I devour potatoes. There is something comforting and inviting about them. A devoted fan of big weekend breakfasts, I’m a sucker for fresh hash browns, especially. And mashed? Astounding.
Yet, the idea of growing them in one’s backyard seems very intimidating, especially in the city.
Not so, says recent internet chatter. Attention has turned to an article in the Seattle Times from a few years back about potato boxes.
In four square feet, says grower Greg Lutovsky, you can produce 100 lbs of potatoes in a season. All you need is this little bit of space, some lumber, and seed potatoes. He constructs an incremental tower, starting with four tall pillars and the first set of boards to create a container. As the potatoes grow, you add additional boards and soil or mulch to the top.
As the potatoes mature, you can remove boards from the bottom and start pulling out new potatoes. Or, wait until the end of the season for a full crop.
(He also suggests using existing solid containers to save on costs, or stackable old tires. Neither would allow you an incremental harvest and I’m suspicious, too, of the health implications of the tires.)
Seems like a innovative way to get a high yield potato factory churning.
More details at the the Seattle Times.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Holy friggin’ crap. I might just do this.
Whooee! I spent about 35 years poundin’ nails and buildin’ stuff. First thing I do when I see sketch like that is try an’ figger out how much it’s gonna cost in materials. This here tater box probbly makes some sense fer some folks but if yer gonna use brand new 2×6’s an’ 2×2’s like in the photo, the box is gonna cost at least $20 plus screws. Use screws if yer plannin’ on pullin’ off the bottom boards. If yer puttin’ it up on a roof, yer gonna need to haul some soil up there and if yer in the city, yer probbly gonna hafta pay money fer that soil.
Since I’m such a lazyass, I’ll probbly just go to the farmer’s market an’ buy ‘em 10 pounds at a time fer about $4 a bag. I did manage to grow a few tomaters an’ a coupla pumpkins last year but that was by accident when the seeds sprouted outta the compost.
Happy gardenin’.
JB
I grew my own potatoes last year, and couldn’t believe how easy it was to do and how tasty they were. This looks like it could make it even easier yet! Thanks!
P.S. – I have also heard of doing a similar thing by stacking up tires….
I did similar with chicken wire, ty wraps, soil and straw to keep everything from falling through the holes. It worked well enough and gave me more for my space than regular gardening but 100lbs I think not.
JimBobby the box will last for years and it helps people become less dependant on the food system, the soil is reusable if suplemented with compost every year I think it would be worthwhile investment for city folk.
who can’t get to the farmers market, or who don’t trust the system will always have food in it.
Theresa If you care enough to grow your own food don’t contaminate it with the chemicals that can leach from old tires, that’s simply HillBilly farming at its worst, no offence Jim. Of course if you’re going for that look go all the way and cut the roof off the old cars in the neighbours back yard and fill those with supds
I’m definitely going to give this a go. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
My grandfather use to do this by stacking tires. Just wash the road dust off of them first.
Potatoes are one of the most common vegetables all over the world. They are cheap, easy to cook and have so many health benefits.
You can bake them, boil them, microwave them… everyone can make something to eat with potatoes.I will start to grow tomatoes
in my farm and now learning watever i can about them, thanks for information. I also found another good site
about potatoes and so many other methods of agriculturing, i recommend you to take a look.
http://agricultureguide.org/