Good advice! If you are space limited you can grow potatoes, cukes, carrots and many other veggies in 5 gallon bucketsl. I prefer the food grade but really any will do. Put 6” of soil, seed taters, straw or more soil on top. No more than 4” above the taters. Wait until the leaves get to the top of the bucket and fill with soil and straw. Water every three days. I have 18 buckets of potatoes, 6 of carrots and parsnips and another 3000 sf of other veggies.
If you have plenty of space look up the Ruth Stout method for potatoes. Just prepare the soil (i always add lots of bone meal for taters), place your seed potatoes directly on the soil, dont dig. Add 6 to 10 inches of straw. Just water every couple days when it is dry. No dig harvest in the Fall. I have a 300 sf garden like that every year and get plenty to eat, store and share.
Tomatoes take a little extra care but freeze well. Pinch off all the lower leaves, dig a deep hole, put rock phosphate in the bottom (tablespoon). Plant as deep as you can. Look at the hairs on a tomato stem - those are future roots if the have soil around them. Makes very sturdy plants. I only have to stake the big tomatoes. Important to pinch off all suckers (they form in the notch of many stems) - they will grow leaves, not tomatoes. Prune the bigger leaves off if necessary.
Good advice! If you are space limited you can grow potatoes, cukes, carrots and many other veggies in 5 gallon bucketsl. I prefer the food grade but really any will do. Put 6” of soil, seed taters, straw or more soil on top. No more than 4” above the taters. Wait until the leaves get to the top of the bucket and fill with soil and straw. Water every three days. I have 18 buckets of potatoes, 6 of carrots and parsnips and another 3000 sf of other veggies.
If you have plenty of space look up the Ruth Stout method for potatoes. Just prepare the soil (i always add lots of bone meal for taters), place your seed potatoes directly on the soil, dont dig. Add 6 to 10 inches of straw. Just water every couple days when it is dry. No dig harvest in the Fall. I have a 300 sf garden like that every year and get plenty to eat, store and share.
Tomatoes take a little extra care but freeze well. Pinch off all the lower leaves, dig a deep hole, put rock phosphate in the bottom (tablespoon). Plant as deep as you can. Look at the hairs on a tomato stem - those are future roots if the have soil around them. Makes very sturdy plants. I only have to stake the big tomatoes. Important to pinch off all suckers (they form in the notch of many stems) - they will grow leaves, not tomatoes. Prune the bigger leaves off if necessary.
Good luck!
Great advice. I hope this helps all our friends on here. It's good to trade tips.