G'day Everyone, as usual, thanks for your ongoing support! Don't forget to check out my website selfsufficientme.com/ for more content and also consider joining our forum www.selfsufficientculture.com/ where we are learning and growing every day. Get into it! Cheers :)
Growing potatoes in a 5-gal bucket was one our "Covid-projects" we experimented with. Great success. Then...for the 2021 season, we searched the web and found cloth bags in various sizes for that purpose. Bought the 10-gallon size. We averaged 8-10 pounds of potatoes per bag. In fact...we are still enjoying them. We planted several varieties. SOOOO Easy! Will be going back for more next season!
@@lynnmitzy1643 I grew the same sweet potatoes in a 4’x4’ raised bed. Ended up with 35lbs. I was thinking of going with the grow bags next year. How much success did you have with the bags?
@@markmcmonagle6794 we got a good handful of small, very dark purple sweet potatoes. We made a casserole, it was delicious. We are gonna try this box method.
Never thought of cardboard boxes that way before. Now they are staying in my garden and being repurposed as growing boxes, weed mats, shade tops and wind breaks. You inspired me. Thanks.
From my experience, your back and shoulders really appreciate the weed mat process. I've also grown plants in cardboard and styrofoam boxes. Styrofoam boxes are great for storing pots over winter.
Old scribe... Add another use... I shredd strips of cardboard and add the my containers and my raised beds. They attract worms, always a good thing and retain water. Putting shredded cardboard around the base of my peas and beans held moisture and again, brought worms to "WORK THE LAND even while I'm off doing something else." When we really think about it we really do have most everything we need. 🤔
you can grow so much in cardboard boxes. I used them entirely for all my growing 2 years in a row until I started getting totes and buckets donated to me..I called them seasonal grow boxes because thats as long as they lasted
One thing I have found about growing potatoes in any kind of container is you don't want to over crowd them. Give them plenty of room to develop a good root system. That root system is what will determine your yield. For the size of box you used, you should have no more than 3-4 seed potatoes planted. The amount you had planted in the one box could have planted two boxes and doubled your yeild. The same principle can be applied to planting sweet potatoes in containers. Don't over crowd them and they will yeild better results ... All that being said, I never thought about recycling cardboard boxes like that. Gonna have to give it a try. Maybe they could be used to plant other things such a zuchini or various greens, even a cabbage or two. Definitely something to think about and try next spring.
Excellent point. I’m currently growing potatoes from the single eye of a discarded potato skin. I noticed the foliage growing out of the soil so I’ve kept adding soil and it keeps growing bigger. I don’t know the eventual yield yet but it seems from a single potato you can grow several boxes worth!
Warning! You need to be careful about cardboard boxes though. If they are colored or shiny on the outside they may be contaminated with petrochemical stuff. Even recycled cardboard is potentially hazardous. You need to be wary. I did that and used some cardboard, also as mulch, but only with flowers that I don't eat. Btw, year before last I had excess seed potatoes and put some in pots, the greens on top were spectacular, the yield was a letdown. Any suggestions on why or how to improve that? I added, like in the video, fresh earth twice.
I've been watching these home gardening videos for about a year I'd guess. One thing I've noticed in almost all of them....Y'all are all so dang happy!!! You're all smiling and playful and sweating, experimenting and laughing. It's like most of you have entered some strange magical second childhood of sorts. I'm not naive enough to not understand you are putting your best foot forward for the camera, of course. But honestly, have any of you folks ever looked back on your pre-gardening years of life and noticed a change in your overall happiness levels? Just a curious 🧐 question from a wannabe- green-thumb lady who is in her learning before actually doing stage. If I end up as joyful as you folks, I'll think I won the good life Lotto. Hope my comment is understood as admiration and a wee bit of green envy instead of any negativity. I'm truly impressed by the joy I see in all of you.
