The Potato Harvest (or lack there of)
The potato plants are starting to turn brown and die. That is the signal that it is time to harvest. The potatoes can stay in the ground for several weeks after they are ready, but we didn't want to wait. We tried to grow potatoes a new way this year, in old tires, and were excited to see the result. Excited, until we actually saw the results.
Last weekend we harvested from four of our thirteen stacks. We were hoping for close to 25 pounds per stack. We got significantly less than that. Our big harvest yielded a lunch bag of tiny potatoes. Those potatoes were enough for two meal. They were delicious, but obviously not nearly enough.
We didn't look in the rest of the stacks because I could no longer stand the disappointment. I doubt that the results will be much different there.
Perhaps I should chalk it up to a bad experiment and go back to the in the ground method. The problem is I really like the tire method, except for my yield of course. It was easier and it takes up a lot less space. I think this method should work, and I want it to work. That leaves me to look at what went wrong. Here are some ideas I have. I'd love input from the rest of you.
Sunshine
Potatoes should have full sun. When we started our stacks I thought they were in full sun, but by the time the trees were full the potatoes were getting a lot of shade.
Drainage
I was surprised at how wet the soil was even though we'd had little rain the weeks before we harvested. We did create drainage in the bottom tire and that is where we found most of the potatoes. I think the extra wet soil was due to the lack of sun as mentioned above, and due to the growing material in the upper tires.
Growing Material
The bottom stacks were started with a little soil and leaves or partially composted sawdust. After that I used what was convenient, the sawdust and the manure (and bedding material) from our goat shed from last winter. I think the problem here is that the manure was not composted enough. It was very heavy and thick. It made great mulch elsewhere in the garden, but probably is not the best choice for dirt.
Looking on the Bright Side
What is left, after a summer of sitting in the tires is fantastic dirt. If I look at the stacks as composting bins, then it was a complete success with the added bonus of a few potatoes! LOL!
I'm not committed to trying this method again next year, but I do know that we love home grown potatoes. The thought of all the digging for the in ground method is not all that appealing either. Maybe if I had some New York movers to do all the heavy work, the job wouldn't be so bad. How to plant next year is something to think about over the winter, for now I have tomatoes and peppers to can.
To see how this all started: Planting Potatoes in Old Tires.
Labels:
gardening
22 comments:
I was really pulling for this to work. I wonder if drilling small holes in each tire would help with the drainage.I can also see how the dirt/compost thing could hinder the growth. Good compost is always a nice result, but not as tasty as potatoes. :o)
I was hoping this would work, too- it sounded like such a good plan! I got about 25 lbs total from my potatoes growing in the ground, that I dug a couple weeks ago, but they were a pain to dig! For all the excitement surrounding the tires, it's a shame they didn't work out. I've heard of growing potatoes in bags- maybe that will be next year's experiment.
I threw leftover seed potatoes in my compost pile, and they're growing happily, so I'm curious to see how that turns out.
I have tried this method with Tomatos. I worked great. The tires keep the water in and the heat after a warm day. I like reuseing the tires in a good way.
I am sorry it didn't work for you. We did this last year and it worked great for us. We had nice size potatoes.
Kelly
Thanks for chiming in. I know it should work. It is encouraging to hear it actually did work for someone! Did you use dirt or other material?
Steph, don't completely give up on it. My potatoes were in the ground and did the same as yours, pretty miserable. A friend of mine who grows acres of potatos had the same result. I don't know what happened but Tarah is the only one I know this year who got decent taters this year. Another friend of mine grew hers in trashbags and got wonderful results. (but she doesn't live here)
It must be a bad year for us.
Crystal,
Maybe it was just too wet this year. Though we had a few dry weeks the majority of the summer was pretty wet. My other veggies loved it, and I loved not watering the garden even once this year, but perhaps it is too much for potatoes?
Having not grown potatoes myself, I'm certainly no expert! My friend who grew potatoes in the groud had equally dismal results as yours.
Interestingly enough, it appears that neither of you left the seed potatoes to dry for a day or so after cutting to the desired size; I have read that this is a necessary step in potato planting.
Perhaps that is to blame, and not your tires??
