Homegrown spuds typically grow in hills with each plant producing between three and six large potatoes. Producing enough potatoes to feed a family in a home garden takes up precious ground space. Vertical gardening takes advantage of height so those fresh veggies don't take up too much garden area. A homemade tower encourages potato plants to grow up without edging out other vegetables in your garden plan.
Choose a spot for your potato tower that gets six hours or more of sunlight each day. The potato tower is a temporary structure, but you can't move it once you begin planting, so choose the location carefully.
Cut a piece of chicken wire or old fencing material to make a cylinder shape with a diameter between 2 and 3 feet. Cut the material to be at least 3 feet tall, giving the potatoes plenty of room to grow.
Shape the chicken wire into a cylinder, overlapping the cut edges slightly to avoid a gap. Secure the edges with pieces of wire every 6 inches. Place the cylinder in position where you want the potato tower to remain throughout the growing season.
Cover the gaps in the chicken wire with straw. Place the straw on the inside of the tower against the wire to create a lining. If you use bamboo fencing, you shouldn't need the straw lining, as the fencing will keep the soil in place.
Line the bottom of the tower with a few inches of compost to create a nutrient-rich base for the potatoes. Spread the compost evenly over the bottom.
Position about five or six seed potatoes on top of the compost. Space the potatoes evenly so they each have room to grow.
Bury the seed potatoes with 2 to 3 inches of soil. Water the soil.
Add another 2 to 3 inches of soil each time the potato plants emerge through the soil. Water the potato tower regularly to keep the soil moist without soaking the potatoes. Continue adding soil until you get to about 6 inches from the top of the tower.
Harvest the potatoes once the plants die back, just as you would when growing potatoes in the ground. To easily find the potatoes, unhook the wire holding the tower together; the soil and potatoes will fall out of the tower so you can easily pick through and gather the vegetables.
Things You Will Need
- Chicken wire
- Wire cutters
- Certified, disease-free seed potatoes
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