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Spuds in a Tub

spuds in a tub Well, not a tub exactly, but the top half of a composter that didn’t work very well. Since I’m dating a man who doesn’t eat vegetables, except for, as he puts it “the noble root crop” I’m growing spuds this year. I tried them once before and they didn’t work particularly well — mostly because I don’t think I watered them enough. Also, they take up a lot of space — so this year I thought I’d try containment spuds — the bottom of this thing is open, so perhaps they’re rooting their way down into the stony ground (this is a kind of no-mans land part of the garden). These are some Carolas and German Butterballs that I got from my milk lady last year and that sprouted before I could eat them — so I stuck them in a paper bag and waited for spring. This really couldn’t have been easier. I put about a wheelbarrowful of compost in the bottom, stuck the spuds in, and covered them with old straw. And voila! They’re going great gangbusters (as my grandmother would say). I looked at them yesterday and they’re flowering, so here’s hoping that in another few weeks we’ll have delicous new potatoes …

I'm a writer and editor based in Livingston, Montana. I moved to Livingston from the San Francisco Bay area in 2002 in search of affordable housing and a small community with a vibrant arts community. I found both. LivingSmall details my experience buying and renovating a house, building a garden, becoming a part of this community. It also chronicles my efforts to rebuild my life after the sudden death of my younger brother, and closest companion, Patrick in a car wreck.

3 Comments on “Spuds in a Tub

  1. and, you do’t have to dig to find them!
    But I’m sure you will convince your man to eat veggies once your own are ready to harvest

  2. I think it was MFK Fisher who quoted a vegetaphobe as saying: “I’ll take double potatoes. That other stuff grows in the ground.”

    Umm.

  3. We’ve tried this method now two years in a row. The first year we got HUGE plants, and not one potato. We just dismantled our first tower this year, which was over four feet tall, and there were about 8 to 10 small potatoes, all near the very bottom, at ground level. I have NO idea what we’re doing wrong, but it’s not delivering the copious potatoes we’ve been led to believe it would. I’m very curious to hear how yours turn out!

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