So this spring I set 2 tires up and filled them full of soil and planted some potatoes. After a couple of weeks, the plants were looking really nice so I added a 2nd tire and filled it full of straw. And a few weeks later I added a 3rd tire and more straw.
The potatoes are supposed to grow in the straw and be easy to harvest.
So today, I took the towers apart. There were no potatoes growing the straw, though I had a few growing in the dirt.
I'm not sure what went wrong. Though I think the lack of sunshine and all the torrential rain we had this summer was partly to blame. I'm also not sure if I packed the straw in tight enough. I know the potatoes need to develop in the dark, no sunshine allowed. And the dirt was really wet. I have a lot of clay in my soil here. So even though I mixed in a lot of potting soil, I think next year I need to add some sand.
Anyway, the few potatoes I got were pretty good. I cooked most of them with a roast chicken tonight for dinner :-).
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| My potato plants are looking pretty ragged after all the rain the past 2 weeks. |
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| 2 tires and the straw removed. |
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| A few nice looking potatoes. |
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