Free how-to
Wire-and-straw potato tower
A ring of wire mesh, filled with straw and compost, is one of the simplest ways to grow potatoes without digging. The potatoes form in the loose straw, and at harvest you unclip the wire and pull the straw back.
When to plant
Regular potatoes like cool weather and form tubers poorly in heat. In the Caribbean and other warm places, plant them in the cool months. If it is too warm where you are, grow sweet potatoes instead. They suit the heat and can be grown year-round. Plant sweet potato slips (rooted cuttings) in the same tower and let the vines trail out over the top.
Materials
- Wire mesh such as welded wire or chicken wire, about 3–4 ft (90–120 cm) tall and long enough to make a ring about 2–3 ft (60–90 cm) across
- Wire ties or clips to close the ring, so you can open it again at harvest
- Two or three stakes to hold the ring upright
- Clean straw that has not been sprayed with weedkiller (ask the supplier)
- Finished compost
- Seed potatoes from a garden supplier, or sweet potato slips
- Gloves and wire cutters
Steps
- Pick the spot. Choose a sunny, level place. The tower can sit on soil, grass, or hard ground.
- Make the ring. Bend the mesh into a cylinder and close it with ties or clips. Fold in any sharp cut ends. Stake it so it can't tip over.
- Lay the base. Put a layer of straw in the bottom, then a few inches of compost.
- Plant. Set seed potatoes on the compost, spaced a hand or two apart, with the sprouts facing up. Cover them with more compost and a layer of straw.
- Build it up. As the shoots grow, add more straw and a little compost around them, keeping the top leaves in the light. Repeat until the tower is nearly full.
- Water. Straw dries out fast. Water the tower thoroughly whenever the straw a few inches down feels dry. Keep any tubers you can see covered, since potatoes turn green in light.
- Harvest. When the leaves yellow and die back, open the ties, peel the wire away, and pull the straw apart to collect the potatoes. Don't eat any green potatoes.
- Reuse. The straw and compost can go on a garden bed or into a compost pile.
Want more methods?
The No-Dig Potato Plans (coming soon) will cover this tower plus a fabric grow bag with a harvest flap and a no-container straw and mulch bed.