Used tires can be an eyesore, a health hazard, a mosquito factory, and all of the above. Why not keep some out of the disposal facility while building a perfect potato farm? By planting a few pieces of one potato, you’ll have dozens of spuds to harvest in the fall!
MATERIALS
4 used tires (Tip: Poke holes in the sides for drainage and to prevent mosquitos from breeding.)
Indoor/outdoor white primer/sealer (Glidden Gripper works great)
Colorful exterior paint
Paint brush
Lots of soil
Seed potatoes
1. Clean the dirt from the tires, and follow the primer directions for painting and drying. Once the primer is dry, get creative with painting each tire. Allow the tires to dry overnight. (Fig. 1)
2. Place the first tire in your chosen location and fill it with soil, almost to its top. Fill the inside of the tire with soil, too. (Fig. 2)
3. Make sure each potato chunk has one to two eyes. These eyes will help the potatoes reproduce during the the season. Place each with the eyes facing upward in the soil, cover them with 2" to 3" (5 to 7.5 cm) of more soil, and water well. (See opening photo on page 62.)
4. Once your potatoes have reached 6" to 8" (15 to 20 cm) tall, place a second tire on top of the first, and add soil so only 2" to 4" (5 to 10 cm) of the potato plant is showing. Continue doing this throughout the season. (Fig. 3)
5. In the fall, and two weeks after the foliage has died back, remove the tires, dig through the soil, and harvest your potatoes! (Fig. 4)
DIG DEEPER!
THE DIRT ABOUT POTATOES
Potatoes originated in South America and have more potassium than bananas.
The part of the potato plant we eat is called a tuber, which is an enlarged, underground stem.
The potato is closely related to the tomato. Is that why they rhyme?
The largest potato on record weighed more than 7 lbs (3175 g). That’s a super spud.
