Sunday, January 29, 2012

Potato Bin

Another crazy and busy weekend has come and gone.

Just a quick update on the bathhouse signs. I got them all finished but after glossing them, some turned out too dark to read so I am needing to redo three.

As far as today, the preacher was really wound up this morning and ran us over so I had a late start. Don't get me wrong, his message was great and it kinda hit me right in the forehead. I think he plans his sermons around my life, or at least it seams that way. 
We didn't get home till almost 1:00 and had to be gone again by 2:30. Luckily the wife had some people over buying books so that bought me about another hour to build on the potato bins.
   
I took 2x6 boards and cut them to make a three foot square. I then nailed in a 4x4 at opposite corners on the first rung up high enough to accommodate the 2x6 squares to be stacked five high.
The idea is the same as the tires. The plants grow and you add the next tier with compost and straw.
I should be able to plant 6 to 8 plants in each bin.
I am only starting off with two for the Feb 15th planting and if the are any good then I will make more for the fall planting.

At 3:00 we finally had to git. My buddy Dave and his wife were cooking liver and gizzards with mashed potatoes and gravy. They invited the whole family over and I was not going to miss out on this one. Being there was not anything healthy about that meal I was not about to go half way. I figured if I am going to do it then I am going to jump in with both feet and make it worth my while.
Man did I tear up some of that.  

Y'all have a great week and be safe.

24 comments:

  1. enjoy the liver while you can...used to be really cheap at the supermarket...under $1. per lb....now it is almost $7 bucks a lb. in n.e.ms.

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  2. I'll be eager to hear how those potato bins work out. I just might have to make me some. - Genevieve

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  3. My hubby and I were just reading up on potato bins the other day. Right now we are torn between using 2 by 6s which will run up in price or using some trash cans or barrels. MMmmm liver dumplings.....

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  4. That's really cool. I was just going to grow potatoes in the garden, but I like this idea!

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  5. bahahahah! if i were with you, i would have torn up some of that, too. sounds deelish! we just had a pile of liver and onions and baked potatoes the other day - oh man did we stuff our faces.

    on to the potatoe boxes - i am so glad that you are doing that this year. we have been doing ours in tires for almost 5 years now and love those tires for potatoes. but i have seen potatoe boxes on a few sites now and have been wondering about them. you can be my guinea pig and let me know how it goes. the boxes are looking great btw.

    your friend,
    kymber

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  6. Anony - It was superb, Thank you

    G - I am as well. I think they will be better than the tires. The wife already loves them.

    Coley - You know me, these boards are all scrap from the building I tore down last year.
    Trash cans will work but the light needs to get to the bottom when the plants are just starting out. If you cut the barrels in thirds maybe and attached a couple of boards on the inside so when you put on the next level it will be held in place, it could work. Trash cans are higher than scrap wood. Tell your hubby to pick some pallets up at work and use the wood from those. Just an idea.

    Kelly - They take up too much room for me, plus the yield is so much more when they are stacked. Think about the room 20 potato plants would take up in a traditional garden. I will have all that in two 3 foot squares.

    Kymber - The tires have been our way for the last twenty years and I will still us them for the squash, pumpkins and watermelons but if this works on the potatoes then I might do it for now on. I like the look a lot better and so far it looks to be a lot easier.

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    Replies
    1. I am sure one of the reason Mrs. MDR loves them is they are much prettier than the tires. I can't say I blame her. Also a lot less toxic. - Genevieve

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  7. Mine were the same. I just added dirt and boards as they grew. When the potatoes were ready, I would just take off the bottom board, pull out the potatoes, replace the dirt and put the board back on. Next time I would go up one board. It worked ok. I just didn't have a good crop. I read where you can get as much as 100# of potatoes out of each one.

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  8. John - On these instead of nailing the boards on one at a time, I have premade several 3' squares and they just slip over the 4x4's so when it comes time to harvest I slip them up and off then remove the dirt.
    The yield is the main reason I decided to do them this way. The tires are okay but these are suppose to be much better.

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  9. Very cool and much the same concept as the potato towers I have built and used going on three years. Yours seem more permanent and initially more expensive depending on where you get the materials. Mine are just chicken wire and straw although this year I am going to exclusively use brown shopping bags from the store. They worked great! Got tons of spuds.You can see them here on this older blog post. http://welcometothehenhouse.blogspot.com/2011/03/fifteen-days-and-counting.html

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  10. G - I don't know if pretty and potato bin goes in the same sentence but yes, that is why she likes them better.

    sista - The wire towers were my first thought but decided against it. As far as permanent, these are just sitting on the ground and can be moved very easy. The 4x4 posts are attached only to the bottom boards and are used as guides for the next layers and to keep the boards from pushing out.
    Thanks for stopping by.

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  11. Is there a reason they are only 3' x 3' or can they be longer? - G

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  12. G - Three reasons. One is that the removable 3' square rings are small enough and light enough to lift off and on with only one person. Second, I can control the moisture in the beds better. Third, it is what the scrap 2x6 boards are so that way I can use them up.
    You can make the beds as long as you want them but the whole theory behind it is to add too and stack up instead of spread out. It goes back to that square foot gardening thing.

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  13. The bins look great! I was going to try tires this yea, but those look more interesting. Lol

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  14. I will be using the tires this year. But I have a place that imports Marble from India and it is packed in wooden frames for shipboard transit. When they unpack the marble, they let me have the wood! Oak, Ucaliptus (SP?) and pine. 8' 4 X 4's, 12' 8 X 2's. And it's the right price......FREE!
    I use it to build raised beds and I just started cutting it into strips to use as a wall covering in the pantry.
    Maybe building Potato bins are in my future!?
    TOM

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  15. SFG - Thank you very much

    Tom - I have always used tires so this will be a first for me.
    It sounds like you have a great supply for wood, Good deal.

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