I thought the same, until I started gardening earlier this year and it made me absolutely happy to be outside, hands in the dirt. It was the first year I've actually grown to fruit! I generally kill cacti🙄
I actually understand what you are trying to say... and I think I can even answer as to why that is. Now, I'm not a gardener, I'm a crafter, but it's kind of the same principle. 1 - There is an AMAZING sense of accomplishment when you can use a blanket, put on a sweater (hat, scarf, etc) put on a piece of jewelry, or even harvest food that you have made (or grown) with your own two hands. Or when you cook a meal from your own garden. 2 - When you make (or grow) something for yourself, you know EXACTLY what you are getting. You know what goes into it ie: the quality of materials that made it, or in growing - what chemicals (or lack thereof) were used. 3. There's no 'one size fits all' when you are making/growing things yourself. Everything is tailored to YOUR likes and dislikes. In growing your own fruits and vegetables, YOU choose what you grow. Your garden is tailor made for you and your family. 4 - In growing your own fruits and vegetables, the QUALITY of your food skyrockets! I grew tomatoes a couple of years ago. They were sweeter, juicer, and MUCH better tasting than the ones I buy in the store. Healthier too, because I didn't use pesticides. 5 - Gardening (especially growing your own food) takes WORK. You are outside in the sun and fresh air. Which is actually good for you. In the end, you tend to be a healthier person for it. Healthier people tend to be happier people. 6 - It's a labor of love, just like in crafting. When your family (or friends) praise you for such a delicious meal (made from home grown fruits and vegetables), or exclaim over the handmade gift you've given them, or when you see them using that gift, your heart swells, you get all warm and fuzzy inside. My greatest 'treasure' is the quilt my grandmother made for me. 7 - It's work that can reap residual rewards. I'm also a canner. So for initial start up money, I can save money all year around, especially if I grow more than my family can eat during the season. I just can the rest, and then I have food I don't have to buy in winter, when nothing grows. And because I home canned it, there are no additives or preservatives. Again, healthier food... all year long.
I am a 3d generation gardener.. I grew up being forced to do “chores” 🙄.. not realizing that I was learning a literal library of skills and information.. then one day, when I finally had my OWN space…?? I planted like a possessed woman.. 😂 and I haven’t really stopped.. regardless of how life has changed.. my kids are “grown” now and I’m in a tiny townhouse apartment these days.. but.. I ended up building a literal forest every summer on my “patio”… growing enough flowers and food to feed the neighbors lots and still have too much sometimes.. people literally drove in off the street to see what I was up to 😅..lol Gardening is like a lot of other “hobbies” in that they’re interesting, can build community, and can bring you peace and happiness by DOING them.. but there’s something a bit extra about gardening (and I have multiple crafting hobbies as well) With gardening, besides the sense of accomplishment you get from having an end result that you’re proud of having ‘made’ .. it’s entirely different level of interaction by GROWING something, over time, and being outdoors, in nature, seeing the animals and bugs and the multiple lifecycles of the plants and the creatures that live among them.. to enjoy the beauty of the flowers that you literally coaxed from a tiny tiny seed.. and then.. You get to harvest the BEST tasting food you’ve ever had.. because garden fresh is not something that can be imitated.. it’s perception altering frankly.. ((Got my meat&potatoes BF who ALWAYS over seasons his food 🙄 to skip the garlic powder etc and actually eat a potato without it and liked it a lot..😂 “you’re right..” 😮 lol ..that’s AMAZING 😂)) There’s a truly ‘zen’ experience that comes with tending your patch, that’s not a cliche, because it’s true.. it’s all the rewards of an enjoyable hobby, but a lot more.. I’ve battled depression my entire life and have pretty bad PTSD and the accompanying anxiety etc that goes with it.. but.. an hour puttering in the garden is the BEST “reset” I’ve ever found.. above hiking, camping and the 1/2 dozen crafty hobbies.. especially when, it’s literally a daily thing (and I don’t have to haul gear anywhere to hide in the woods 😂).. There really is nothing quite like it, and I’ve personally been able to prove that you can accomplish a LOT even in an apartment, with physical limitations on myself health wise and on the space available.. 🥰 Start small and never be afraid to ask for advice.. people stop by my little food forest regularly and I’m always happy to give advice, and most experienced gardeners are happy to help out too.. but, like our friend Mark here, experiments are fantastic.. I try a few different ones every season, and learn lots.. it amazes me how many things I can do that are “against the rules” for gardening 😂 Enjoy it, the planning, the research, the shopping for seeds, plants and gear, the seed starting, the planting out and the entire season of experiences, too dry, too wet, too hot, too cold, and occasionally just right! Then harvest! 😊 Enjoy it all, then spend the off season, planning for the next one.. ATB! ❤
Re. your cardboard collection. I run all my cardboard boxes through a 12 page paper shredder rather than put it out for recycling. It's then used for worm bedding and a carbon source for the compost bins. Even plastic coated coloured boxes can be used by peeling off the top layer first, revealing the plain cardboard underneath. I get a kick knowing that cardboard that comes into my house never leaves 😁
Yeah, that's a good idea about shredding the cardboard and to be fair I do this also - it makes a wonderful mulch mixed in with other stuff and composts down easily. Thanks for the suggestions :)
Great idea! I've been delaying my next batch of compost in the tumbler because I'm out of shredded paper. Why didn't I think of it??? Running out to rescue those boxes I just recycled!
