Comments on: My Backyard Potato Harvest Story

By: fred gardner

fred gardner — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:57:26 +0000

Have just planted out some potatoes from my pantry that had started to shoot ,just put a rusted out (bottom ) 44 gallon gallon drum in a corner of my garden and laid out about a dozen potatoes and covered them with soil, when the sprouted out I covered them over with some sugar cane mulcu and compost and as they continued to poke through I kept vovering them ,the greenery is no above the top of the drum and I am waiting for them to flower and die down, I will then just loosen the soil round the inside of the drum and lift up and see what sort f production I have got from my cupboard by not putting them in the waste . Fred Gardner

By: No. ME Preppy

No. ME Preppy — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:21:14 +0000

You can also do the same thing with old car tires, just keep stacking the tires as you go up. I’ve also seen the same method used with boards on a frame. All works the same way.

By: Pure

Pure — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:06:07 +0000

I saw a very interesting technique for growing potatoes on youtube. I don’t recall the link but it consisted of preparing a 4 foot diameter circle on the ground and planting your spuds there. Then using chicken wire make a coral for your spuds and as the shoots grow add a covering of manure and straw. You continue doing this through out the season as the shoots grow up you add another covering…. and so on. Any how at the end of the growing season you just undo the coral and the potatoes fall out. I haven’t had a chance to try this but am looking forward to doing it next year, lol! The guy said you can expect anywhere from 50 to 100 lbs of potatoes by doing this. It seems that the green shoots have a node that will continue to produce potatoes as long as they get covered. Best part I saw was increased production from a smaller area and no real major digging to get your winter stock. My dad says you don’t even have to dig the soil to plant them. Just place them on the ground and cover ‘em with a layer and this technique should work excellent. He said when he was a kid the best potatoes the got every year were from using horse manure and stable straw. Happy Gardening Rangerman! Pure out!