A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 "trash can potatoes"

i read an article (and can't find it now) about how to grow potatoes in plastic garbage cans (poking holes in the bottom for drainage of course). seems like you only needed one (or two) for a family of 4 and you just kept adding dirt (soil) to it like you would if you were hilling up the potatoes in a regular garden. the difference is that instead of having to dig, at the end of the season, you could just dump out the can and there you would have your potatoes!

i am thinking about trying it, and we should be about 8 weeks from any chance of frost here where i live. anybody have any ideas???

also, do you think it would work for peanuts? what about the small "red new potatoes"?

Jiffy,
I've watched shows on my WNED channel,
and they do a show called "Victory Gardens"
and they did a show where they went over to
the I"ll say, Netherlands, or please forgive
me for not remembering where, it may come to me.

But they have those plot gardens and also contests
for the growing vegetables..... I forget the type of vegetable grown, but I want to say turnips or parsnips, or it's a root crop and it's white.

But anyways they a little area in the ground, reasonal deep?? Up to you how deep, but they put
a garbage can on top, with the bottom taken out of the can.... fill the can with very nice dirt
(No need for holes in the sides as there is no bottom in the can....but they grow these super, super, super long veggies inside the can, and they would never got a root crop that big, because it would be impossible to grow that deep in the ground, (*you couldn't dig that deep to get it penetrable enough for the tip of the root to get that far down....let alone harvest it without breaking...*)

Has anyone seen that show, or the vegetable I'm
talking about?? This Alz's stuff is k*lling me!!

Anyways, the long end of the short of it,
it is possible.....I would think for you to do
that...
#1. Carrots
#2. Beets
#3. Parsnips
#4. Onions
#5. Turnips, parsnips and rutabagas.........

How does one grow peanuts...I'm not a peanut farmer, but I would believe anything's possible.

Try it, and let us know!!!

Weezie

P.S. I'd do some research about each plant,
one might like cooler than the other????????
So, a metal garbage can may/or NOT be the thing to use???

Anyone with ideas on the heat of metal can in the South??? Would the heat to the metal heat up the dirt and do good, or would it conduct too much heat and cook the dirt??? With it being raised bed you tend to dry out faster.....
Would a plastic one keep too much moisture in it??

Just gotta do both and report back to us!!!

The other day on the Huell Howser show, they were interviewing a Calif Master Gardener; she showed how to grow potatoes in old tires...

Tire on ground; fill with mulch, & plant your little sprouters.
When the vine gets 8-10 inches long (notice all the little nubbies on the stem & leaves? Those are all potential 'taters!), stack another tire on the first one and, holding the vine upright, fill the second tire with dried leaves or mulch. You can repeat it two or three more times, depending on how many old tires you have laying around
When it's time to harvest, start taking your tire stack apart and harvest yer 'taters!

Jiffy,

I think that's a marvelous idea! I don't have any know how, but I think I'd like to try it myself! I don't have a huge yard, so something like that would be just the ticket!

I'll be following the thread...I am interested myself!

ok here is what i came up with after consulting one of our best gardeners (who was anonymous during our conversation, but shhhhhh it's bill ) i have an old laundry hamper, the kind with holes on the sides. well, i am going to poke the holes in the bottom, line a small part with cardboard (to hold the dirt) and plant the taters. then, as they grow, i will fill it in like the tire thing. i just don't have any tires (and don't want to "aquire" any) and the trashcan method said that when you are done, just dump them out and viola! you have potatoes! so, i'm going to try it. will keep ya'll posted, and even post pics as it goes!

Jiffy,

I did the trash can method years ago and it works great. Got some seed potatoes from the local nursery, I used peat moss instead of dirt (my dirt is like cement in my yard) afterwards put the peat on the compost heap, got lots of potatoes. I use the tires for my tomatoes, acts like a mulch, keeps the ground warmer, have had up to 8ft plants with lots and lots of tomatoes. God luck with whichever method you try.

largelady, glad to know it works, but my question now is this... what kind of trash can did you use? plastic or metal?

Jiffy,

I used an old plastic can, bottom was ripped so I figured I'd try it. Thinking of doing this again as the garbage company has changed our pickup and now we have to use their cans so I have two that are just hanging around and are in pretty good shape.

Take it from me, the tires grow wonderful potatoes, be sure though to add some way to keep mice out, I did this once years ago, thought how pretty those tires looked stacked up, all over the place(versus layin on the junk pile) potatoes were lookin real good, then the mice made themselves a lil condo complete with a smorgasboard, result, LOTS of nibbled potatoes

I had been eye~ballin' my husbands' tires
to grow tomatoes in!!!

I had wondered about the rubber and growing
things in it??
Anyone heard of no~no's for that?
Does it absorb or leak anything with
the heat of the sun?
Or perspire "stuff" for the lack of a better word,
when the heat is on?
Or manure do anything again to the rubber,
or fertilizers???

Big on my mind, as I like organic..
But I really was eyeballing them
what great extra space!!!

Weezie

weezie, i have never heard anything bad about the tires unless they are burned in fire. the sun or water doesn't seem to cause them to leech anything out, that is the problem with disposing of tires, they just don't biodegrade! and from what i understand there isn't much to make them toxic anyway.

Hmm...
Can't figure out how the tires work with the tomatoes? I think I could put one tire tower outside. Does anyone think the trash can would work inside!

Apples,
The only problem you might run into would
be drainage???
Unless you sat the whole can on top of a big
bucket of rocks to let the water drain in to?

Weezie

That's the plan!