Guest post by Kristen Bingham
Potatoes are a food staple that can be used in a variety of ways, from a side dish to a delicious main course in the form of potato soup. In this guest post, Kristen Bingham shares some ways she harvested these tubers without having to spend time tilling soil.
Potato towers are an excellent option for growing potatoes vertically instead of working hard, compacted soil or trying to find non-existent yard space. We chose this method for potatoes this year as an experiment.
The tower is made of 2x3in metal fencing (garden fence) that has been made into a column. We set the column on the ground, and then layered soil and hay and potatoes. In all, each segment (soil + hay + potatoes) is about 6-10 inches deep. We started with about 2 gallons of potting soil, making a mound in the center of the column and surrounding it with hay to keep the soil in.
Potatoes were laid on the soil in a circle with sprouts pointing outwards. We placed 5 seed potatoes per layer. Once the potatoes were placed, we piled up straw (about 4-6 inches worth), then another round of soil, then potatoes, and so on. We ended up with three towers, about 3 vertical feet of which are planted. The sprouts should grow out through the straw, and we are hoping for rather “medusa”-looking structures before too long.
Do you grow potatoes in your garden? What method you you use?
