Vertical Potato growing

[Ceashels]

Has anyone heard of this method of growing potatoes?

It is my understanding you have a large container with good drainage and fill the bottom with good soil and fertilizer. You then plant potatoes and when the plant reaches several inches you gently layer more soil/composte on top so just the tips are showing. You continue this until the container is fairly full and after the plants flower you can harvest potatoes right off the top as you need them.

I am interested in knowing if this works and if anyone has tried it? It would save me a lot of space in the garden and would be something I can have available for a longer growing season. It would also be great in small areas.

This seems to be one of the better descriptions of it: http://www.ciscoe.com/archive/spuds.html

[Ceashels]

http://ww.uniontrib.com/uniontrib/20...1hs22sage.html This is a better description than the first one.

lol

[JohnH]

A friend of mine grows potatoes in car tyres/tires. He builds a stack of tyres as the plants grow.

I can't post the URL to his site but go to my site listed below, then click "The Good Life" in my blog roll and then click on his topic menu where it says "potatoes".

[danni]

My grandpa did this for years. I was planning on trying it this year so thanks for the links.

[Ceashels]

It is in the 50's temperature wise today here in the Mid Atlantic region and I am ready to plant! LOL.

The link thru John's blog was very helpful, Thank you John.

[JohnH]

Now that I have my 15 posts I can now provide URLs.

The link for growing potatoes in tyres is at http://the-goodlife.blogspot.com/search/label/potatoes

[Edna_E]

My dad grew them in tires too - apparently the dark rubber absorbs heat and stores it, plus the water doesn't evaporate much.

[SAHM I Am]

I'd never seen this done, but I'll be doing it this summer! What a great idea! Thanks so much.

[fuzzybunny]

My dad does this with old chicken wire. He makes a big tube and fills it with dirt/compost and they just go to town. When he's ready to harvest he just knocks it over and then shakes it. Dirt falls out and potatoes stay behind. Works great.

Chrisitne

[mom2matty]

I've not seen this before either.....very interesting! Thanks for the links!!

[shortcake]

I have never done it but I saw a gardening show once that showed how to do it in those vertical platic bag planters. I don't know the real name for them. It's basically a heavy plastic tube that you hang like a hanging basket and you cut slits in the plastic where you want to set a plant in. It is usually used with annuals like a basket but they showed doing the potatoes in them also. They also did cherry tomatoes. I thought it was a great idea for someone that didn't have access to a yard like if you live in an appartment or condo and still want to have some veggies. I believe they did a variety of bean also.

[StaceyS]

I've grown them in tires, in garbage cans, in a ring of chicken wire and in regular rows. The vertical way was much easier. I liked being able to dump over the trash can. The chicken wire ring was difficult because the roots (and even some potatoes) grew through the wire, making it difficult to remove. The tires seemed to dry out too quickly.
Boy - there's nothing like your own home grown potatoes!

[quiltingmommy]

question: Do you start with ordinary store bought potatoes or do you buy the seed potatoes? Frugality says stuff you already have but I've never tried it and heard that store bought potatoes might not grow correctly.

[StaceyS]

It depends. Some potatoes are sprayed with something to prevent them from sprouting. I say if your bag of potatoes is already sprouting (like mine is right now), go ahead and plant the store potatoes. I've previously put "rotten" sprouted potatoes in the compost pile and harvested many potatoes from that. I've also planted special seed potatoes, and other than getting varieties you can't always get from the stores - I see no difference in production.

[quiltingmommy]

great, thanks! I'm going to try it this year.

When should you plant potatoes? I'm anxious to get my peas & beans in the ground...why can't it be spring already!