Growing Potatoes In Straw

October 12, 2016

Growing Potatoes In Straw

October 12, 2016

 

Garden Experiments - Potatoes

I told you back in June about an experiment I was conducting with strawberries and potatoes. The strawberry experiment was a complete fail thanks to a couple of chipmunks who got in and dug them all up. The potato experiment is another story.

Before starting my experiment I did some research and found that I shouldn’t plant my potato seedlings in straw bales. I read that there would be too much air in the bales and the potatoes would dry out. But I wondered what would happen if I used last years straw bales that were already broken down?

I proceeded to create two corner planters with extra fence posts and left-over wire fencing and then I filled it with the old straw from the 2015 straw bale garden and then proceeded to treat them and prepare them just as I did the NEW straw for straw bale garden 2016. This helped to break the straw down even more turning it into some beautiful soil.

I did top the straw soil combo off with some Miracle Grow Garden soil but the rest of that is all beautifully decomposed straw.

Garden Experiments - Potatoes

And then I set them up with my drip irrigation system and hoped for the best.

 

straw bale garden potatoes

Summer wore on hot and dry and I’m really glad I had that drip irrigation in place.

I topped off the straw and soil two more times with 2-3 inches of Miracle Grow Garden Soil as the plants grew.

potato plant flower from the creative goddess gardens

An d then there were blossoms!

And then finally the plants started to fall over and I knew it was time to inspect my work and see how things had turned out.

 

 

I was kind of afraid they might not have had enough time to do what they needed to do so initially I stuck my hand down into the soil and only pulled out enough potatoes for dinner. They were quite tasty!

I didn’t get a TON of potatoes but enough that Warren and I can enjoy them for several meals. I got to thinking that I might have gotten more potatoes if they’d had more room so you KNOW I had to go all out and create a BIGGER area to plant potatoes in 2017!

Fingerling potatoes, roma tomatoes, hot banana peppers from The Creative Goddess garden
Rose Finn fingerling potatoes, Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, a spaghetti squash, and hot banana peppers from The Creative Goddess garden

In the end, my potato experiment worked out. Growing potatoes in straw works if it’s already broken down and turning into soil. I imagine it wouldn’t work so well in new straw bales but this older straw worked out just fine.

I moved the soil that had grown the potatoes over to another bed and mixed it in. It will grow something different next year. I find it endlessly entertaining that all of that old straw from my garden is now dark loamy soil. FREE soil.

 

 

 

Vicki O'Dell

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  • Carol M Dobbins October 13, 2016 at 9:30 am

    Glad to know your experiment went well. I think you’re probably right, a larger “field” may work better. You have inspired us. We are doing some raised beds next year again.

  • Dr. Gail H. Devoid, Ph.D. October 12, 2016 at 5:35 pm

    Our experiment with Daikons, Chinese radishes, was a complete failure for the tomato plants. The radished grew so fast that they choked the tomato plants. However, we had a great crop of radishes.

    Next year, we are going back to tradition. Start the seeds inside, grow them a bit in the greenhouse, put down the red plastic, plant, and WEED.

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