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#1
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Newbie Potato Tire Question
Hi- I'm looking for any and all advice about growing potatoes in old tires.
I live on Vashon Island, 10 miles from Seattle, and have full sun all day. Potatoes love my sandy soil - I grew a crop last year, doing absolutely nothing but watering - didn't even hill'em- but got great yields. This year I decided to try the tire method: I planted the sets 4" below grade, and when they grew 8" high, I threw a tire over the plant, and filled up the tire with soil. I'm up to two and three tires in a tower now- the plants are between 2' and 3' tall, with the top 8" exposed and the rest of the plant buried. They all appear to be healthy, growing well, and starting to set flowers. I have questions about where to grow from here, to wit: - Should I water around the top, the base of the tire, or both? - Should I keep on adding a fourth and fifth tire, or should I stop and let the plant grow over the top? - When should I start harvesting the potatoes- when the vine has started to turn yellow and shrivel, or any time after the flowers have come and gone? - I understand the plants start creating potatoes about the time they start to flower (i.e., now), and for a tastier (though smaller) potato, I should start tapering off the water. Any comments from experienced growers? Incidentally, for anyone who's never grown potatoes, they are highly satisfactory: easy to grow, prolific, and, amazingly, much better than anything you can buy in the store. I recomment Yukon golds or Yellow Finns, though I'm sure each region has its own favorites... Thanks for suggestions. Dick Lovering |
#2
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Newbie Potato Tire Question
Hi- I'm looking for any and all advice about growing potatoes in old tires. I live on Vashon Island, 10 miles from Seattle, and have full sun all day. Potatoes love my sandy soil - I grew a crop last year, doing absolutely nothing but watering - didn't even hill'em- but got great yields. This year I decided to try the tire method: I planted the sets 4" below grade, and when they grew 8" high, I threw a tire over the plant, and filled up the tire with soil. I'm up to two and three tires in a tower now- the plants are between 2' and 3' tall, with the top 8" exposed and the rest of the plant buried. They all appear to be healthy, growing well, and starting to set flowers. I have questions about where to grow from here, to wit: - Should I water around the top, the base of the tire, or both? - Should I keep on adding a fourth and fifth tire, or should I stop and let the plant grow over the top? - When should I start harvesting the potatoes- when the vine has started to turn yellow and shrivel, or any time after the flowers have come and gone? - I understand the plants start creating potatoes about the time they start to flower (i.e., now), and for a tastier (though smaller) potato, I should start tapering off the water. Any comments from experienced growers? Incidentally, for anyone who's never grown potatoes, they are highly satisfactory: easy to grow, prolific, and, amazingly, much better than anything you can buy in the store. I recomment Yukon golds or Yellow Finns, though I'm sure each region has its own favorites... Thanks for suggestions. Dick Lovering Dick I am assuming that you are filling each tire as you add it with mulch (old hay, straw, shredded leaves ) The potatoes grow in this mulch if it is kept damp, One the reasons this works is that the tuber and its attaching stem have hair roots which feed the growing potato and does not stress the vine to provide for it, As for harvesting, "new" potatoes are usually availalable at flowering, However if you wish to store them for any lenght of time wait until the vines die back for mature potatoes. dill |
#3
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Newbie Potato Tire Question
Dear Farmer Dill,
Thanks for your prompt reply! In fact no, I've been filling the tires with more soil, dug beside the tire towers. Perhaps this will be too heavy for potatoes to form(?) It's sandy and well drained, and I've been keeping it moist - not overly so, watering perhaps twice a week. Since it's mid June now, I thought I'd harvest one stack, and harvest the others as you recommend for mature potatoes. Dick Lovering "FarmerDill" wrote in message ... Hi- I'm looking for any and all advice about growing potatoes in old tires. I live on Vashon Island, 10 miles from Seattle, and have full sun all day. Potatoes love my sandy soil - I grew a crop last year, doing absolutely nothing but watering - didn't even hill'em- but got great yields. This year I decided to try the tire method: I planted the sets 4" below grade, and when they grew 8" high, I threw a tire over the plant, and filled up the tire with soil. I'm up to two and three tires in a tower now- the plants are between 2' and 3' tall, with the top 8" exposed and the rest of the plant buried. They all appear to be healthy, growing well, and starting to set flowers. I have questions about where to grow from here, to wit: - Should I water around the top, the base of the tire, or both? - Should I keep on adding a fourth and fifth tire, or should I stop and let the plant grow over the top? - When should I start harvesting the potatoes- when the vine has started to turn yellow and shrivel, or any time after the flowers have come and gone? - I understand the plants start creating potatoes about the time they start to flower (i.e., now), and for a tastier (though smaller) potato, I should start tapering off the water. Any comments from experienced growers? Incidentally, for anyone who's never grown potatoes, they are highly satisfactory: easy to grow, prolific, and, amazingly, much better than anything you can buy in the store. I recomment Yukon golds or Yellow Finns, though I'm sure each region has its own favorites... Thanks for suggestions. Dick Lovering Dick I am assuming that you are filling each tire as you add it with mulch (old hay, straw, shredded leaves ) The potatoes grow in this mulch if it is kept damp, One the reasons this works is that the tuber and its attaching stem have hair roots which feed the growing potato and does not stress the vine to provide for it, As for harvesting, "new" potatoes are usually availalable at flowering, However if you wish to store them for any lenght of time wait until the vines die back for mature potatoes. dill |
