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No Dig Potatoes
Is there any that knows how this works and have you tried it? I have read many articles on this method and want to try it. I have been saving newspaper and have save eight bales of straw for the top cover. I'm looking forward to Spring and all the planting that will get done.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mud Pies to Sticky Buns on -
Have you read anywhere about using an old tomato cage wrapped in bamboo screening so it looks like a 5 foot round basket? In that method you use compost and old straw. Be careful of using newsprint the ink can be bad for you and some like me are allergic to the ink. Which would not be good to have in your food.
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Permalink Reply by Raindrop Fisher on -
Hello Ellen, I found this video on this site and several others related to it: Grow Above Ground Potatoes in a Basket or Cage. One of the other videos I saw had a harvest of huge potatoes, the quantity was a bit lower than expected, but the size was impressive. I am going to try this method this year and see what happens. He uses a combo of compost, manure and straw mixed with some soil for each layer. It's a little more involved than just the straw, but I feel it will give some additional nutrients the plants need to produce a lot of potatoes. The newspaper you read about is to cut down on weeds if you are just putting the eyes on top of the newspaper. I use newspaper alot in my gardens. It works well to cut out weeds and then you can till it right in at the end of the season and it turns to compost. So good luck and have fun!
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Permalink Reply by Raindrop Fisher on
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Hi Mike, I'm sure you could grow potatoes in a wine barrel! Check out this video on Growing Potatoes in a Cage and apply the method to the wine barrel. How big is your balcony? Good luck!
Mike Lieberman said:
I could've sworn that I just read an article on this. Can't remember where though.
I only have a balcony and not much access to land, has anyone tried growing potatoes in a wine barrel? I've seen the posts about growing hundreds of pounds of them, but don't know anyone that's done it.
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Permalink Reply by Jodie Westwood on -
I am giving it a try! Made two out of chicken wire and loaded them up with purples and whites. I wish I had better luck with sweet potatos and tomatoes. Used all my leftover hay from the horse stalls (clean) and added compost and just plain dirt.
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Peavey on -
I tried the no-dig method and it works, I have potatoes coming up so I keep them covered up with straw. I used lots of newspaper then compost then straw and then put the potatoes down and covered them up with six inches of straw this method really works. All I have to do is keep it covered with straw and watered.
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Permalink Reply by Kathy on -
Mine are coming up too! I've covered them for the first time this weekend. There are a bunch that never came up, not sure what caused that, more experimentation needs to be done for sure. But for now, 2 'bins' with about 8 plants total. My coverage is straw and compost, no soil. It sounds like we are all doing something a little different so it will be interesting to see how they all come out in the end.
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Peavey on
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I have to keep buying bales of straw but it will be worth it when we start eating the potatoes. I live in north east Georgia and planted the potatoes in march, they have just really started to take off. I used the layering method and used old lumber to hold it together. It isn't pretty but it works, this is my first year trying potatoes. I'm also trying sweet potatoes but in a different spot. I planted five pounds of potatoes I got from Home Depot there are seed potatoes and the sweet potatoes are plants that I got from Walmart.
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Permalink Reply by Jodie Westwood on
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I have volunteers from last year, but I planted several containers, along with raised beds. My biggest problem is how to store them after they are harvested.
Where do you live Ellen? I am close to Chattanooga.
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Peavey on
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Hi Jodie I live in Colbert Georgia it is about twenty miles from Athens Georgia which is north east Georgia. I have been to Chattanooga Aqurium can't spell this morning. There are suppose to be stored in a root cellar but who has one? Maybe it can be researched on line! we are going to can them along with all the other vegetables we are going to get. I have to start getting more jars only have five or six cases from last year. I hope the garden does good this is our first year here and the dirt here is mostly clay and a lot of rocks. So I have gotten raised beds and using the no dig method and straw bale garden. So far every thing is good just dry, I have sixteen more tomatoes to plant along with more pea's and corn and melon's. How is your garden? Now that I'm retired I spend all my time with the four grand children and working in the garden, we also have six chickens one donkey and three goats.