if u dont get many deliveries u can go down to your local white goods shop (fridges , washing machines) and grab what u need from their bins. Ask permission they say grab what u want. Easy as. Great videos too Mark if u read this. 😉
Great idea! If you have any hay, you can use that to backfill instead of dirt- the potato bugs don't like hay so the pest problem is almost eliminated and the potatoes grow great in the hay and come out much cleaner- i live in a potato growing state- Maine- and a multigenerational farmer taught me- i love your channel and am a new subscriber- thanks for the cardboard idea! I am absolutely going to do that this year!
*Chris Z.* Pine needles are fine. The old myth about them being highly acidic was exactly that...a myth. Mildly acidic, when green, but losing that within a couple of days of falling and turning brown, as you say, they break down quickly within a short time.
If everyone had a garden, it would really help with the inflation on food prices. A lot of financial gurus talk of ways to hedge against inflation. I think a "hedge" of fruit or veggies is the most practical option.
@@treyellis3 alleviating ourselves of constant urgent dependence on the industrial food supply chain is one way we can loosen the grip of the fed and fortune 500 on us
Old retired city woman here looking for something new to do. Didnt want to spend lots of money on big plastic food grade containers to practice vegetable gardening so thrilled with this video. Never entered my mind to use cardboard boxes! Live & learn!!
🥔💜👍 Going to try planting potatoes in a box. My parents had green thumbs and toes. Dad had 2 beautiful gardens, fruit trees and bees. He planted different types of potatoes and they were all wonderful. My husband and I planted sweet potatoes. They were small but tasty. Enjoy watching you because my Dad was very into gardening like you are. He would come home from work like Superman, changing from his suit to jeans or short like you! He would be outside for hours. In winter he would read books on gardening, magazines for seeds and trees. Never stopping! Didn't appreciate it as a kid and lost all the knowledge when they passed years back. My husband and I enjoy watching and learning from you. God Bless!
Mark I think it was a great success! Everyone doesn’t have a yard to build raised beds. This just goes to show you can grow some kind of food everywhere! I’d say the experiment was a great success!
Mark, I think you missed another point and that is to grow your own food in case of a national disaster or the economy going crazy like it is today. I haven't been doing too much gardening over the past 15 years because food is pretty cheap here in Thailand but with the move next year to a sizeable chunk of land(7 acres) I will be getting back into it. I think at 74 years old I might have to hire a few people to help me. LOL
Too true Brock! I always see our food garden as "backup" in case of an economic downturn or disaster. All the best with your move to acreage mate! 74 years young! Cheers :)
Absolutely right about being sure to have foods available-safely organic grown-especially those foods you enjoy. A great source of exercise, self sufficiency & satisfaction.
Really interesting, thank you. We will try the cardboard box method this year. One thing: I wouldn't have peeled those potatoes; as they're homegrown you can be certain they're not dusted with any chemical products and you would retain more nutrients and flavour (and colour!) by eating the spuds in their skins! 🤓🥔
\ Potatoes contain toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids.In a summary of several studies, the glycoalkaloid content was in order from highest to lowest: flowers, sprouts, leaves, tuber skin,etc. Source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato#Toxicity Peel your potato.
I genuinely like how you show your whole range of failures through successes. We can learn a lot from failures if we stop to think things through, but also from our mediocre successes...again, IF we stop to think. Your thoughtfulness as well as your willingness to experiment is what makes you increasingly successful as a gardener (& RUclipsr), not just the size of your crops!
G"day Mark, I've been using old shopping bags, those cloth/paper ones with a great harvest for such as small space. Oh, and old seed bags with a few holes poked in them. I fold them down to be quite shallow, and as the potato grows I add straw, grass cuttings and soil as I unfold the bag. They produce a massive haul due to the depth and you can just cut it open without damaging the crop. Again, minimal space required. I'll never dig a potato crop again! So much easier and 6 bags will produce enough for 3 adults. I'm also doing this with sweet potato and might even see how beets go. Another advantage of the bags that I can check the soil is nice and loose, and being flexible I just jiggle the bag if it feels too hard. I'm still shocked at how well it works, and will remember to weigh them this next harvest. Cheers
Thank you, I really enjoy your candid talks and good ideas . I Glenn something better or new each video and I am an old gardener in age and experience. I love your down to earth easy ideas. I gardened in Buffalo, NY and now in sunny Florida. Please keep sharing.
