We built our expandable cedar potato bins back in 2016 and have used them every year since, though not always for potatoes. This year, we have moved the bins to a sunny spot that will catch first light, and have purchased some red and purple seed potatoes to grow. We love the purple varieties the best, but red potatoes have such great texture and flavor in many dishes.
In an effort to conserve water, we layered pea gravel to support the bins so that they will be level. We stapled folded tarps to the bottoms of the bins to retain water. Four wicking cords for each bin were laid in the center, traveling to each of the four corners. We stepped in the center creating a well for the water to puddle, and gently placed a stepping stone to hold the cords in place.
Brand new gardening soil was added to each bin and the potatoes were planted. We still get pretty cold at night, sometimes even a few degrees below freezing. But, since we had potatoes come up spontaneously last year, from us apparently leaving a few potatoes in the bins, I figure it should be fine. I will keep a lookout for the weather just to be sure and will cover them if necessary.
I have been keeping the soil moist, which surprisingly, has been an everyday event. The winds have been drying out everything and I have been watering all the overwintered plants, namely strawberries, garlic, Rhoda (our rhododendron), and various bulb plants like the tulips, and irises that come up whenever and wherever they please each year!
We wait now until the little potatoes decide to pop up, which may be sooner rather than later with how warm our days have been getting. When that happens, I will gently pull the wicking cords through the soil to each plant and lay it around them in a circular pattern so that any excess water will be used as a mini-water-cycle, pulling up the puddled water back to the top to be used by the plants as needed and keeping the soil moist for new growth.
April 15, 2021 at 10:00PM
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Waterville Wanderings | Potato bin makeover | Empire Press | wenatcheeworld.com - wenatcheeworld.com
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