How To Start A Potato Tower

Urban gardening is becoming a big thing and a larger number of people are reviving an old past time. Decades ago, urban gardens, then called Victory Gardens, were everywhere, and were started as a way to grow food cheaply. World War II was going on and resources were scarce. Much like now, there wasn't a lot to go around so people started their own gardens as a way to afford fresh produce. Food today may be plentiful, but the prices have become outrageous so people all over the country are turning to an older time and starting their own gardens.

You can grow practically anything to meet any dietary need, regardless of if you have allergies to certain foods or you require gluten free bread. All of this can be done quite simply, but it does take time to put a garden together. One favorite garden project is called a potato tower, and they are incredibly cheap to construct. Instructions for starting one include:

Getting the Materials

First, you'll need to get four tires, and it doesn't matter what kind. They can be large or small or new or old. If you have access to them, use old tires. Not only are they cheap, but you will also be reusing them which is environmentally friendly. Once you have the tires, you should wash them clean of any chemicals or toxins that may be on them.

Next, you'll need to get soil and seed potatoes. You can use old potatoes, but this isn't advisable. There are usually too many pesticides on regular potatoes, and they won't produce a very good crop. They have a tendency to rot as well. Once you purchase crop potatoes, you'll want to cut them up into chunks and then let them dry out for a few days. Once they are dry, you're ready to plant.

Planting

The tires will be stacked vertically as the plants grow which provides the dark climate potatoes need to grow wonderfully. This is also a great option for people who are working with limited space. So once you're ready to plant, take one of your tires and securely place in where ever you want your potatoes to grow. Then place several of the potato seed plants at the base of the tire. Once you do this, cover it with soil. The soil doesn't have to be high quality. That's the beauty of potatoes; they'll grow in almost anything. Once you've covered them in soil, fill the tire to the top and let it go. In the space of a couple weeks, you'll then see tiny leaf sprouts starting to come up from the soil. Once you see this you're ready to add another tire.

Stacking

As you see the sprouts hit the dirt's surface, add another tire and more dirt. Continue the above process until you use all four tires. Meanwhile there are several pounds of potatoes growing in each tire. Once all of your tires are full, you can then work backwards and start harvesting them from top to bottom. You'll have potatoes all summer and fall.

Even though potatoes are really cheap, this is still a great way to cut down on food expenses and give you a project at the same time. There's lots of other space saving gardening techniques that you can add to your urban gardening arsenal so look online for other ideas. It's cheap, easy, and fun to grow you own food while becoming more sustainable in the process.