Advise needed on planting potatoes in plastic 55 gallon drums

[smom1976]

Here is a picture of my growing bakets for my potatoes. I make these myself for just ths purpose.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/themetalpeddler/p2180859a.jpg

They are 32" wide and 36" tall. These are new ones, as my old ones were 8 years old and worn out.

I put down 8" of compost, soil, grass clippimgs and mix them together. I put in my seed potatoes and cover them with 3" of same mix. As they grow about 7 inches, I fill in 3" more inches. By the end of summer, the basket is filled to the top, so I let the plants die and remove the basket.

Once the basket is removed, I push the pile onto a tarp and sort out the potatoes. You can expect to get 80-120 pounds of taters per basket. Once all the taters are removed, I take the soil to my garden and spread it out.

Also, just a note, I lay the seed potatoes in the bottom about 10" apart.

Having these baskets, which cost me $10 each, saves my back and space in my garden.

If you just have some chicken wire, cut a ten foot length, locate your growing area, and use tomatoe stakes to keep it in place. Without stakes or metal frame, once it gets half full it will bulge and fall over.

Ok I am going to do this.. I have some chicken wire... I can pick up some tomato stakes.. and make a round thing to put stuff in.. Now I dont have a lot of compost.. I do have chicken manure.. I am getting a bail of hay to put over my strawberry mounds.. so I will have some hay.. I will have some dirt.. but not compost.. will that still work?

secondly.. how did you make those? and how can I order some?

 

[vfem]

I love these ideas!!! I'm thinking about trying a small cage now to put in the corner of my garden to just test this out. It'll be a first go at it, so if it fails I don't want to look like a dope and waste a massive amount of space.

I'm going to make an attempt at onions this year too when it wasn't in my orginal plans. I don't have a WHOLE lot of space available in my garden, but as my eggplants have failed, I want to find a little something else... and we do love baked potatoes around here.

This garden better help suppliment my obsession with BBQ's, by cutting my costs!

Metal-peddler, what exact are your cages made of? They don't look anything like chickenwire... they look heavier?

 

[smom1976]

ok so I had a partial roll of fencing GIVEN to me ..*totally awsome* but I cut it in half and was able to make two potato bins.. Now.. looking at the bottom... suggestions.. add chicken wire or is it fine all on its own? I do have chicken wire that I can wrap around the other wire..

and the yard helpers ... they just liked to be caged LOL

 

[bid]

The bottom looks fine to me. The top 3 rows, that are larger squares, could probably use some extra wire. It is going to take a good bit of soil or straw or whatever to fill those baskets up so you want to try an make sure not to much is leaking out. Maybe flip them over and put some chicken wire around the larger squares? Then plant some taters.

 

[smom1976]

oh my fingers hurt sooo bad.. I did exactly that.. I had some chicken wire left over.. so I split it horizontally (I believe it was 5 feet tall) then had just enough to wrap around each one .. I wrapped starting in the larger area.. I will start filling on the chicken wire side..

I have two.. so im thinking I will do one new red potato.. and one yukon gold potato...

Can I just go get some from the store???

 

[bid]

Store bought will work, but usually not as well as good seed potatos. But if nothing else, you will grow some seed potatos. I planted 4 store potatos last season, mainly because I forgot about them and they were growing in the 'fridge, and probably got 10lbs. and a lot of little seed potatos. It was fun to try anyway. I think they were russets.

 

[vfem]

That is awesome smom! AND you got the kids involved and on lock down all at once! YOU ROCK

I bet your fingers do hurt after all that chicken wire... I'm surprised you're not bleeding? :/

I hope they do well for you. I'm doing store bought potatoes myself. I just want to give it a try. In a container about your size, how many potato seeds can you plant? Like how far appart should they be? 6", 12"?

 

[WIkalanchoe]

Oh man I can't wait to try the chicken wire barrel. We have a ton of chicken wire fencing left over from building our coop so that would be a good use. I tried growing potatos in the garden bed last year but the soil just didn't mesh with the taters so this year I'm hoping the potato barrel method will help me grow some better taters and free up some space in the garden.

 

[smom1976]

That is awesome smom! AND you got the kids involved and on lock down all at once! YOU ROCK

I bet your fingers do hurt after all that chicken wire... I'm surprised you're not bleeding? :/

I hope they do well for you. I'm doing store bought potatoes myself. I just want to give it a try. In a container about your size, how many potato seeds can you plant? Like how far appart should they be? 6", 12"?

wow i sure did and didnt even realize it LOL


I really have no idea how many and how far apart.. I was going to go off this post..

put down 8" of compost, soil, grass clippimgs and mix them together. I put in my seed potatoes and cover them with 3" of same mix. As they grow about 7 inches, I fill in 3" more inches. By the end of summer, the basket is filled to the top, so I let the plants die and remove the basket.

Once the basket is removed, I push the pile onto a tarp and sort out the potatoes. You can expect to get 80-120 pounds of taters per basket. Once all the taters are removed, I take the soil to my garden and spread it out.

Also, just a note, I lay the seed potatoes in the bottom about 10" apart.

 

[Grow 4 Food]

We use a cattle feeder. It is filled with straw and hay only. Never has a drop of dirt in it and when harvest is here you can almost pick up the plant and all the potatoes come with it.

add about 12 inches and hay or straw place seed potatoes and cover with another 12 inches.

Once they start to break through add about 3 more inches and keep after that until you are and 3 ft high. then just leave it and let nature work.

Harvest time flip over the ring and fill up the wagon with potatoes and everything else goes to compost!