Sunday, May 20, 2007
Above Ground Potatoes
Years ago I tried method of growing potatoes and had good success with it. It involves using a wire cage, planting the potatoes and as they grow you keep adding good soil, potting soil, compost mixed with something or whatever you have. Each time you line the sides of the cage with leaves, grass or straw to hold the soil in the cage. Again use what you have on hand. Why go buy a bale of straw if you can rake up some leaves and use those?
I got a roll of chicken wire that was 3'h x 10'w.
The idea is that as you keep covering most of the new leaves, potatoes will grow along the stems in the loose fertile soil. When it's time to harvest you open up the cage and all of the soil and potatoes will fall out. No digging and a bigger harvest.
I knew I was going to do this project so in the fall I bagged up some leaves and there are pine trees in the front yard so there are always needles out there.
I planted the potato eyes in April using a bag of potting soil. Since then I have added top soil 3 times.
The top soil I use is screened soil from the yard mixed with compost and manure. I have bags and bags of that premixed so I have more than plenty
I had planted 3 eyes around the sides of the cage and 1 in the middle. The three on the sides came up but not the 1 in the middle. I should still get more that enough potatoes.
# posted by Dirt Guy : 11:15 AM
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