Tater Towers

Over the winter I've had some potatoes growing and now I have plenty of seed potatoes for us to use in our tater towers! I have blue, purple, red, white, and yellow potatoes to start and I plan on bringing some of each so we will have a wide variety at the end of the season.

In order to build the towers we need to pick a spot out of the way from the best sun. I think we should put them somewhere against the fence so they aren't the first thing people see. We also need to plan out how much room we have so we can figure out how many tires we're going to need.

In order to start the project we need to loosen the soil beneath the tires to promote draining. Next we need to cut away the inner ring of the tire, leaving enough of an edge so they can stack and support the weight of the other tires. The first tire needs to be completely filled with a mulch/ soil mixture then 3-4 eyes or small seed potatoes need to be placed in the center. After the potatoes are place they need to be covered with enough soil to bring it level with the top of the tire. The soil should be throughly soaked to promote growth.

After the plants get to be about 8 inches tall, place another tire on the stack and fill it with soil so that a few inches of the plant are still exposed. By gradually covering the plant with soil you are creating a 24-36 inch tap root without suffocating the plant. This process encourages the potato plants to send off more roots and more potatoes than hilling does. The black rubber absorbs heat and allows planting earlier in the season. This method requires no hoeing and once the plants are dried up the potatoes can be harvested mearly by knocking over the stack!

Other benefits:

In 2001 alone, Americans discarded nearly 281 million tires, weighing some 5.7 million tons! Dumps charge to dispose of old tires, and it is easy to get old tires for free to use in your garden.

Tires can be used to grow other plants as well. Tomatoes, lettuce, and other crops can have their growing season extended by these cheap warm beds. By using multiple sizes of tires strawberry planters can easily be created. If thats not enough you can help the environment by reusing an item that would normally take up space in a landfill.