by Julie Christensen
Potatoes , murphy or spuds — whatever you call them — there ’s never been a better time to grow them . Irish potato are wide usable in grocery store stores and reasonably price , but there ’s something wizardly about produce them at home . First , the plants themselves are beautiful . They have greenish serrated leaves , purple flowers and a shaggy-coated , rounded phase . And , harvesting white potato is a little like going on a treasure hunt . down a seed potato in the grime , hold back a few workweek , and voila — tuck away from view is a bounteous harvest just waiting to be found .
Another reason to arise potatoes is for variety . A contemporaries ago , gardener contented themselves with growing two types of tater – red potatoes and russet . Today , you could hear drab , gold or fingerling potatoes . These potato command a agio terms at the food market store and are market as “ epicure . ” However , they take no more work in the garden than regular old russet , and you may find the seeded player potatoes at garden centers and provender stores for a song .
Probably the main reason most mass do n’t farm potatoes is because of a lack of space . Like tomatoes , potatoes do take up more place in the garden than , say , lettuce or Daucus carota sativa . Their per flora yield is high , though . If you ’ve avoid growing Solanum tuberosum because you do n’t have the way , take heart . potato can be grown in containers with swell winner . Below we ’ve corralled a few of our favorite ideas for grow spuds .
Potato Tower . This4 - foot toweris absolutely brilliant because you could harvest 25 pounds or more of potatoes growing in a 2 infantry space . The simple plan calls for a crybaby wire enclosure fill with compost and straw . The potatoes are planted in layers space 1 foot asunder . Like strawberry in a strawberry plantation owner , the potato plants grow on the outside of the chicken wire enclosure , totally soak up it by summer ’s end . The potatoes themselves have plenty of room to grow in the compost .
Potato Box . Developed by Greg Lutovsky , possessor of Irish Eyes Garden Seeds , a family - bleed farm in Washington , this strategy is standardised to the potato tugboat . Lutovsky builds asimple wooden boxand layer Solanum tuberosum with lightweight soil or compost . He recommend using disease - gratis , retentive - season Irish potato varieties and hand-build a soaker hose through the box seat to keep the layers moist . He says he ’s spring up 80 pounds of potatoes in one 4 understructure box , although one customer grew 125 pounds of potatoes !
The Barrel Method . If you do n’t prefer build a container out of chicken telegram or wood , try the firm and easy version . Grow spud in anylarge container , such as a pliant trash can or a whisky gun barrel . Use lightweight soil , stratum the Irish potato and keep the soil systematically moist . This no muss , no fuss strategy can yield 50 to 80 pounds of potatoes .
Recycled Materials . If you wish to use what you already have on hand , hear planting white potato vine in acardboard box . At the death of the season , the composition board box will have almost disintegrate and you could throw out it out with no guilt . Or how about using older tires as a container for potatoes ? Simply stack two or three tyre on top of each other and sate the tyre with compost , according to Vegetable Gardener .
Grow Bags . For those of you favour a more eminent - technical school approaching , why not try the grow bag , uncommitted at nursery or online . These reclaimable felt bags can hold up to 15 gallons of filth or compost . Their main advantage is that they provide first-class drain – a must for growing tasty potatoes . They also shut down down for compact store during the winter . Grow bag will typically last for several years .
Homemade Grow Bags . Like the approximation ofgrow base , but cringe at the price ? Try prepare your own from landscape gardening fabric .
Trash Bags . Here ’s one of the simplest methods for growing potatoes in a container – a big , wakeless - dutytrash bag . Make some hollow in the handbag for decent drain and fill the bag with compost . Layer the white potato vine and line the bag with straw . Black methamphetamine bags collect heat from the sun so the potatoes grow well even in cool climates .
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