The great potato experiment, Part 1

We're trying out new ways to grow potatoes in our garden. Two reasons for this are:

• We don't have much space to allocate to a garden.
• Our soil is basically a big ball of clay.

Our first option is to use a potato box. You've likely seen pictures like this one. Basically four posts and boards attached.

Here's the premise: as the plants grow, you add a layer, effectively burying the plant, the stems turn into roots, which in turn become potatoes.









I designed our box so that each layer is a standalone piece. So as the potatoes grow...

 

another layer can be added...












until it's at full height. Great design, that-- a few days after I got everything built-- I found the same design done by someone else. I choose to look at this as great minds thinking alike. ;)







Here's the first layer inst+alled. Even got a few plants poking through.








  The second path to potato-dom is to stuff seed potatoes into a bale of straw. Here we have three seed potatoes each into the bottoms of three bales. The plants push up between the "cracks" in the bale. Whatever stays inside the bale will supposedly fill in with new potatoes. To harvest, we'll just cut open the bale. If this works, we get potatoes and mulch at the same time.


I'll post more as this goes on. I'm not looking for hundreds of pounds of potatoes. But if I can get a five to one ratio. I'll call that a successful start.

Blessings!