing it here for you.
Regarding all the manure that you have, get it composting, do not use it this year and save it for next when the seeds are fully cooked.

Also go on line and look up Bokoshi composting..I do this also for all table scraps as well as garden refuse.


This was my first garden this past summer, 2010.. we are in zone 3 to 4

I decided since we have voll problems to do raised beds with 1/2 wire mesh on the bottom. My husband built them out of redwood that he found on a good sale... since this is a generally dry climate I expect the wood will last longer than in perhaps some other parts of the country.

I used the Lasagna gardening method that I learned mostly about on Youtube.. In this method you essentially build your own soil.. so in doing this you really don't need to have it tested..

After the bed was built I lined them with cardboard. This keeps weeds from the soil below from coming up. Then I made alternating layers of compost I had made on my own, staw, tree leaves, an inch of topsoil we had brought in for some lawn work, a layer of alfalfa hay, green grass clippings and I repeated this two times. The order this stuff goes in does not really matter, It came up to about 4 inches below the top of my 18 inch tall beds.

I also mixed in some paramagnetic minerals and some bioactive soil stumulator that stimulates the soil with micro-organisms.. Its about $20 a bag and I still have some left... I probably used more than I needed to. This stuff, though the microbes, pulls the minerals out of soil form and makes them bio-dynamically available to plant roots.

On top I mixed some of that top soil with a large bag of planting mix and coverd all the beds with about 2 inches.. This is what I put my seeds directly into. ( stocked up already in planting mix from fall sales for next year)

Over the summer the contents of the beds sunk down as they composted on their own with the plants growing on top. In the end I had about 5 inches of good soil.

This did not work out well for the carrots who all grew L shaped as they grew up against the wire mesh. Next year I will fill the beds all the way up to the top... so I think I will have about 7 inches or so of good soil at the end of the season and maybe my carrots will have more room... or I may put them in a different kind of bed

I planted things too close together and was afraid to thin.. next year I will be vicious!

All my plants were spectactular and only suffered from being crammed in.. but the suffering did not affect their abundance.

I had no pests except for a couple of cabbage worms.. or what ever those green things are that like cabbage.

I also made a ground level bed for potatoes and next year plan to expand it to about 20 x 20 I did this by laying my 1/2 wire mesh on the gound and securing it with a rock at each corner. It was about 18 feet long by 2.5 feet wide and framed it in with 4 x4 square lumber my husband had, only one panel around so it was only 4 inches high. I did the lasagna layering again and shaped it in a mound for easy harvest of potatoes.. I did harvest some of my potatoes too early. They need to be hit by a good frost so the tops dye then you harvest the potatoes about 3 weeks later. They will then double or tripe in size in this time.


I also did a ground level bed for sunflowers and flowers, zinnias. Because of the volls I encircled the bed with icicle (sp?) radishes, the long white ones, which I was told would keep volls out of the beds... and they did. The birds never bothered my sunflowers either. I have them hanging in the garage now.. I was going to feed them to my neighbors chickens but they got rid of them all for the winter.

Into this sunflower bed soil I added the soil amendment micro-organisms and a few shovels of compost.. I also planted sunflowers on the edge of the pasture in the same type of soil with out ammendments and was surprised to see that they only grew half the size... I think this soil ammendment stuff is great.

Too cold here for zinnias.. won't plant them again.

We also planted a potato and corn bed about 20 feet by 30 feet without ammending the soil... the corn did not do well at all, the potatoes did OK, all kinds of reds and purple ones, but hey, Its Idaho... next year the soil ammendment stuff goes in. Our neighbors use it all the time with their corn, never add nitrogen or anything chemical and they get spectacular corn results on the same plot year after year.

I used seedlings started by a neighor in her green house for the broccoli and caulifower and they had difficulty transplanting but then they picked up and produced. I planted more of these directly in a little later and they did great. I also used seedlings for zuc and parsley. I dug the parsley up in the fall and will transplant it back in in the spring. I think I need 4 zuc bushes as they are very susceptible to the cold.. and although they sitll produced after a partial freeze they slowed down.. just gotta get out there and cover them at night. They also take up too much room in a raised bed.

Next year I will plant more beets as we found out that we love borstch. More cabbage too. I still have a couple of heads in the fridge. I want enough to last till spring next time.

I need to also remember that right after harvesting potatoes to get them fully covered out of light. Some turned green and the green parts are toxic.

Onions did well but I still don't understand how to get those greens to shrivil up and close down on the onion. Onions are so cheep here in the fall I may not bother next year. I was able to purchase them for 17 cents a pound.. but I like having fresh onion greens in summer.

Next year I will make my garden bigger planting directly on the ground and make a raised bed like I did with the potoatoes but with no metal mesh under. Will plant the iciscle radishes around it instead and get a couple of outside mouser cats to patroll and knock the volls down. People who have cats don't have volls.

Spinach did well and I should have planted more at the beginning of August instead of late August.

Endive is more durable in cold temps than lettuce. Black seed lettuce is too frail. Bib did ok. Red cabbage did poorly, don't know why. I should plant more varieties of endive.