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Permalink Reply by Jodie Westwood on
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I was born in Athens - a real Georgia Peach. I know all about that red clay - seems we are close enough to the line to share that same dirt. Sounds like you have a super little farm! I was hoping for a donkey, but have been voted down by the "others" (lol). I have 27 rainbow layers, 2 horses, 3 zebu, 1 pregnant angus, 4 dogs and a cat. One HAS to be retired (far from the right word) to have that. I have lots of potatos growing right now. I need to learn how to can them I guess. So far my canning ability is restricted to fruits and tomatos.
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Peavey on
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Wow that is really something, I might as well be a Georgia Peach been here since 1992. I was raised in Va., right near the beach. That would be Buckroe Beach but moved around a lot married to a military man, finally settled in Georgia because there were so many jobs here and the weather was good. What are zebu's? Have you got the book that Ball jars puts out? It really have some good information in it, I will be canning potatoes this year. Also there are programs on the computer to watch, my daughter and I watch one last Saturday it was a one hour class live streaming video. I will get the name of it from her you have to sign up in advance but it is free. I know it sounds like a lot of work but I have to keep busy, really a person who can't sit still. We only have 3.5 acres but about half of it is in trees, we have a one acre is the pasture where we keep the donkey and three meat goats. Don't get a donkey unless you are going to use it to plow or pack out for hunting, they are eating machines. We got Buford because we felt sorry for him in a small corral at the flea market and when they dropped the price to one hundred dollars and they would deliver him free we took Buford home. I have since planted more sweet potatoes, sweet corn ,watermelon ,squash and cantaloupe. I try to work in the garden one hour early morning and one hour late evening this is after feeding the goats and chicken and donkey. What are rainbow layers? I have one big red rooster and one white hen three big black hens and one speckled black and white hen. I have already lost seven hens to a raccoon and a chicken hawk I had to shoot both of them and bury them, put bird's net over top of the run so far so good, just keep the rifle handy. Well enough about me tell me about your farm?
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Permalink Reply by Jodie Westwood on
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I am trying my best to try to make you "my friend" on this ......I have one but forgot how I did it. You should be able to go to my page and see some pictures of the zebu. Basically they are minature brahma cows. We have 3 and I think one on the way. We ended up with them similar to Buford. LOL We moved here from Florida after horrrible hurricanes destroyed my house twice. I gave up...always wanted to move to Zone 5 so I could grow more interesting things. SO, here we are in Cleveland TN. Bought 24 acres (mostly trees) of which 10 was a former horse farm. There was an farm house that had been renovated so we took on the rest! Riley, the registered quarter horse from Wellington Florida, leader the Palm Beach Hounds Hunting Club was delivered to us as a house warming present. The other horse was dropped off here by a former neighbor and just left. We learned how to take care of horses that are nothing but yard ornaments. We did buy the Angus which we keep about 3 running around - one in the freezer every other year. Just Mom and Hubby here, no kids around, so our farm adventures are usually voted in. For two years I was voted out on a chicken house. Finally I was voted in and built one out of an old front porch roof left in the woods. Bought 10 chickens of which 6 were roosters. Beautiful as they were, 5 roosters too many. We kept Gary - huge rooster who thought his purpose was to rip my legs off. Gary has moved to a friend's house who wanted an aggressive rooster. Good! A coyote came through and ate my best hen, bringing me down to 3 chickens. I ordered a batch of rainbow layers, eggs from pink to green & blue. Now I have 25 hens and 2 roosters. They are sooo fun to watch grow, some weird chickens - top hats, bloomers, one is gray with a peach breast, spotted B & W, white rocks, and one red. They are fabulous entertainment and we love the eggs. Of course these ladies wont lay until October and I cant wait to see what they will do.
I work a garden as well. My husband insists on a large one, tilled, evenly planted and I struggle every year with horrendous weeds. I prefer my raised beds where right now I have potatos, tomatos, pumpkins, squash, onions corn, and canteloupe planted. I have alot of physical problems and am not able to work anymore, but being around here is a full time job!
Would love to see the canning show. I am sick and tired of bad batches. Last year we carefully removed boiled peanuts from the shelf as if we were handling nitro. Man, did they stink. THE BALL BLUE BOOK? Couldnt live life without it. Learned to basic can from my former mother-in-law. westwood3@bellsouth.net
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