I read a newspaper article regarding how to get amazing yields out of potatoes. You build a small square planter out of wood, or use tires, and add a layer or two of dirt every now and again forcing one plant to grow up tall, it gives you generous yields and uses very little space.

Thank you Laurell: can a large pot do the same? Don't see why not?

Here is a link to Sinfonian's garden adventure. He is a young father who is growing potatoes in an interesting way.http://ft2garden.powweb.com/sinfonian/

Hi Scarleta,
Ciscoe Morris grows spuds in a clean garbage can, with good results. I suppose you could use any large container with drainage. Here's his article from the Seattle Times:

Growing spuds in a garbage can is fun, and it's something you can do to get your kids interested in gardening. Any clean plastic garbage can will work. Drill at least four 1/2-inch holes in the bottom for good drainage and fill the bottom 6 inches deep with houseplant potting soil. Mix in slow-release fertilizer, or feed every two weeks with high-phosphorus, soluble houseplant fertilizer. Buy starter potatoes at a nursery, and plant them whole, 5 inches apart, just under the soil surface and water them in. The vines will soon begin to grow and as soon as they reach 4 inches tall, cover all but 1 inch of the lowest vine with compost, wood chips or potting soil. Continue to cover the vines in this way until they grow out of the top of the garbage can. Once the vines bloom, you can reach in and pick the biggest spuds you can find. These are new potatoes and they won't store, but they are delicious for that evening's dinner. Wait to do the main harvest until vines die back completely in fall. You never know what you'll get. My champion harvest was 42 softball-size Yukon Golds. Then for some reason, the next year I planted the same variety and got exactly 9,347,012 spuds smaller than pingpong balls.

Sedum:What a great idea.I must go and get some Yukon Gold as these are my favorite potatoes.
Thanks Dottyinduncan: i will check your link later.Must rush to work now.
Many thanks for everyone's help on this.Will plant them this weekend for sure.

I am going to plant mine in a wire mesh circle - same as some folks do for compost. Will see how this works. We have a lot of gophers and mice, so hopefully I'll also remember to put wire on the bottom.

Miranda -

That sounds like a great idea. I have heard, however, to be careful that the sun doesn't get to the spuds. If you keep them on the "inside" you should be fine.

Has anyone used the black "grow bags" that they sell online? You plant the potatoes and fill the bags as the vines grow. To harvest, dump out the bag! (Never tried it, sounds good, though.)

Julia in Woodinville, WA

Here is a link that might be useful: Potato Grow Bags

I planted my potatoes inside a wire mesh 'bin' this week. Admittedly this is an experiment. My idea is to try and increase leaf exposure to sun (our garden is partially shaded by neighbour's trees) by having potato branches grow out through the holes in the mesh on the side in addition to the top growth. As the potato plants grow, I will be adding layers of pine needles and composted maple leaves to cover the stem and build the 'tower.'

I am using the Bintje variety of potatoes. That is a late season variety which reportedly sets fruit several times as the plant grows up. That is different from early season potatoes like Warba and Yukon Gold which set fruit only once, at bottom.

I am using the early season Warba's in a 5 gallon pot in the green house, hoping to have early potato 'nuggets' by May.

About a month ago I put about 6 inches of soil in a garbage can, I placed a spud on top then covered with about 4 inches of soil. I now have sprouts about 6 inches tall. You should add about 4 inches of soil. Do this a few times and when the plant begins to bloom, it's time to reach in for dinner. I did the same basic idea for planting directly into the soil. The ones planted directly in the soil are growing quicker. Now lets say that me and my neighbors will not be buying potatoes this season. Have fun!!!

I planted Norlands in a number of buckets last year which was very successful. Followed the method generally talked about above - simply hilling up as the plants grow until the whole bucket is full. Since last year was a success, I decided to grow more varieties this year - Russian Blue, French Fingerling, Alaska Sweetheart, German Butterball and Caribe. Can't wait for potato salads!