Wont bother again with chives.. they don't have a very stong flavor and I found myself using onion greens instead.

Tomatoes was really the big problem. I got hold of a large tractor tire for fee and used that to form my bed. Did the lasagna layering thing but added bone meal also. It was our cold temps that kept hitting them back and bees did not come around early enough to pollenate. I did do some heirloom tomatoes but I don't think I will bother with them again.. they produced little, way less than the others.. As soon as I finally got a nice little crop fo green tomatoes a freeze came... what I found out is that a green tomatoe that has froze can still ripen. We ate a quite a few. I fretted over this bed more than any other. They really need a green house around here unless you luck out with the weather... volls did come up in this bed as I put no mesh down but they didn't kill the plants! guess they don't like tomaotes.... oh I also learned from a neighbor that you have to practically strip your tomato branches from most of their leaves, then they will start to put out...and they did after that.

My favorite plant of all this year was my borage.. although I didn't really know what to do with it it is so beautiful and it attracted lots of bees and it is fairly cold hearty so I may start some inside for early transplant to get bees coming earlier. Its just an exquisite plant that blooms and blooms! Next year we will eat some of the flowers and I will dry some of the leaf for medicianal herbal.

I started Bokoshi composting methods for kitchen waste and even some garden waste and weeds, as well as Star Bucks coffee grinds which they give freely away... and meat bones,, this stuff digests bones. Now after a full season of doing this I am very pleased with the method... especially that NO compost turning is required. Instead of burying the compost in the garden as directed for bokoshi, as all my garden space was occupied with plants, I put the innoculated and seasoned Bokoshi into a large black plastic trash pail with a lid. Each 5 gal bucket placed in there gets covered with a few shovels of dirt.. and there it cooks in its very own special bokoski way. In the fall after harvest I started lasagna layering for next year and dumped the full trash pail in amongst the layers of other stuff. Come next spring I will have another full trash pail of the stuff for the other beds.... my goal is to have no compost bins except for the bokoshi pails.

All my beds needed to be covered at night for the first 3 weeks or so in the season.. and what a muddy mess it was going out there in the rain or snow.. so this fall I placed gravel between the beds hemmed in with some boards... guess all the walk ways will get this eventually.

I used plastic sheeting tacked to long thin boards to cover the bed with but after about 4 weeks of UV exposure it started to tear big time... just when the weather got warmer thank god.. don't know what I may use next year insead. of cours the corrigated plastic works but its kinda expensive.

The sunroom on the house may be ready by next spring so I may do some of my own starts in there. I also want a raised bed to start asparagus... and a bed for perinneal root veggies like burdock and jeresulem artichoke

So thats It. I did learn a lot.. and its funny but it seems like I learned so much more than these words say... I think on an intuitional level from going out there every day, just sitting and watching and waiting and sensing the miracle of plants.

[Kari Lynn]

Thanks Arrowind for all that information.
I have a friend who does lasagna gardening.
She does it a bit different though, as she covers it HEAVILY in leaves.
In the spring, she'll push all the leaves aside to get to the soil, to plant her seeds, or plants.
Then she puts a gallon milk jug with the bottom cut out over the top of it.
She covers it again with all the leaves, till you can only see the top of the cap.
The jug helps the plants grow up through the leaves, as they'd get chocked out otherwise,
And the leaves around the jug keeps them warm.

[Lifebringer]

Was curious about the potatoes. Alas, the site is no longer available.

[Lifebringer]

You know those white butterflies that fly over your garden, they lay their eggs in the tender parts of green anything and eat until cacoon time if you let them. They aren't just enjoying the scenery. If you can spot the tiny green eggs, in stem joints it helps to high sprinkle with more pressure as you water. Don't forget to look under the leaves of your greens for a webby cacoon from the little purple moth-like butterflies.

4 parts water and a cap of cooking oil in a spray bottle to stop them from laying in your crops.

Happy gardening.

[Mayan2012]

I think this was posted at the old Avalon, but it so intrigued me, I want to put it up again for any backyard gardeners out there:

Build-As-You-Grow Potato Bins

http://ft2garden.powweb.com/sinfonian/?page_id=12

Thanks for your post but the link takes one to a site that has been suspended.

[Richard]

the OP's link is no longer active. Thanks to the wayback machine I was able to retrieve the page and reproduce it here: http://projectavalon.net/forum4/index.php?id=potatoebin

[astrid]

This is the best way to grow spuds,vertically!! It's really easy and it uses up old tyres, which u can get for free at any tyre shop- they usually have a big waste bin somewhere out the back. This method allows for maximum yield from one seed potato.
http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/article/-/5830197/potatoes-in-tyres/




A homegrown spud, freshly dug from the garden is tasty and delicious.

For a three tyre stack you'll need a level sunny area, 1.8 x 1.5m wide. To avoid disease, choose a spot where no potatoes or tomatoes have grown for five years.

The first step is to buy seed potatoes, which are not seeds at all, but potatoes grown for planting. Always buy 'certified' seed potatoes which are free of certain diseases, which means a bigger crop and less risk of introducing plant diseases.

With a sunny spot, you'll have few problems, and best of all, the tyres are usually available free from tyre retailers.

