I am very proud of my husband who built me this potato box. Working with wood is not a strong point with him, he is much more comfortable working with cars. So, I know how lucky I am to get one of these. The potato box is new for me and will be an experiment. The idea is to increase production in a small space. I hope to expand on it’s purpose a bit and get a somewhat steady stream of “new potatoes.” I call small red potatoes new potatoes. According to what I have read, potatoes can be harvested at any time, there is no mature state.
The idea is to plant the seed potatoes in the lower 20% of the box, with the side slats, with the exception of the very top one and the two bottom ones, removed. The sun will cause the potatoes to sprout up through the first 6 inches of soil, and breach the surface, and continue growing some nice green vines and leaves up on top. When the plants get to about a foot tall, I can add more soil, or a mixture of soil and straw, and cover up two-thirds of the plant. One-third of the plant must always remain above the soil surface. It seems, according to the experts, the green leafy part is important in potato production below. The potatoes will then grow into the new soil. As the plant grows, I’ll keep adding dirt periodically. At some point, probably 80 days or so after I see the green emerge, I’ll remove the slats near the bottom and go ‘tater hunting. On the following ‘tater hunt, I’ll remove slats higher up. Hopefully, I’ll get some ‘taters.
According to those more experienced at this than me, here are some tips I’ll need to follow: Use a nid- to late-season potato seed, like Red Pontiac or Yellow Finn. I will be using Red Norland, because that’s what the local garden center will have the first week of February, which, according to Clemson’s Home and Garden Center Information page, is when I need to start this experiment. The Red Norland should work OK, it shares the same mid-season classification as the Red Pontiac, which is supposed to work very well. Wisdom provided by others is not to use Gold Yukon or Kennebec. Adding potash and a fungicide is supposed to be beneficial.
