Or for yourself. Just because.
Shhhh. Don't tell DH how much I spent on heirloom seeds at Cornucopia Seeds and Plants last week ;-)
These beauties are going to be planted in potato towers DH is going to build me this weekend (must tell him about that at some point before then ;-) out of old wooden pallets we stole liberated from our neighbours. I am stealing the idea from Melinda's friends The Shibaguyz. Check out their potato "condo" (and the rest of their fabulous courtyard food forest) in this post, and basic instructions on making a potato tower are here.
They are the same concept as the potato "cages" I have seen many bloggers build from four star pickets surrounded by chicken wire, but these will be more permanent - the tower will be cleaned out between crops and I will be sure to use fresh compost each time I plant the new spuds to limit diseases being passed on in the soil. I'll post pics after they are built!
16 comments:
Yay! Good for you - you deserve every bit of em. And I'm totally jealous. I plan to create a condo of my own next year. This year we're experimenting with barrels. Can't wait to see what your condo looks like! I have seen the Shibaguyz' potatoes and I'm totally amazed at how TALL they are!
Hey Melinda :-)
I *love* your potato barrels, they are so pretty! Since we don't have any lying around though I have to make do with what I can get LOL. I hope my taters grow as big and lush as yours and the Shibaguyz, I can't wait to see what your harvest looks like.
Cheers, Julie
Cool :)
I have some of my own in the post as well... You've got my mind ticking over how to plant them now!
Ah... Yes
I am in awe of the potato condo as well. Not sure I am going to successfully get one built but a girls allowed to dream.
Kind Regards
Belinda
Now those condos are VERY cool, i just use the mound n trench method which is rather space inefficient so next time i will give this a try. Those potatoes in the bag...very jealous, Im a sucker for packaging like that, it makes me all happy. Love home grown tats, taste sooo good. Have fun planting.
Ke
Haven't seen these potato "condos", but here's one thing I do from time to time - get some old tyres from the mechanic or tyre replacement place. They should give them to you for free, as they usually have to pay for their disposal. Each potato "patch" will need 3-4 tyres.
Lay newspaper on the ground. Put the first tyre on top. Put 4 or 5 seed potatoes on the paper inside the centre of the tyre. Place some soil / compost on top. Add the next tyre and put in more soil / compost and some blood and bone and/or manure or choice (about half full).
Water in or let the sky do it when it next rains. Add some mulch.
Place extra tyre or two on top. As the potatoes grow, you can add more soil / compost, blood and bone, manure and mulch until the top tyre is full. Potatoes like lots of food, so keep it up to them.
Some people end up with 5-6 tyres high, but I've only ever gone as high as four.
When the taties are ready, you can dismantle your tyre stack, grab your taties and the wonderful compost they've been growing in.
This is just great for small gardens. Happy tatie growing! xx
Hi Naturewitch!
PLEEEEASE don't use tyres to grow your spuds! The reason old tyres are an environmental hazard - which is why you have have to pay for disposal - is because they leach toxic heavy metals into the groundwater. If you grow potatoes in them, guess where the chromium etc that leaches out when you water them ends up? In your spuds.
Cheers, Julie
Hey there Crazy Mumma! Thanks for the mention of our Jungle Paradise in your post. As Melinda can attest to, the Potato Condo is totally out of control! LOL We don't think potatoes are supposed to get this tall... not sure if they are going to stop anytime soon or just take over the entire space. We'll have to see...
Thanks, Julie
Never heard about that before - the tyres are gone!
xx
Hi again, Julie
Checked out the potato condos - rather like the tyre idea, but without the toxic side effects (can't believe I hadn't heard about that, thank goodness I've only got one stack in the corner).
Sometime soon, I should also put a post up about how I mainly grow potatoes, but it takes a bit more space.
Thanks again for the info, xx
Hey Shibaguyz!
Thanks for stopping by :-) Your Jungle Paradise is awesome, it's remiss of me for not leaving a comment about on your blog yet *ahem* It leaves my much bigger backyard for dead, you guys are inspirational. I can't wait to see how many spuds you harvest from your condo.
Hey NW, no worries mate ;-)
Hi Kel,
Isn't the packaging cool? I know it's just spuds, but well, you understand ;-) Cute.
Hi Belinda,
I reckon the tater towers are pretty straight forward, it's the cutting up of the timber that would be the hardest part. I'm going to see if I can modify the design a bit so I can just slot the timber sides in as I go rather than nail them on. Good theory, anyway ;-)
Cheers, Julie
I've been spending up big too on seeds, potatoes and fruit trees. I'm looking forward to seeing your potato post.
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!! I showed the hubby and he's considering making some towers too. Right now we have our full backyard in potatoes as our summer cover crop so we're not in need of space, but this is great for growing season!!
You've got a great blog! I've just been looking through your archives and I'm really interested in making the deodorant. I was wondering if you could please tell me where to find the distilled witchhazel? I found some witchazel on Aussie Soap Supplies - but it doesn't say that it's distilled.
Thankyou so much,
Melx
Hi Beth :-)
Yeah, I thought it was a cool idea too. I hope it works! I guess I'll find out...
Hi Melissa!
Thanks for dropping by :-) If the witch hazel is liquid, then it has been distilled, as the "witch hazel" is actually the bark from the witch hazel tree! I buy mine from my local Coles stupormarket actually, it's in the facial cleansers section, usually hidden on the bottom shelf. Have fun :-)
Cheers, Julie
Thanks very much Julie. I'm also going to try your dishwashing, shaving cream and moisturiser recipes :)
Melx
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