Advise needed on planting potatoes in plastic 55 gallon drums

[Purple Strawberry]

I grew potatoes in large round concrete rings the last couple of years. The rings are about 2 ft across and 2 ft. high. I put a layer of good dirt about 6 inches deep in the bottom and covered the potates with another couple of inches. Then all summer I just keep adding a couple of inches of dirt and straw etc. every couple of weeks. When tops die back you can just roll the concrete ring onto its side and rake out the dirt and potatoes! Worked pretty well but I think I would like more height this year so I am going to try it with containers made of chicken wire. Someone on here said you could line them with straw as you mounded the dirt up. Sounds interesting...
I also grew some potates in 5 gallon buckets with the same method but you don't really get enough potatoes to bother with. Might be ok for a kids project

Do you think you could use peat moss?

 

[Texan]

I've built this, do yall think it would make a good thing to do the potatoe layering thing in? Its 3 foot x 3 foot x 3 foot. The bottom has been left open because I was not sure what it was going to be when I put it together. I do planters, garden tables, and the like.

Photos of other garden items <-----Klick

I am not planning on using dirt. You can get the same results from using hay/straw with a lot less weight. You just have to do a little feeding.

A 2 wheel dolly does wonders too!

Really What do ya feed em?

 

[momofdrew]

Texan they are awsome...I would think they would work just keep the bottom off for best drainage...

I love this post I had read it when it was first posted and said well I cant contribute and went on to other posts and ignored it until today...Potato towers how wonderful I am going to try that this year :bouquet

 

[valmom]

So that's what I have been doing wrong! I have tried the cover the plant and build the tower up method, but never got very much in the way of potatoes, and the plants didn't like it. I've been waiting too long to add the dirt and stem was forming! Woo Hoo! Going to try again this year.

My tower is actually made of wired together pallets free from our feed store.

 

[Texan]

So that's what I have been doing wrong! I have tried the cover the plant and build the tower up method, but never got very much in the way of potatoes, and the plants didn't like it. I've been waiting too long to add the dirt and stem was forming! Woo Hoo! Going to try again this year.

My tower is actually made of wired together pallets free from our feed store.

Free is always good. I get the wood for my projects for free too.

 

[DawnSuiter]

would it work to strap 3 palettes together and use chicken wire for the front panel? I could use straw or window screen to cover the chicken wire as I build it up.



I think I'm going to plant a ruler next to the potato... to help me remember 7 inches tall, cover with 3 inches of dirt

 

[Purple Strawberry]

would it work to strap 3 palettes together and use chicken wire for the front panel? I could use straw or window screen to cover the chicken wire as I build it up.



I think I'm going to plant a ruler next to the potato... to help me remember 7 inches tall, cover with 3 inches of dirt

A yard stick would work really good.

 

[smom1976]

Ok so after all the stuff about allowing the plant to get 7 inches tall to only letting it have 5 leaves at a time.. My little plants have lots of leaves but are only 3 inches tall.. so I added about 1/2 inch of soil. I will just keep doing this over and over..

today was the first day adding..

 

[kellygirrl]

Ok so after all the stuff about allowing the plant to get 7 inches tall to only letting it have 5 leaves at a time.. My little plants have lots of leaves but are only 3 inches tall.. so I added about 1/2 inch of soil. I will just keep doing this over and over..

today was the first day adding..

Quoting from the link above, the guy on idigmygarden:

"If it [underground stolon]goes beyond 2", and exposed to light, it begins to turn green and becomes permanent stem. Then the plant only produces a few stolons just above the root portion."

Oops, wonder if at 3" you're already late. He goes on to say only 3-4 leaves should ever be exposed:

"The second action of the sprout will be to make leaves. It needs leaves in order to take in chlorophyll to support the true stalk and exposed branches. If a person is able to constantly hill the plant so that only 3 or 4 leaves are ever exposed, the underground stem will continue to produce stolons. Do that over a 6-week period with tires and you could conceivably end up with 2' of tuber production. Miss several days early and allow the true stem to develop and you would probably find 2' of nothing but stem.

"One time, saw how that is done in some fields in Ireland. Potatoes were planted in normal rows but the hilling eventually was such that a man was working in a trench and shoveling dirt to waist level and higher. There were at least 2' of production with those plants but only a small cluster of leaves to show that something was growing there."

Hope I'm not overtalking this, I've never had it explained so precisely. And I'm so excited to succeed where I've previously failed. (Oh the rosy promise of spring...) Well, you'll get some potatoes, anyway. And maybe MORE next year.

 

[valmom]

I love free!

I actually didn't put a front on my pallets last year- it was easier to shovel the dirt in (although, since I didn't do it right, it didn't work well). I just left it 3-sided.

I can't WAIT for the permafrost to go away and for it to stay above freezing at night so I can start the summer crops. (although, we seem to be having a lovely maple syrup season so far for our first year).