You don’t need acres to grow hundreds of pounds of potatoes. All you need is a small 4 sq ft box! That’s right! Great things can come in small packages.
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If you are tight for space or just want to try something very cool this can be an amazing option. Inner city prepping never sounded so rewarding!
Between this method of growing potatoes as seen here as well as using 5 gallon buckets the idea of tight space homesteading really sounds more and more feasible. And never fear, potatoes are ridiculously nutritious and hardy. They kept Ireland afloat for some time when their times were tough!
You plant in one bottom layer, boarding up the sides of each layer and adding dirt as you go higher (you wait until the plants have grown a bit before adding a new layer). While new potatoes are growing in the top layers, remove the boards from the first layer at the bottom to carefully dig out any that are ready for harvesting. Fill the dirt back in and board up the box again. You move up the layers and harvest as they are ready. I imagine the new potatoes in the first couple bottom layers would be somewhat awkward to get at but as you move higher–not so bad.
This is a very simple and effective way to grow potatoes. I hope to give this a whirl next year. Check link below to read more information on the magic of growing potatoes in tiny spaces and to also see the DIY instructions to construct the box.
To read the full article follow the link below.
3 Comments
Mary Germic
Who can say “Irish potatoe famine”. The soil became so over used that there was a blight on the potatoe plants which ruined the harves and caused many Irish families to immigrate to the U.S. Legally of course because they had to come through Ellis Island Customs. So get your history straight before commenting on something.
David Becker
For most Irish peasants, for a significant portion of the year they ate nothing but potatoes. It was the only crop they grew, and most could not afford livestock (forget buying meat or anything else – they had no money). I think my facts are pretty straight…. many Irish ate nothing but potatoes.
larry
how many potato’s do you plant ??