The Great Potato Experiement Year Two
Last year we tried growing potatoes in tires.
Because I really want it to work, and because I am just a tad bit hard headed we are trying it again this year. I really want it to work because it saves labor and it saves space. We are making a few adjustments and trying it again.
We moved the tires to a location that gets more sun. In the bottom tire we placed rocks for drainage and filled the tires about half full with compost. We set the potato pieces (that had been cut and left out to dry a few days) into the compost, and covered them with leaves. When the plants are about eight inches tall, another tire will be added, and all but two or three inches of the plant will be covered with leaves or soil. Last year we used partially rotted manure. It did not drain well. This year we will use a lighter fill. That process will be repeated until there are four tires stacked.
The twist this year is that we also planted two rows of potatoes the old fashioned way. There are six tires planted with 18 potato pieces, and two rows planted with 44 potato pieces. They are planted right next to each other.
Any guesses at which method will be the better producer? I'll be rooting for the ones in the tires.
Labels:
gardening
12 comments:
ah, there's next year's science project! ;)
I hope tires work well b/c that's what you want but I'm betting the traditional method will outdo them.
It might help to chit your potatoes first so that they've starting growing a bit before you plant them. Perhaps the manure was an issue too. I've read that manure that isn't well composted can cause potato scab and also, in breaking down, can use a lot of the nitrogen that you want your potatoes to have. I've had fairly good yields using used 20 gallon plastic containers for potatoes. I get them for free (yay!) at nurseries or from landscapers or out of the plastic recycling bins at our recycling center. You might check out potato post at the Love Apple Farm blog at www.growbetterveggies.com ...the whole blog is so inspiring!
My sister is trying the tires too. Hoping they go good for you guys!
I look forward to hearing how the tires work for it.
Yeah, I saw the potatoes in tires before on the net. They do good..insulation I guess. Also, they are grown in stacks one on top of the other. Woo!
Come on over & reply on my blog.
Stephanie, have you seen the Potato Bin on Gardener's supply co? Reviews here:
http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.static/Sites-Gardeners-Site/Sites-CATALOG_Gardeners/default/pwr/product-reviews/Gardening/Outdoor-Planters/Vegetable-Planters/p/36__629-Potato-Bin-174.html
Seeing it, instantly brought your tires to mind. They seem to recommend planting four seed potatoes per 18" diameter x 14-1/2" high bin.
Wishing you the best this year and looking forward to hearing of your successes :-)
I just came across your blog. It's great!
I have always wanted to try this, but did not want to gather up a bunch of tires and have it not work! :) I'll look forward to seeing how you do this year. I hope you have great success. In the meantime, I'm trying to come up with a way to do our potatoes in a small space.
Lynn
We also are trying the tires again this year. Last year was so dry here, the bottom tires seemed to have stayed too dry when we tore them apart. We may drill a hole large enough to stick a hose in the tire and let the water trickle in there. Hope we both have lots of luck with growing taters!!
the manure was probably the problem potatoes wont form if theres to much nitrogen in the soil they prefer a poor soil you could even fill the tires with straw or alternate straw one tire soil the next theyre also no a great lover of heat watch that the tires dont cause the soil to heat to much in a sunny location
I am going to try this this year also. One thing I am going to do is take a piece of PVC pipe drill some small holes in it and stick the pipe in the middle of the tires. That way I can just put water in the pipe and let it get the whole tire stack.
Here is a great link also on some tips with this.
http://ft2garden.powweb.com/sinfonian/?page_id=12.
Yukon Golds, and all early varieties set fruit once and do not do well in towers. You only get potatoes in the bottom 6 inches, which is what I got. Late season alternatives to yukon gold are Yellow Fin and Binjte.
Good luck on this and keep us up to date on how it goes. I am getting ready to fire mine up with German Butterball taters.
Annon.
Thanks for the link. I will check it out. That is the first I've heard about early varieties not doing well in tires. Would you know Yukon Gold is exactly what i planted! Maybe I'll pick up another variety and start some more stacks!
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