And here I was thinking I had to build a potato box with wood. What a fool I've been. I'll be trying this when winter ends up here in Canada. Spectacular as always Mark! Thank you for the lovely start to my Saturday morning.
@@donaldduck830 or, place plastic underneath. I've done that with success. (That plastic that the big box stores and independent garden nurseries provide for protecting your car.
Wow I am so going to try it I’m 70 years old and disabled health issues are a lot but we don’t quit amen 🙏 I so learn from you a lot keep doing what you do oh I’m in a small town in North Carolina in the United States
Just use regular potatoes you purchase to eat. As it gets close to spring here (I'm in the States) we let the older potatoes grow eyes/shoots. Then at planting time we divide each potato up and plant them in regular dirt with some top soil mixed in. We have planted them in grow bags, cardboard boxes, wooden boxes, planters and the ground. Only thing special that I do is the top soil (lots cheaper than "planting" soil(about $2.00-$2.50 per 20/25lb bag. Where the other stuff costs around $7/$8 per bag. And we still get a lot of potatoes. Oops. I forgot. I mix in some organic fertilizer also. And every other year add in manure.
This is great, but in the US the eating potatoes (versus seed) can carry diseases as they aren't as strictly regulated. Still works great a lot of the time, but be careful!!!
Your topsoil brand must be better than mine. Mine looks like chopped bark in a bag. Granted, I’ve seen people grow potatoes in compost bins, so maybe that doesn’t matter…
A hint that i can give back to you Mark . Purple veg means it tolerates cold winter . So your potatoes supposed to be a winter variety for snowing icy times
Last year we had a bag of christmas potatoes that got left forgotten in the cellar. The obvious happened and we tried sowing them in the spring. They were very sad looking by that time, long and leggy and not a hint of green because of the dark cellar. But even in a small bucket, they ended up flourishing and produced a decent crop. Potatoes are great.
This past Summer, I planted some Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes in farm tractor tires I had cut the sidewalls out of. They did better than the ground planted potatoes, plus I was able to plant earlier in the year because the blackness of the tires warmed the soil. I was able to plant a second crop in the same tires and they seemed to do better than the first crop. Pennsylvania USA. Love your videos.
@@julierobinson3052 Don't believe everything you hear. My mom used tires to grow small gardens for years & she's not full of cancer. Any toxins that do leach thru the soil get broken down. The food you buy in the grocery store are sprayed with chemicals too
Hey Mark awesome video! I think another great point you may have missed is that if you're a self sufficient gardener that produces their own compost, you'd only have to pay for the seed potatoes once. In the long run you'd actually be saving alot of money, you'd have an infinite supply of potatoes if you wanted. Just use some of last seasons as seed :)
Oh so was the expense more the potatoes and not the potting mix? And please tell me I can grow potatoes in my homemade compost cuz I couldn't find potting mix where I live T.T
And yes...FRESHNESS. Nothing like walking out to our Bag-o-potatoes...digging down into the dirt with our fingers...and coming up with a half-dozen baby red potatoes...ready for breakfast!
I'm excited to try the potatoes-in-a-cardboard box idea. I have a feeling my Scottish and Russian ancestors would approve of such a resourceful method. Thank you Mark, you're the best!
For easy clean up, you could start out with a tarp under the box or other material to make an easy clean up at the end! 😀👍 I grew potatoes straight on new ground, my yard, I just put cardboard down and one area a tarp... Then put them cut in pieces or whole, in mounds of straw with whatever dirt and lawn clippings I could toss in now and then. Worked great and harvest was easy! Old straw is better as new straw might need more stuff mixed in to hold water and nutrients better but it works.❣️💪😁👍🌱🌻🏵️🥀🌾🌿🌷
Love how ol' Scooter keeps his eye on you, lol. Fun Fact; your #1 biggest fan here got his first job picking up potatoes behind a small plow Old Farmer Jones worked. I was in the 6th grade in 1966 and was paid .50 cents an hour
After doing potatoes in 5-10 gallon grow bags this year in the SE US, I’ve decided that potatoes really want room to grow horizontally. I saw Northshore Prepper grow in 27 qt storage bins with holes drilled on the narrow ends by the ground and he got a good result. But the cardboard box method looks like an improvement on the plastic bins. I got phenomenal results with green beans in grow bags so I’m going to use my 20 odd bags for green beans and sugar snap peas next year and definitely use cardboard boxes for potatoes. Great experiment!
