I have used this method with good results though never needed more than
three tyres. Do not wait till the growth shows signs of dying off. By then
the potatoes will be no longer new and little better than 'boughten'[Local
dialect]. "Ferkling" down for a Sunday meal seemed to cause no problems.
A local, aged, gardener [very strong] had the ability to turn a tyre
inside out and made the most realistic urns. I was never able to do this
myself.
Best Wishes Brian.
"Tim Nicholson" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 19:26:45 +0100, "Vicky"
wrote:

Has anyone tried the Bob Flowerdew method of growing potatoes in stacks
of
tyres, adding a new tyre for each earthing-up of the plant?

How many tyres are the optimum height. I seem to remember Bob using
tyres
that had been turned inside out in an attempt to make the thing look a
tiny
bit more attractive!

Vicky

We tried it for the first time last year. Two 'sprouting' potatoes
rescued from the bottom of the fridge, one planted in each tyre stack.
We (or rather SWMBO) tended them faithfully until each stack was three
tyres high, and we got about 5lbs of spuds out of each. Never having
grown potatoes before, we were duly impressed with the results.

This year, we've gone mad. Five stacks, three spuds in each, and we're
going to let them go 4 tyres high. (IIRC that's what Bob Flowerdew
recommended). We'd be grateful for one hint though - how do you know
when to harvest them? Should we be waiting until something happens to
the foliage, or do you just have a ferkle about in the tyres to see if
anything 'feels about right'?

If you're short of tyres, your local KwikFit will practically pay you
to take 'em away. I'm sure they thought I was nuts when I went in and
told them what I wanted them for.

Cheers

Tim