I want to grow potatoes?

I think that potatos should be the national vegtable. Other than that i think that your relationship is really dull if you get excited over potatos. You should give your girl friend a little bit more to talk about.

I have heard nothing but good things from the tire version. I like planting the new potatoes or red potatoes. I will have to say if you are growing them in a planter put them in more shade than called for because they will get too hot. I had quite a few of the that produced a lot but I think I would have gotten more if they had been in more shade. Clay pots are also best for this!

be careful with the tires, some times they release toxins

i have never heard ogf them done like that but that doesn't mean a thing. lol my grandaddy use to raise potatoes & i use to help him dig them. of course i thought it was fun back then but now i couldn't even get down to dig. lol i hope u have good luck w/them. let me know how they do. groceries are so outrageous i need to be raising something. tried to have a little garden last summer but it didn't do worth a hoot.my aunt told me a long time ago i had a brown thumb instead of a green one.

Hi there cynthiann Well I can honestly say that I have never heard of this method ever. I did, lets say, bury some potatoes around about September last year and a plant did grow from them through the earth in my veggie patch. I was told to cover them over with earth every time I saw the leaves coming through again but they grew too high by the time I noticed them for the first time. Then we didn't spend any time out in the garden because it got colder and now I have no clue what is going on down in the depths of my veggie patch. I did grow courgettes last year quite successfully but my pumpkin plants got trampled by some workmen. I saved some seeds from the pumpkins we used for Halloween and dried them out. I am not sure how to start them off, any ideas? When spring finally arrives I will be able to get out into my garden and dig over my veggie patch and see if there any spuds buried under the earth. Maris Pipers are my favourites, great for making roast potatoes and chips! Let me know how you get on!

that's the way we grow potatoes too.we put them in mounds.i don't know what breadfruit tree is. does it ready taste like bread or does it look like bread? how long does it take a banana tree to grow?I think banana are a tree.I which we had your weather.we are all filling the pinch these day but, sounds like you are well on your way to cutting those bills.

It does sound like it will work, but it also sounds like more work than needed. I've grown potatoes in containers just using dried leaves. Rake up a bunch of leaves, fill up a 5 gallon bucket (or bigger container) and drop the sprouting potatoes in.

Yes, I grow potatoes...and think since they were invented! LOL! I have grown every method...and the tire method is far superior...and far LESS work! Potatoes MUST be hilled as they grow...that is hoeing the soil up around the plant, as potatoes do not grow deep into the soil! That is why they don't/won't do good in containers! Fill the bottom tire with soil, plant your potato, as the potato grows keep adding soil and repeat this process! Keep it well watered! But NOT soggy! Depending on your growing season you can continue adding tires, I can, in my growing season add 6-7! Harvesting is so easy, have a bucket & wheel barrow handy, take off top tire...remove potatos, soil in wheel barrow, and continue process! Do not re-use that soil for potatoes, next year unless you sterilize it as it may have either weevil or nematode eggs! It can be used for a member of the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers) etc...but make sure to add nitrogen (thru manures to the soil) Potatoes, nightshade family are heavy nitrogen feeders! Rather than pumpkins, I would suggest you plant any member of the squash family, and they benefit from hilling too! Do not plant two different varieties of one squash family in one container...or in close proximity..their geneology is so close they will cross pollinate! Please feel free to PM me for help!

One of the gardening shows I watched years ago showed how to plant potatoes in a garbage can (a 32 gallon trash can). As they explained, it would make it much easier to harvest the potatoes rather than trying to dig them out of the ground. You need a container that is large enough for the potatoes to spread out and get large. That's why a 32 gallon trash can would be great. I don't know how much potatoes are where you are, but you could buy a few in the grocery store and plant them and get plenty of potatoes. Just make sure that you don't over water them and you make sure that there is good quality soil that you are planting them in. I plant potatoes all the time, but I harvest them before they get too big, they're "new" potatoes and are wonderful and have a strong potato taste. I do plant them in a garbage can so that they are easily harvested...planting them in tires would be great, except if your ground gets hard then it would be hard to harvest them. Plus the tires would retain too much heat for the potatoes to grow well, you would be watering them an awful lot.

Sounds tiring. Ok, that's my dumb pun for the day, sorry... Anyway, nope I have never planted potatoes. Let us know how it works out!!!

