News

**Grendelmort**

Using old tires. Take a tire and lay on the ground, fill with good soil and plant the potato's.
As they grow (the green leafy part) stack another tire on top and fill with soil. Continue to do this (forcing the plants to grow upwards) until the stack of tires is 4-5 high. When it's time to harvest, kick the whole stack over and dig out the potato's.
Rake the soil into a pile and repeat (using this method in southern climes you can get 2 crops per season) or rake soil into a pile and cover with plastic sheeting until next year.

**sword777** lop guest User ID: 88347 04-15-2012 12:47 AM

Grendelmort Wrote:

Using old tires. Take a tire and lay on the ground, fill with good soil and plant the potato's.
As they grow (the green leafy part) stack another tire on top and fill with soil. Continue to do this (forcing the plants to grow upwards) until the stack of tires is 4-5 high. When it's time to harvest, kick the whole stack over and dig out the potato's.
Rake the soil into a pile and repeat (using this method in southern climes you can get 2 crops per season) or rake soil into a pile and cover with plastic sheeting until next year.

Interesting method!

What about the heat that the tires absorb from sunlight, any issues with that overheating the soil?

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 87604 04-15-2012 12:51 AM

Yay! for spuds.

Any thoughts on this?

Seed starts need to be done in our area next week but we want to move and are currently looking for a horse property rental which could take a few months to find. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to make a good sized transportable garden.

We'll plant here just in case nothing comes along in time but don't want to move and be too late to garden somewhere else.

If anyone has any suggestions, that would be much appreciated.

**Astrochik**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1OShZZUt0k

**Grendelmort**

Lurky Lew Wrote:

Grendelmort Wrote:
Using old tires. Take a tire and lay on the ground, fill with good soil and plant the potato's.
As they grow (the green leafy part) stack another tire on top and fill with soil. Continue to do this (forcing the plants to grow upwards) until the stack of tires is 4-5 high. When it's time to harvest, kick the whole stack over and dig out the potato's.
Rake the soil into a pile and repeat (using this method in southern climes you can get 2 crops per season) or rake soil into a pile and cover with plastic sheeting until next year.

Interesting method!

What about the heat that the tires absorb from sunlight, any issues with that overheating the soil?

I've never had a problem (I'm in central Texas) - but if you live in a very hot area, put the stacks under some trees or on the north side of a structure for some shade.

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 87604 04-15-2012 12:54 AM

Heat from tires isn't the major concern as they will grow well in even zone 10. Not so keen on the rubber toxins polluting the soil but tire spuds are an option.

I use the wire cage method as well as in ground.

**sword777** lop guest User ID: 88347 04-15-2012 12:54 AM

Grendelmort Wrote:

Lurky Lew Wrote:
Grendelmort Wrote:
Using old tires. Take a tire and lay on the ground, fill with good soil and plant the potato's.
As they grow (the green leafy part) stack another tire on top and fill with soil. Continue to do this (forcing the plants to grow upwards) until the stack of tires is 4-5 high. When it's time to harvest, kick the whole stack over and dig out the potato's.
Rake the soil into a pile and repeat (using this method in southern climes you can get 2 crops per season) or rake soil into a pile and cover with plastic sheeting until next year.

Interesting method!

What about the heat that the tires absorb from sunlight, any issues with that overheating the soil?

I've never had a problem (I'm in central Texas) - but if you live in a very hot area, put the stacks under some trees or on the north side of a structure for some shade.

Thanks, you've given me an idea!

**Grendelmort** · (This post was last modified: 04-15-2012 01:00 AM by Grendelmort.)

LoP Guest Wrote:

Yay! for spuds.

Any thoughts on this?

Seed starts need to be done in our area next week but we want to move and are currently looking for a horse property rental which could take a few months to find. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to make a good sized transportable garden.

We'll plant here just in case nothing comes along in time but don't want to move and be too late to garden somewhere else.

If anyone has any suggestions, that would be much appreciated.

Get some of those big "tupperware" looking tubs from a big box store that you store christmas decorations and such in. Start your plants in there and they should be good for a month or two or so until you move and can get them in the ground.

**Monkeyfister** · (This post was last modified: 04-15-2012 12:58 AM by Monkeyfister.)

Be SURE to drill some holes into the sidewalls of those tires to ensure water drainage. You DO NOT want to create a place for mosquitoes and molds and fungi to grow.

I've grown potatoes like this for years, now-- works GREAT!

Also, too: Plant Bush Beans around the Potato Plants when you get the last tire on there-- they repel Potato Beetles, and the Potatoes repel the Bean Beetle-- Two crops in one stack!

Cheer

**Grendelmort**

Monkeyfister Wrote:

Be SURE to drill some holes into the sidewalls of those tires to ensure water drainage. You DO NOT want to create a place for mosquitoes and molds and fungi to grow.

I've grown potatoes like this for years, now-- works GREAT!

Also, too: Plant Bush Beans around the Potato Plants when you get the last tire on there-- they repel Potato Beetles, and the Potatoes repel the Bean Beetle-- Two crops in one stack!

Haven't done that - thanks for the tip (plus it would hide the tires) Heartflowers

**Ohio Dude**

Astrochik Wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1OShZZUt0k

You can do this with raised beds too. Just add more and more boards to the sides as you add soil and straw. You can go as high as the potatoes keep throwing up green leaves. And like the video said, you get super nutritious soil out of the deal. I reccommend you grow cucumbers on this bed the next year after overwintering some spinach or other greens. Always rotate the beds you grow potatoes or you might get diseases.

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 79192 04-15-2012 01:01 AM

What type of soil mixture works best? Compost, peat moss, sand, etc.?

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 87604 04-15-2012 01:11 AM

I love lop-er gardening threads!

Thank you for the great suggestions of drilling holes in tires, and molding boards around the straw. Simple things that may be overlooked.

Yes, thank you Grendelmort for the tupperware suggestion, that's what we were thinking too. I just hate the idea of growing my gmo-free organics in plastic. Before they outsourced my well paying job to Mexico, I used to work for Sterilite making those totes and am very sensitive to plastic. Yuck.

**raisinbread** lop guest User ID: 87046 04-15-2012 01:11 AM

About how long til you can put another tire on? wouldn't it choke out the layer under it?

**DFTHnli** lop guest User ID: 37202 04-15-2012 01:12 AM

Grendelmort Wrote:

Using old tires. Take a tire and lay on the ground, fill with good soil and plant the potato's.
As they grow (the green leafy part) stack another tire on top and fill with soil. Continue to do this (forcing the plants to grow upwards) until the stack of tires is 4-5 high. When it's time to harvest, kick the whole stack over and dig out the potato's.
Rake the soil into a pile and repeat (using this method in southern climes you can get 2 crops per season) or rake soil into a pile and cover with plastic sheeting until next year.