#4
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Newbie Potato Tire Question
Dear Farmer Dill, Thanks for your prompt reply! In fact no, I've been filling the tires with more soil, dug beside the tire towers. Perhaps this will be too heavy for potatoes to form(?) It's sandy and well drained, and I've been keeping it moist - not overly so, watering perhaps twice a week. Since it's mid June now, I thought I'd harvest one stack, and harvest the others as you recommend for mature potatoes. Dick Lovering It should work ok with sandy soil that does not compact. The advantage of using a mulch material is that it is light compared to soil, contains nurients for the potato and you are less likely to get a hernia taking the tower apart to get the potatoes. dill |
#5
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Newbie Potato Tire Question
On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 20:33:30 -0700, "Richard Lovering"
wrote: Hi- I'm looking for any and all advice about growing potatoes in old tires. I live on Vashon Island, 10 miles from Seattle, and have full sun all day. Potatoes love my sandy soil - I grew a crop last year, doing absolutely nothing but watering - didn't even hill'em- but got great yields. This year I decided to try the tire method: I planted the sets 4" below grade, and when they grew 8" high, I threw a tire over the plant, and filled up the tire with soil. I'm up to two and three tires in a tower now- the plants are between 2' and 3' tall, with the top 8" exposed and the rest of the plant buried. They all appear to be healthy, growing well, and starting to set flowers. I have questions about where to grow from here, to wit: - Should I water around the top, the base of the tire, or both? - Should I keep on adding a fourth and fifth tire, or should I stop and let the plant grow over the top? - When should I start harvesting the potatoes- when the vine has started to turn yellow and shrivel, or any time after the flowers have come and gone? - I understand the plants start creating potatoes about the time they start to flower (i.e., now), and for a tastier (though smaller) potato, I should start tapering off the water. Any comments from experienced growers? Incidentally, for anyone who's never grown potatoes, they are highly satisfactory: easy to grow, prolific, and, amazingly, much better than anything you can buy in the store. I recomment Yukon golds or Yellow Finns, though I'm sure each region has its own favorites... Thanks for suggestions. Dick Lovering I've never been able to make this trick work (well, you did say 'any and all information') A column of tyres, five high needs an aweful lot of dirt to fill it It might ne worth while, as you fill the stack, to put a few more seed potates in each time you put more dirt in Barrie |
#6
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Newbie Potato Tire Question
I have tried this without to much success but I will say that if the vine is
flowering there is no need to add more tires as the plant is done growing and is now making potatoes. I would water from the bottom only. But I like I said, I have not had great success with this method of growing spuds. -- Sam Along the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach SC wrote in message ... On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 20:33:30 -0700, "Richard Lovering" wrote: Hi- I'm looking for any and all advice about growing potatoes in old tires. I live on Vashon Island, 10 miles from Seattle, and have full sun all day. Potatoes love my sandy soil - I grew a crop last year, doing absolutely nothing but watering - didn't even hill'em- but got great yields. This year I decided to try the tire method: I planted the sets 4" below grade, and when they grew 8" high, I threw a tire over the plant, and filled up the tire with soil. I'm up to two and three tires in a tower now- the plants are between 2' and 3' tall, with the top 8" exposed and the rest of the plant buried. They all appear to be healthy, growing well, and starting to set flowers. I have questions about where to grow from here, to wit: - Should I water around the top, the base of the tire, or both? - Should I keep on adding a fourth and fifth tire, or should I stop and let the plant grow over the top? - When should I start harvesting the potatoes- when the vine has started to turn yellow and shrivel, or any time after the flowers have come and gone? - I understand the plants start creating potatoes about the time they start to flower (i.e., now), and for a tastier (though smaller) potato, I should start tapering off the water. Any comments from experienced growers? Incidentally, for anyone who's never grown potatoes, they are highly satisfactory: easy to grow, prolific, and, amazingly, much better than anything you can buy in the store. I recomment Yukon golds or Yellow Finns, though I'm sure each region has its own favorites... Thanks for suggestions. Dick Lovering I've never been able to make this trick work (well, you did say 'any and all information') A column of tyres, five high needs an aweful lot of dirt to fill it It might ne worth while, as you fill the stack, to put a few more seed potates in each time you put more dirt in Barrie |
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