That sounds like a very good idea! I only live in a one bedroom flat and I don't have a garden or anything but I heard that you can just buy a very large pot that you can place by the window and you can grow a potato or two! I don't know if this makes a lot of sense though as you're not going to be able to grow enough to make a meal! I'm sure that there's a sense of achievement to be had once you start growing your own vegetables. You may have a good plan and I wish you a lot of luck with it. Andrew

That sounds interesting. We've been thinking of trying a garden too. We tried one before but it didn't do well because of our soil here in Florida. When we lived in New York we had a big garden and it was nice but here in Florida we have a hard time growing things. We'd like to try it again. The potatoes in tires sounds interesting. Let us know how it goes.

Wow good for you two. I had never heard of planting potatoes in tires but it seems like a great idea. My aunt has planted them in 5 gallon buckets for years and does basically the same things plants them near the bottom then as they grow covers them with dirt till the bucket is full. she gets a bucket full of taters when they are all ready i was amazed the first time she did this. We to hear in PA are all preparing for gardens as fresh produce is thru the roof and there are so many nastys in the store bought canned kind

years ago when i lived on a farm we used to cut the eyes out of the potatoe , (quarter them ) and lay them on the ground and cover them with hay . the hay kept them from the weather allowed the rain to keep them wet . worked well , no digging

I have grown potatoes in straw to keep them cleaner than when they grow in dirt. I never tried to grow them in tires but this is what I found. http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/sanders98.html To begin, pick a spot that is out of the way and perhaps out of sight where you can stack your tires. Loosen the soil just enough to allow for some drainage and place the first tire. Fill it with soil, being sure to fill the inside of the tire casing as well. Take your seed potatoes and cut them into pieces that have at least two “eyes,” or sprout buds in each piece. It doesn’t hurt to let each piece dry for a day or two before planting it. Plant three or four cut potato sets into the soil in the tire center. Cover the sets with enough soil to bring it level with the top of the opening. Once the new potato plants get to be about eight inches tall, add another tire and add soil around the plants until just a couple of inches of the tops are above the soil. Repeat this process for the third and subsequent tires. As you add tires and soil to the ‘tater stack, the plant stalk is covered with soil. As you do this, the existing stalk will send off roots as well as grow upward to once again find the sunlight it needs. Since you are gradually raising the soil level eight inches or so at a time, the plant is able to keep growing without suffocating. At the same time, you are creating a 24- to 36-inch tap root off of which many lateral roots will develop. Each of the lateral roots can produce additional potatoes at three or four levels instead of only one. When you water the plant, be sure that the soil is thoroughly moistened all the way down to the base of the pile. Since the tires also act as an insulator and heat sink for your potatoes, the added warmth will stimulate the lateral roots to multiply more quickly, giving you more potatoes. To harvest your crop, wait until the top dries up and begin to remove the tires, working your way down the stack and harvesting the potatoes as you go.

This is very informative. I would like myself to try this because i really have to find ways to productive. If i grow potatoes, i may able to earn from it or i can use it personally as i also love potatoes. I am just confused about what you said putting another tire from the first, so it mean you will ruined the first one which already had a grow plant...sorry if this may sound silly but i am just confused. I am just interested to learn your way. I have never tried growing potatoes and after reading this, i am very much interested.

we did potatoes last year. We did them in large decorative pots. We did very well just started them at the bottom and layered on the dirt as the plant grew. It looked very nice and we got quite a few potatoes.

I am not into gardening however that tire thing sounds interesting. I do have a big back yard for growing things but the soil is made of red clay and some parts are hard and rocky and some parts of the soil are soft. Do you place the soil and potatoes inside the rim of the tire or in the hole/center part?

I've never heard of useing tires - but the method is working - here many people use the sam method, but with other things than tires. I'll plant potatoes this way this year - but not in tires ;-) I use pallet collars - it's a 80 x 120 cm big frame that is foldable and that is about 20 cm high. They can be put on top of each other and be as high as youl like. I've grown potatoes all my life - when I was small we had a very big field where we grew potatoes that lasted all year for several families.

Potatoes are the easiest thing in the world to grow. However, potatoes grow best when they are little small balls. (I don't know how else to describe it.) Potato peels will grow but not as fast nor will they be ready by fall. I tried it and my potatoes were very small. I just replanted them for next year. Make sure you bury them deep enough or they will pop up during the rainy months. Planting them in tires will probably work. I never done it but it sounds feasible.