Last week, I built a potato condo. (Superman helped. He supervised. Har har.)
What Is A Potato Condo?
A potato condo (sometimes called a potato box or a build-as-you-go box) is basically what it sounds like – a tall, vertical home for your potatoes. Instead of growing your potatoes in rows along the ground, you grow them UP, and harvest them vertically as well. If that sounds a little weird, it will make more sense once I show you how to build it.
As far as I know, this ingenious contraption was spread across the internet by the Shibaguyz. I discovered the Shibaguyz while I was living in DC, and was so excited when I moved to Olympia and they were *gasp* in Seattle! That meant I got to be a fangirl in person at the West Seattle Edible Garden fair, where they gave a panel on container and small space gardening. They are experts at growing an incredible amount of food in a very small space. The potato condo is only the beginning.
We’re not small space or rental gardeners any more, but I still wanted a potato condo. So when my wonderful neighbors gifted me with some seed potatoes ready to go, I knew it was time.
What You Need
First of all, salvaged wood. Salvaged from a friend’s garage. She was super-awesome and did ALL the cutting for me!
2x2s – Four of them, tallish (the eventual height of your condo)
2x4s – A bunch, depending on the dimensions of the condo you intend to build. However, you won’t need them all at once, so you can get more as your potatoes (and their condo) grow.
Screws – long enough to go through your 2x4s
Some sort of screwing device. Me = electric drill = love.
Since my wood was leftover, my 2x2s are just the length they are. They’re about 3’ tall, and I may need to rig something sneaky if my potatoes get substantially taller than that. My 2x4s are 30 inchers and a set of 27 inchers, half each. You can build a different size condo, and I’ve seen several sets of dimensions floating around on the internet. Whatever size you choose, you have to be sure you have room for your long boards to overlap your short boards on the corners – 3” total. So you could also do 33s and 30s, 36s and 33s, etc.
Second, a spot – make sure that whatever spot you choose will have enough sun. For me, because I live in a jungle, choosing a spot also involved mowing. I probably should have flipped the grass where I put the condo, but I didn’t. Because I’m a rebel *cough lazy cough* like that.
Third, seed potatoes ready to plant. Don’t forget the potatoes!
What Next?
Next, you build. And if you’re like me, you do it without any kind of foresight or planning. And then you have to take it apart and do it the right way. So don’t be like me.
First, attach one of your SHORT 2x4s board to two of your 2x2s, one at each end. (This pic is me doing it WRONG. Don’t be like me. Use a short board.)
Once you’ve done that with two short boards and each of your 2x2s, attach the two Stonehenge-shaped pieces with two of your longer boards to make a box.
Half the box, and…
Whole box!
As you can see, I added soil. And then I added potatoes.
Please don’t use my potato spacing as an example. Unless it’s right, in which case go ahead. No guarantees though.
Then cover up those potatoes. Voila!
The Fun Part
So what on earth do you do with that whole pile of 2x4s? Here comes the fun part – putting the “condo” in potato condo. Soon your potatoes will sprout and start to grow. As they grow, you add boards and additional soil one level at a time. Let your vines get about 12” long before you bury them, and only cover 1/3 of the vine.
When it’s time to harvest, remove one of your bottom boards and start snagging your oldest potatoes from the bottom level. Gradually work your way up the condo until you’ve harvested all your potatoes!
I’m really excited to see how the potato condo works out. Rumor has it that it increases yields substantially over standard planting methods. I have no perspective on that, but I’ll keep you guys posted. Maybe those of you who actually know about these things will let me know how my potato condo measures up!
Related posts:
That’s totally cool. I’ve read about these things for years and always meant to try one- but, alas, haven’t. I’ll be interested to follow your updates.
I’ll definitely keep you posted. I now have little baby potato sprouts, which I’m super excited about. I can’t believe I’m actually successfully growing things beyond houseplants.
I am having trouble imagining the harvesting. How do you reach the potatoes in the middle? Do you end up with dirt all over the place? What happens if you want new potatoes?
?????
You reach the potatoes in the middle by taking off one of the middle boards, pulling out your potatoes, and then replacing the dirt and the board. Not sure on the dirt, but I would imagine you would get some skattered about. I’ll probably put a tarp down when I harvest just because it will be hard to get my soil out of my grass and back into the condo.
As for new potatoes, I am assuming you mean new as in smaller potatoes, not as in “brand new.” I’m not positive about that, since I’ve never grown any kind of potato, but I would imagine you could harvest sooner at a higher level board to get your new potatoes. I’ll have to give that a try!
That makes more sense. I wasn’t picturing you replacing the boards after you harvest. What a cool idea!
Can I just say I love your blog? I’ve never even heard of a potato condo (or kombucha or ghee or…) until I started reading this. So very educational.
[...] of catching up to do around here – and, first up – the potato condo. Many of you may remember my major garden experiment last year (let’s face it, in spite of [...]