The Potato Bin is, theoretically, a very small footprint way of growing massive amounts of food… when it works.
The Potato Bin Chronicles
Spice put in a potato bin last year at the homestead, and the results were interesting, unexpected and… frankly… she found them a bit underwhelming.
We all know the expression “if at first you don’t succeed try and try again,” and for most things that’s a pretty smart motto.*
Here’s a link to last year’s article on preparing the bin the first time:
If your are not in a clicking mood, here are some highlights of what it’s supposed to look like/work like:
The concept:
Plant potatoes inside of a wooden frame. Start with boards closing off only the bottom of the frame. As the potatoes grow, add more soil around the growing stalk. The stalk will grow taller on top, and the part of the stalk now in contact with soil sprouts roots that grow extra potatoes. Keep adding boards and soil throughout the season. If you wish, you can even take off boards at the bottom, reach in, and nab some of the bigger potatoes while the top of the plant and the younger potatoes continue to grow. I’ve read of people getting 24 lbs of potatoes from a single plant by this method. (And everything on the internet is true, Right?)
My attempt:
I put my potato bin inside my raised bed garden, for multiple reasons: It can be at least partially watered by the drip irrigation system. (That’s the brown hoses running over the soil surface inside the box.) That was where I had pre-loosened, good quality soil for the original planting. I haven’t planted potatoes in the raised beds before, and I’ve read you get much more blight if potatoes use the same ground each year. As a bonus I planted peas all around the exterior of the box so they can use the frame as a climbing surface.
So how did it turn out?
“First problem: The rabbits. They ate through my smaller fence, so I had to get more ambitious. That botched my plan for adding more boards. I managed to get a few more on (about 24 vertical inches of tower), but it was such a hassle it got away from me some in midsummer and I didn’t build it as high as intended.
Things were looking good though! The stems kept popping up as I layered compost and straw higher and higher; they looked vigorous and well. So I had high hopes this past week when it was time to harvest – you can see the tops were dying back in this last pic.
But as Einstein said, “If we Knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be Research!” I dug down and down, through several bags and half a straw bale worth of building, with nary a potato to be found. The stems I was exposing were smooth, with no root branches. Eventually, when I had made it down to nearly floor level, I found them. ” They were densely packed and good looking, but only found in the bottom six inches or so of the box.
So it’s now Springtime, what’s next?
I did more reading after the first underwhelming results (2.5 gallons of taters from a 32 x 32 in box) and formed a hypothesis about what went wrong: Poor choice of potato type. It turns out early season varieties don’t put out side roots when the stem is in contact with soil; they just sprout their taters from the original roots and are done.
This time, I won’t make that mistake. I might make a *different* mistake of course, but not that one. This year I’ll do a late season cultivar or two. I’m also going to move the box to my ‘traditional’ in ground garden area. I’ll have to hand water it, but I can make it easier to get to when it’s time to add more boards so I’m less tempted to slack off midseason. The compost and straw I use to fill up the box is no loss anyway; as I need to replace some soil every year anyway.
I will do the planting of peas around the periphery of the box again. That worked well; and beans and peas add nitrogen to the soil while potatoes use it. *Cue the season-ending cliffhanger music*
* For some things, not everything… for example, if at first you don’t succeed in something like skydiving or cave diving, then you are dead so… yeah, it really doesn’t work. Potatoes are much safer, the chance of fatality is much lower.