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Vegetable Gardening

potato planting in laundry basket

14 years ago

Well, I have potatoes already planted in my raised beds, 1/2 wine barrels, smartbags. I was at a garage sale on Sunday. Saw 2 laundry baskets made out of wire, more like a hamper actually. You reckon if I put cardboard around the inside of these hampers to keep the soil in, that potatoes would grow just fine? These hampers are 3 feet tall with pretty tight wiring but not tight enough...some method of keeping soil inside them is needed. Any alternatives to cardboard? I was thinking straw...don't have straw...do have pine needles though. I wish to succeed with these hampers...they were 50 cents apiece. Thanks for any ideas.

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Comments (10)

misterbaby
14 years ago
A burlap bag would work fine. Misterbaby.
m_lorne
14 years ago
Landscape fabric/weed barrier?
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It was flowering but I had a black heart sweet potatoe in a hanging basket that huge and lush looking all year. Most of my other things I had to move more into the shade or they didn't do very well. One other thing I had spilling out of a large cast iron pot in full sun was calibrachoa Million Bells. Those things bloomed like crazy all year and may survive the winter outside. I thought they were annual but they are still alive and even have some green leaves coming out after this warm spell. I will be so happy if they live and bloom again. They did so much better in the heat than my petunias.
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How are you going to take the laundry basket off to increase the sun if you're not home until 4pm? Can you find a spot that only gets morning sun (north or east side of a building or large tree), put the plants there to harden off after a day or 2 in complete shade, then each day inch them out to the west/south a little so they get a little more sun each day? That's what I do so I don't have to run out each morning or afternoon to move a bunch of plants? I am thinking of trying the laundry basket (actually just pots) to "harden off" my plants after transplanting this week - they just haven't seen much sun these past 2-3 weeks that I've been trying to harden them off and it's getting late to plant, can't really take the time to wait for Mother Nature to cooperate. So I'm planting the more-hardened and hardy tomatoes tomorrow (POURING today, I think we're getting that 2" dump you just got, Linda) and will try to shade them with pots for Sunday when it's bright and sunny. The more delicate, less-hardened peppers will be planted on Monday when it will be overcast again, trying the pots to shelter them if necessary though I'm going to try to give them a little more sun over the weekend (don't know how much they can tolerate after so many overcast days in a row). I'll let you know how it goes.
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deep___roots
Original Author
14 years ago
Burlap would work! I have empty sandbags in stock! Thanks.
On my way home from work yesterday, I saw someone was throwing out 12 inch diameter stiff plastic drain pipe. Got me a 5 foot piece. Cut that in half and I've got 2 more potato planters or tomatoes would work in these too. You can never have enough planting options, or at least I can never have enough apparently.
nycynthias
14 years ago
What a great thread. I love hearing all the ingenious ways gardeners come up with to garden creatively and inexpensively.
lilydude
14 years ago
I've tried growing in plastic milk crates. You won't believe how fast the soil is going to dry out. I would seal the baskets with plastic film, or a big garbage bag. And then just poke a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage.

Is the wire going to rust?
dancinglemons
14 years ago
12 inch drain pipes ?? I like this. Lowes or HD will cut them to the length I need. I'm thinking perhaps putting several in the ground and fill with some good potting mix to grow a contained mint plant. You guys are FAN-TAS-TIC!!!!!!!

Thanks!!
DL
cyrus_gardner
14 years ago
Back to OP's question.
I think hay, straw, pine needle, leave(combination there of) would be best IFF you make a good thick wall(1 to 2") with them as you fill the basket. They will insulate from heat better than just a fabric. One thing you should know about potatoes that their roots like to stay cool.
Soil temps near and over 70F will upset the production of tubers.
deep___roots
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Cyrus. I also have lots of oak leaves of a soft variety (quercus lobata) that would probably work as well as a soil containment barrier. These leaves would stay moist if the layer was an inch or 2 thick!
I figure to sink these baskets about 6 inches deep for stability. Then I'll see what kind of materials I might use to keep the soil above ground inside. I've got burlap sacks, oak leaves, pine needles and cardboard to choose from so far. I want to keep my costs in this venture to the one dollar I paid for the baskets!
Yes, I think these might rust eventually...they have a white coating over the wire, no doubt they were not designed for outside use.
cyrus_gardner
14 years ago
Forget the cardboard. You may use burlap as outer liner then pack with oak lives/pine straw. This is more than just soil retainer. As I said, it is an insulation to keep potato roots cooler And, prevent moisture evapopration at the same time it can breath (no stagnation).
MORE:
Fill the bottom about 8" +/-?. mix in some manure/compost or 10-10-10 fertilizer. Place your seeds down; cover 2-3".
As the stems grow, keep filling aroun them with soil,straw combo and pack leaves/pine straw on the outer side until is level. You may want to fertilize when they flower. LOw N , higher P an K is better. You don't want foliage.
User
14 years ago
cyrus, you are a font of knowledge.

Would it be ok to chip/shred straw before mulching around the potatoes?

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