@@katiekane5247 same here. I am just over the state line from you in SC, and the grow bags have not been a success for me except for jalapenos and cherry tomatoes.
@@katiekane5247 Start building up your soil by composting and staring a worm farm, using straw and leaves as ground cover, and adding charged biochar and a little sand. Put down layers of broken up boxes first, then add good soil and compost before you plant. Do this everywhere you plant. Eventually you will build up your soil changing it's texture and health. This is the reason forested areas are so rich. Limbs, sticks, and leaves carpet the forest floor, then fungus grows, bugs, and worms move in because of the habitat of cover, food, and moisture, to transform it all into black rich soil. If you use planting boxes, you can add small limbs, sticks and leaves into the bottom of the box, saving money on the amount of soil needed, as well as new fertilizer being made in the bottom of the container.
When I lived in a stand-alone house, I had a garden. I used to grow pinto beans. I started an experiment of selecting the pods that had the greatest number of beans and saved them for the next growing season. What I was trying to do was increase the yield per plant. I was able to do it for only 3 seasons which wasn't enough to tell if the process was working. That's something you might try since you say you like to experiment with growing vegetables.
Always enjoy watching your “experiment” videos Mark. Not too bad of a haul for growing in a box 😝. We planted potatoes last spring, but we only got 30lbs. There was too much grass and wild grape vines so I dug up the whole patch and will buy some composted manure and earth next spring. I might try the cardboard trick just to add some more taters around the garden. I also like how easy it was to harvest the taters rather than digging them up potentially damaging some spuds like I do sometimes. Cool videos Mark. Cheers, Chad from Ontario.
Hey I have a request make a video about a garden tour again show everything your trees your plants your beds your root vegetables your perennials your pots your way of cooking them too and some recipes
Cool potato box! I'm in south Texas USA which is also subtropical only more arid. Your weather is a lot like mine so your videos are perfect for my gardening!
I actually think that's a surprisingly big harvest! Your box was not gigantic - but the plants were healthy and produced a lot! I love that the box can be composted, unlike many of the plastic pots and buckets I resorted to. I want to get to better methods like you share. Thanks for this and all your other helpful videos!
The advantage of using the cloth bags for planting is they have handles. When time to harvest...dump the bags to the potting bench for harvesting...saving the dirt for next year...is so convenient.
It's so good to know that Mark is still alive in the future! I enjoy present Mark's channel so much, I can only imagine how much better it will be in the future🎉🎉🎉
Ok, I am going to try this when spring comes. That idea mean that potatoes can be grown on a concrete patio or gravel area. No special containers needed! Hey, we can grow other things in cardboard boxes also! I think it was a great success! It generated ideas for other plantings! Thank you Mark!
It you live in an area that rains a lot, wrap the box with chicken wire to keep the box stable. You can also cover the bottom of the box if your area has moles, or other rodents that burrow from eating your plants.
@@beccagee5905 I have used milk crates (plastic box with large holes) lined with cardboard to good success. A nice solid frame but good drainage. Easy to move and just put a tarp beside and dump out for harvest. Reuse and move that soil easily on the tarp.
I live in the state of Maine USA and I grow tons of potatoes. Because of Global warming I am growing grapes; hardy grapes which can survive to -40 and -50 F. Right now we are having a heat wave. It's 18 F. We are in a polar vortex and every night is below zero, some nights have been -28 F. Years ago our temps were much colder without the polar vortex. I can't imagine what it would be like not to have winter so when I watch your videos I'm at a lost as to how you would grow what you do. I wouldn't think potatoes which are a cold weather crop would even survive your warm winters. Many decades ago I couldn't grow tomatoes or squash. Summer nights in June hung around the high 30's. I love your beautiful garden, though. I wish I could grow some of the things you do, like for example bananas. Keep up the good work!
