It’s been quiet in the garden for the last couple of months, but as the seed catalogs have started to arrive, I suddenly realized last week that I never gave an update on how the potato bins went last year. If you recall, we decided to plant potatoes in the garden last year and wanted to tackle them in two different ways. We put half of the seed ptoatoes directly into the ground using the hilling method and got these as a result.
And we put the other half into the potato bins that we built. I can’t say that the yield was as much as the in ground ones.
The bins were built to their full heights and we had covered the leaves as they appeared. Sadly, I think I was a little overzealous in my covering and should have veered more towards the hilling technique of the potato care spectrum. For, as I dug deeper and deeper into the bins…
…all that surfaced were these little guys. (Starbucks cup can be used for size reference.)
So, it will be back to the drawing board with the potatoes this season. I have to do some more reading and searching for feedback from others who have used the bins. The leaves definitely need some sun exposure and I just need to add a little dirt at a time instead of dumping half of a bag in at a time. Has anyone else out there done potatoes in this form before? If so, I would love some tips and feedback.
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This is awesome feedback as I am contemplating a bin garden this year…maybe I need to go back to the drawing board too…
i wish i could say i’ve tried different methods but i’m STILL working on just getting myself out to START the garden space… good luck this year!
@Amybeeee Definitely giving the wooden ones a go again this year, but we have had friends be very successful with the bin bags that Gardeners Supply carries.
@FitWithFlash Start with easy potted herbs and work your way towards an in ground garden. We have a blast with all that we do, even if we have some failures.
Great idea. Maybe I’ll try this next year. We already have plans for peppers, tomatoes, and of course eggplant.
I still have yet to start a real garden. I’m afraid I just don’t have time! The bin bags sound much easier and I think I could handle that. I’ve planted herbs every summer in containers on my deck and they’ve turned out fine… now I need to play with the big kids and start doing veggies.