Potatoes in a small garden

[FR33_MASON]

Seeing how the growing season is commin up, I thought I would share a trick that my father used to optimise space in the garden.

As you all know to acheive a decent harvest of potaotes, you must devote alot of space to do so.

This does not have to be the case. My father simply did the following:

Take a 4' wide steel fence mesh with 6 to 10" squares and form a cylinder of about 2-1/2' to 3' diameter. Two 6' pieces of rebar for support are woven through the mesh and driven 2' into the ground.

Get a bale of straw and do the following:
first, plant 1 piece of potato containing at least 3 eyes right into the ground, inside the mesh cylinder. Add around 10" of straw ontop then add 6 to 8" of top soil on top of the straw. In the new layer of top soil, plant another piece of seed potato.

Alternate until you get to the top to which should be straw on the top layer.

Each tube for me has averaged around 100 pounds of potatoes in the same amount of space for one hill.

This could be used for other crops such as yams and sweet potatoes.

[KYHeirloomer]

It always amazes me how few people take advantage of the freehold above the garden. There is a whole range of tricks for vertical growing that let you really maximize the use of what space is available.

Sometimes growing vertically increases yields as well. For instance, cucumber vines produce as much as three times as many fruits when they are trellised instead of allowed to sprawl.

And, as Mason points out, potato towers can produce an exponential yield over a row of hills.

[Food4Sport]

Very helpful thanks

[foodnfoto]

Wow! I'm definitely going to try your scheme this year. I love new potatoes fresh from the garden-they always make the best potato salad.
Maybe I'll do two cylinders-one for regular spuds and one for sweet potatoes.
Now I'm curious about how to get the seed potatoes for red garnet sweet potatoes? Anyone have a suggestion? I'm sick of overpriced, unreliable Burpee.

[FR33_MASON]

with two towers you Could easily grow up to four varieties. Instead of planting one piece, Plant 3 to 4 pieces equally apart. the potatoes will be smaller but just as good.

[FR33_MASON]

Originally Posted by foodnfoto

Wow! I'm definitely going to try your scheme this year. I love new potatoes fresh from the garden-they always make the best potato salad.
Maybe I'll do two cylinders-one for regular spuds and one for sweet potatoes.
Now I'm curious about how to get the seed potatoes for red garnet sweet potatoes? Anyone have a suggestion? I'm sick of overpriced, unreliable Burpee.

I am not sure if they carry the exact variety that you are looking for unless you have the scientific name available which by the way is the only sure way you are getting the same variety of plant. But do try Park Seeds. These guys have been doing mail order seeds since before my gandpa's time. They have one of the most extensive collections of seeds for both veggies, annuals and perennials. Here is the link:
Park Seed: Seeds and plants for vegetable, flower, annual and perennial gardening.

They are used by many pro greenhouses for seed supply and I highly recommend them.

Happy hunting.

EDIT: What you will be looking for is Ipomoea batatus jewel or red garnet.
HTH.

[melis]

Originally Posted by FR33_MASON

Take a 4' wide steel fence mesh with 6 to 10" squares and form a cylinder of about 2-1/2' to 3' diameter. Two 6' pieces of rebar for support are woven through the mesh and driven 2' into the ground.

I'm very interested in this method, but I'm not quite following the concept. How tall is the fencing structure? Is that the 4' you are talking about? Also, why the 6-10" squares....why would chicken wire not work?

Does this reqire more watering that usual methods since I would suspect that this above ground structure would not hold water as well as in ground?

I am gardening in a small space and I did not think potatoes were possible, but you are giving me hope.

[KYHeirloomer]

Melis, the original poster is merely describing one way of building a potato tower. In his case, he's talking about wire mesh with a large opening. For instance, concrete remesh can be used, and it has "openings" 6 inches square. Chicken wire, adequately supported, works just as well.

You can recyle old tires to do the same thing (this is the original method, in fact). For ease of use, and to remove any possibilty of heavy metal migration, cut out the sidewalls and discard them. Start with one such rubber ring. Plant your seed potatoes in the ground inside the ring. As they grow, cover the plants with soil or mulching material. When you reach the top of the ring, add a second one. Etc.

55 gallon drums, either cut into rings or not, can also be used.

HDRA, the British organic growing organization found that you don't need soil, either, other than the burying of the eyes. After that you can use straw to cover the growing plants. They've even experimented with no soil at all, using 100% straw for the potato beds.

You do not, by the way, have to keep adding new seed stock. Potatoes will grow anywhere the stem is buried.

Although we call them roots, the really aren't. What happens is that a thin, root-like tendrils grow off the stem of the plant. A potato then forms at the end of that tendril. Like a bulb, a potato is merely the plant's method of storing sunshine.

So, traditionally, what happens is that as the plant grows you let it reach about 8" in length, then bury the bottom four inches. Keep that up as long as you like.

If you could see a cross section of the result, just before harvest, what you'd find is an underground "tree" of spuds.

In a tower you do not need significantly more water because the actual roots are in the ground. This is different than container growing, where you do have to worry about moisture and nutrient levels. In a high tower more water is needed (but not significantly more) during very hot weather in order to replace the moisture lost to evaporation as it works its way down the tower to the roots. If you put a PVC pipe in center of the tower, with the seed planted around it, and watered through it you'd need no more water at all, cuz it would go directly to the roots.

[foodnfoto]

Thanks for the link to Park Seeds and the scientific name for my favorite sweet potatoes. I'm nervous about trying to grow them here in upstate NY. My neighbor (a landscaper and avid gardener) seems to think it's too wet and cool here and the growing season too short for sweet potatoes. I might try a few anyway, if they don't work-more fodder for the compost pile, I suppose.
Thanks again Mason!

[DC Sunshine]

What is the right season to plant seed potatoes? (dummy question - fascinated by this method tho)

[FR33_MASON]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

What is the right season to plant seed potatoes? (dummy question - fascinated by this method tho)

For the the latitude up here in the northern hemisphere (zone 3) we plant around mid to late May which traditionaly is done on the Victoria day weekend (20th). Basicaly it is at the beggining of the growing season in your area. If you plant too early you risk having your seed rotting.

[FR33_MASON]

Originally Posted by melis

I'm very interested in this method, but I'm not quite following the concept. How tall is the fencing structure? Is that the 4' you are talking about? Also, why the 6-10" squares....why would chicken wire not work?

Does this reqire more watering that usual methods since I would suspect that this above ground structure would not hold water as well as in ground?

I am gardening in a small space and I did not think potatoes were possible, but you are giving me hope.

Chicken wire could work but it is not quite ridgid enough and would require additional support.

I use 4' wide fence mesh for the ease of handling during harvest. that is just for me personally.

My suggestions are more of a guideline for those who have never used this concept and is what has worked for me and has never failed.

I would not want to post something that was destined to fail.

[FR33_MASON]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

What is the right season to plant seed potatoes? (dummy question - fascinated by this method tho)

Seeing how you are located in Au. I would suggest that the planting be done in the early part of your growing season which would be late August to early Sept. But do double check with a local horticulturist to be sure

[FR33_MASON]

Originally Posted by foodnfoto

Thanks for the link to Park Seeds and the scientific name for my favorite sweet potatoes. I'm nervous about trying to grow them here in upstate NY. My neighbor (a landscaper and avid gardener) seems to think it's too wet and cool here and the growing season too short for sweet potatoes. I might try a few anyway, if they don't work-more fodder for the compost pile, I suppose.
Thanks again Mason!

Extra sand and a nice sunny south facing location will give you the best chance

Happy growing.