The Potato Chronicles

American Classic Potato Project 2012...

Living onsite as a Self Storage Manager has pros and cons.  One pro?  I have a ten-step commute to work in these days of $4 per gallon gasoline.  The cons?  I don’t have a yard to speak of.  Don’t get me wrong — I have a lovely raised deck, and maintenance-free rock area as well as a second-level sun deck that runs the entire length of my home.  I just don’t have a garden spot.  And, for a girl who likes to garden, we had to come up with some alternatives to enjoy this hobby.

Welcome to our world of container gardening!  Between 5 gallon pails, some raised beds, some rectangular flower boxes, and some garbage cans, we are finding a way to grow the vegetables we love!

Last year, we attempted our garbage can potatoes — with little success.  After realizing where our mistakes were made, we are ready for success this year!  For those who are interested in following along, we’ll be posting progress pictures and blogging our way to harvest.  And, for all our customers who are excited to join us on this journey, we’ll be inviting you to join us for our HOMEMADE POTATO SOUP as fall arrives!  Won’t you join us, too?

Our seed potatoes arrived on March 17th.  We planted them over the Easter weekend in the two plastic trash barrels you see in this picture.  They sit behind two raised bed gardens that hold our new tomato plants.

With drainage holes drilled in the bottom of the trash cans, we placed approximately 4 inches of soil in the bottom of the can.  The seed potatoes were planted with the ‘eyes’ facing up.

For every four to six inches of potato plant growth, we will add two to four inches of new soil.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Once we reach the top of the trash cans, we’ll simply wait for the potato plants to dry up.  Once that occurs, it will be harvest time!

We’ll spread a tarp on the ground, tip the trash can over, and harvest our potatoes!

We’ll be updating this potato journey throughout the coming months, so watch for new pictures!