Car tyre garden
You'll need
6 certified seed potatoes
12-15 old car tyres
Exterior undercoat
Exterior paint in bright colours
Garden soil, potting mix and compost
Mulch: straw, leaves, sugar cane mulch etc

Here's how
1. Remove the weeds, then dig in complete fertiliser or manures.

2. Start with two tyres in each stack. Fill to just below the rim with garden soil, compost, potting mix or a combination.

3. Place two seed potatoes on top of the soil positioned near the centre of the tyre. Cover with 5cm of soil. Don't worry about how you place them - the shoots will make their way to the surface.

4. Sprinkle fertiliser just inside the rim of the tyre. Make sure it doesn't come in contact with the potatoes as it may burn. Water well.

5. When the stems reach 30-40cm high, add another tyre to support the leaves. Fill with more soil, straw or a thick mulch. Avoid damage to the stem.

6. As potato stems grow repeat the last two steps, covering the lower leaves and stems. If potatoes pop above the surface, cover them well (potato skins exposed to light may turn green and could be toxic when eaten.)

Growing potatoes
Feeding
Potatoes like fertile soil so add manures before planting. However, once potatoes start growing, hold back - too much fertiliser reduces the crop's flavour. It's better to give them mulch than food.

Watering
Potatoes love water, so give them plenty. From planting to flowering, water deeply every three or four days. Then from flowering until leaf yellowing water every second day. After leaves yellow, water twice weekly.

Pests and diseases
Slugs and snails pose the greatest threat to your crop. Sprinkle snail pellets or check nightly.

Harvesting
You can start `bandicooting' for potatoes when the leaves start yellowing. Carefully tunnel beneath the soil or mulch to find potatoes with firm skin, at least the size of a hen's egg. Eat within a day or so.

The main harvest begins after the leaves die and the stems wither. Cut stems to cm above the soil (or mulch) and leave for two weeks. This gives skins time to harden. Sift down layer by layer with gloved hands; a spade or fork may damage your crop. Spread tubers on the ground to dry for a few hours, then store.

Storing potatoes
Divide your harvest into damaged and undamaged tubers. Eat the damaged tubers first. Store sound tubers in a cool, dark, airy place out of reach of rodents. Your potatoes will store for a few weeks or several months, depending on variety. Eat them before they sprout (once shoots form, potatoes begin to lose their flavour).

Other growing methods
Traditional
Dig a V shaped trench, 20cm deep. Place a 5cm layer of compost in the trench then sprinkle with complete fertiliser. Set out seed potatoes, 45cm apart. If planting more than one row, space rows one metre apart. When the plants reach 25cm high, draw soil from between the rows on either side and hill around the stem, leaving 10cm of stem exposed.

No-dig method
This easy option is a useful soil-conditioning treatment for new or weedy gardens. Dig old manure and compost into the soil then lay seed potatoes on top. Cover with a knee-deep layer of straw or hay. As potatoes grow, pile more straw or hay to support the stems.



more on the same idea here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AajRLYJRdOc

and here...http://www.global-garden.com.au/gardenkids_grow4.htm#Growing%20Potatoes%20in%20Tyres


Don't underestimate the power of the backyard gardener to change the world!

[panopticon]

G'day All,
Don't know if it's an unusual way of growing potatoes for personal use but Bill Mollison (Australian co-founder of Permaculture) talks about growing potatoes in this vid at around 22 mins:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6370279933612522952
Like many others I've used old tyres in the past but it is no longer recommended by permies due to a risk of contaminants from the tyres.
As for growing the mighty spud... Cardboard, dirt, newspaper, seed potato, dirt, straw.
Want to go full hog?
As mentioned above the no dig garden (technique designed by Australian gardener Esther Dean in the 70's) is great!
Can be built on concrete or on a table (for easy wheel chair access) in a few hours with minimal knowledge.
Very popular in Oz.
Camden City Council fact sheet on No dig garden:
http://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/files/environment/no_diglr.pdf

[Black Panther]

Sweet potato nutrition - six amazing facts you need to know:

1. High nutritional value
2. Low glycemic index
3. Accessing sweet potatoes' nutritional benefits is easy
4. Good for your skin
5. Sweet potatoes are like yoga
6. Easy to grow in your garden

Full story:
http://www.naturalnews.com/034135_sweet_potatoes_nutrition.html

[Nenuphar]

Here in the Alps, the growing season is pretty short, so the "oldtimers" have learned to plant potatoes in hay.

The decaying hay keeps the plants warm and when it's time to harvest, well, it's really easy and not very messy at all.

Here's an idea on how to do it:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/vegetable/tips-for-growing-potatoes-in-straw.htm

This works so well! My parents used to grow garden potatoes in a mix of dry, clean straw and seaweed (we lived 20 minutes from a beach, and the seedweed that washed up was commonly used in the area to supplement gardens and even as insulation around the base of houses). I now live in north western Canada and have been trying to convince my partner for several years to give the straw method a try. Old habits die hard, and so far he's not up for it. *L* I think I'll do it myself this coming summer...the potatoes are so easy to harvest when grown in straw, and they come out *clean*. :)