(came on over from Meredith's)
Hmmm...I say try it again. I think of you every time we drive by a stack of tires on the side of the road. I look pleadingly at James but he has set his heart as stone...I grew potatoes in nursery pots one year with just leaves and some soil and they worked really great. I'm guessing not enough sun, as you said.
well...bummer.. I was hoping this worked for you... I hate to admit you were our virtual guinea pig...
Ahh well... I'll have to stalk some one trying the hay bale method for next year ~smile~
I'm sorry, Stephanie, I know that must have been disappointing. I am proud of you for trying something new and being able to witness what did and what did not work. Hugs!
Did you use seed potatoes or just regular store potatoes that were going to seed? I've heard that planting store bought potatoes won't give you the harvest that you are looking for...so just something to consider...
I did buy seed potatoes. Store potatoes are treated to not grow. I did not let them dry after cutting though. I've read that is an optional step, but I may just add it in next year.
Bummer. I've got some going in tires now but our season is behind yours. I'll have to compare notes when we are done. . .
Growing stuff in tires is pretty popular here and in the valley, really helps to conserve that sunlight heat--too bad you're having trouble!
I just popped over from Meredith's blog - I'm glad you've got some good soil from your efforts, but you also have something just as valuable - knowledge - you know what didn't work! I think that the sun is a huge factor - and my Poppa always dried the potatoes and even used a bit of anti-fungal dust on them. I remember my Poppa had amazing yields in his saw dust barrels - until the neighbors trees grew just enough to shade his garden - so he moved the barrels to a sunnier spot and voila! big yields again. I have not even tried potatoes here because we are so shady - but if any more of our beautiful old trees succumb to dutch elm disease or emerald ash borer, I may just have enough sunshine one day. Trying to find the bright side, like you!
Heather,
Knowledge - you're right. Thanks for the encouragement.
Stephanie, your effort inspired me to try growing my own taters this year, and I'm very sorry to hear about your results. I didn't have tires so I used a bunch of 5-gal food-grade plastic buckets, and that turned out to be a blessing once I noticed the sun/shade patterns changing... with the plants in buckets I was able to move them to new spots and keep giving them the huge amounts of sun they need. I think that, since the tubers are essentially sacks of stored energy, without LOTS of sun there isn't enough leftover for the plant to bother storing after it has served its own metabolic needs. For my two cents, I'd guess the reduced sunlight to be the major factor in your small harvest.
I started mine late, so I don't have a harvest yet to compare other pros and cons. But I do believe in the "tower" method of tater-growing whether in tires, bags, or other containers, so I'd encourage you to stick with it and give it a go in a different spot next year!
ferrisguy
I'm glad you tried the potatoes too! Thanks for the encouragement. I think I will try it again! Hope for a better harvest for you! Let me know how it turns out!
what a great post...in spite of the lack of a harvest. it's funny for me to run across this as just the other day i was having this little convo with myself - wondering IF i could possibly plant and harvest potatoes in the az desert? i've surely got the sun. any thoughts?
here's my herb garden - http://lylahledner.blogspot.com/2008/12/herbs-in-my-winter-garden.html
blessings to you! love what you do here! lylah
Well, better late than never, I suppose...
Stephanie, my harvest didn't turn out so well either--my 3 plants in their 5-gallon buckets yielded about a paper lunchbag worth of smallish and "button" spuds (although they tasted FANTASTIC!!!).
I think my low yield was a combination of: 1) the size of the buckets, just not big/tall enough to develop side-shoots in quantity, and 2) my very late start on the season (late June/early July) cost me the extra time I would've liked to let the tubers plump up as the weather turned too cold and the daylight shortened.
I'm rethinking the container right now, possibly a 20 or 30 gallon garbage can or two. That'll make them too heavy to move, so maybe I'll set them on top of an old wagon or cart and roll them around the yard to keep them in the sun.
BTW, I used organic potatoes from Whole Foods as seed (not certified) and I had absolutely no problems with the Red Potatoes--plants and spuds were so healthy that I think I'll use one or two of my small harvest as new seed come spring. My Gold Potato, however, had LOTS of problems--scab, leafroll, etc. I guess 2 good ones out of three ain't bad!
i see no fertilizer being used. Did you use any? (i use rabbit manure, works great, potatoes are big feeders).
They don't much care to be too wet.
They need some depth and I wonder about the depth you gave them.
Other than that, love the idea :)
Post a Comment