We eat a ton of potatoes. Probably more than most folks do. We make poutine at least once or twice a week, so it’s safe to say that we go through a lot of spuds over a year. Traditional methods of growing potatoes are both labour intensive and space consuming. Long rows which must be tilled, fertilized and raked into hills. It’s a lot of work.
This year, we are comparing 3 different methods of growing potatoes. First, the obvious – growing potatoes in towers. This is an efficient way of using vertical growing methods to raise a crop of potatoes without taking up a huge footprint in your yard or garden. Second, we are growing potatoes in buckets. This is a relatively common method used by many folks to grow potatoes in small spaces. And third, we have dedicated one 24 foot row in one of our gardens to use the traditional method of growing potatoes in the ground, and hilling up the soil as the plants grow.
This first video of the season goes over how we plant our potato towers. The growing medium, spacing and planting the entire tower at once.