G'day, Mark! 🙂 I'm based in the north of England [Aargh! Beware the evil Pom!👹] and love experimenting with veggie growing, too. The UK climate's lousy, but spuds do surprisingly well despite the gloom, cold, fog, rain and hail of a typical British summer. Growing food in open soil or in raised beds is a challenge, though, because of the killer slugs - as big and mean as Aussie saltwater crocodiles 🐊 - so I use pots, bags and tubs for everything. I'll definitely give the soggy cardboard box method a try next year. Thanks for the idea! I have a tiny (7' long) lean-to unheated greenhouse which is good for tomatoes, peppers and chillies. I agree with you about fresh-picked food tasting better than anything from a shop. In terms of recyclability, I got excellent results from growing spuds in some old woven jute sacks that I liberated from a supermarket rubbish skip (they were similar to the sack you show at 2:56). They lasted for three wet seasons before finally turning into mush, but they were easy to compost when they died. The local birds also carried off heaps of the disintegrating jute as nest-lining material, so I think we all won, there. I'm still not sure if it's better to use biodegradable containers that can be returned to the soil, or sturdy plastic bags and tubs that last for ever. 🤔At the moment I use both. Ah, well - the really important thing is that the spuds make decent chips! P.S. Do you want any slugs and snails? 🐌 I'll swap you some for a bit of sunshine...
Hi Elli! Can you get the Sarpo Mira variety in your area? I just left Mark a comment about them and the only place I know that they were available is in Scotland or Ireland (can’t remember which). They are blight resistant and grow extremely large. Allotment Diary and Home Grown Veg have videos on growing them.
Omg, I just moved to geordieland from the US this year and the slugs are *no joke*. Absolutely incredible. Decided to do hydroponic lettuce inside this year 🤣
G'day Elli, no I don't want any slugs thank you! But, I have to say with the three weeks of non-stop rain here at the moment it does remind me of the UK 😁 Thanks for your tips and for sharing your experience in growing spuds. All the best :)
You can wrap chicken wire around the cardboard box to give it stability when it gets wet. Then when it dries it will still be a box 😊 We don't have a slug problem where I live in the USA, but I saw a cure for them somewhere, if I can locate it again, I'll come back, and point you in that direction.
I'm salvaging my raised beds out back after my bro, sis,and I took turns caring for our mtr in another state for several years. I weeded as well as I could , covered them with cardboard and straw. I'm going to plant boxes of several varieties of potatoes next month on top of one bed. I'm going to use my compost and soil I've been collecting from mole mounds. The soil they mound up is great and the yard recovers quickly. I may plant zucchini similarly and will make openings for tomatoes.
I’ll have to try this bc we’re gathering a lot of diaper boxes due to us raising now 3 more of our grandbabies that’s in pull ups & diapers. Thk u for the idea & I think u got a good crop. It fed ur family a meal and that’s what matters & ur idea did work.
Mark your a great role model for us novices trying to get into the vast sea of self sufficiency. Thanks for all the information you share to help us learn properly. Also you remind my 5 year old of Bluey's dad whatever that means.
Still with you Mark and your still making great video's 😇You gave me my first advise 4 yrs ago you were a much smaller channel and I knew then I would be watching you!!! Many blessings to you and your family.
So glad I found you, my husband was an organic farmer but now we’re older and he works more than full time for organic food delivery company here in Ohio. Yet having ideas like yours is practical and even fresher food...
In many US grocery stores "baby potatoes" go for a premium price. We used to harvest our potatoes at "fingerling" size and sold them at farmer's markets and we always sold out. Smaller potatoes are great in roasts, stews etc.
I have seen potato towers, buckets, in-ground, but never in a cardboard box, that worked a hell of a lot better than I thought it would. We have ours currently in a raised bed, but my health has been poor the last few months, so they have been attacked pretty hard by pests, might dig them up in a few weeks, the best thing about Melbourne, I will plant some of them in a different raised bed and start the whole thing off again no waiting on seasons.
@@gwenwade6059 Sadly, while the barefooted and barehanded does wonders for mental health. In this case, it won't help me, it's a physical problem that requires doctors and medicine. It will heal but will take time.
NOTICE: Never consume liquids while watching one of Marks’ videos. “This is me, Mark in the future” comment equals me passing my morning tea and choking. Love your videos Mark❤️🇨🇦
Hey, Mark. I know this is an old video, but I just wanted to take the time to thank you for all the work you do on this channel. I live in Alabama, in the Southeastern United States. My wife and I just bought our first house with a good bit of land attached to it, and I knew I wanted to start gardening now that we have our own place with plenty of room outside. I just happened upon your channel one day and I have loved everything. Especially this video. We're still unpacking from the move, so obviously we've got plenty of cardboard boxes, and potatoes are high on my list of what to grow. I think I just have to remember that our seasons are opposite to you since we're north of the equator. We're going into winter here, so it's giving me time to figure out what I wanna do to start with so I don't get too overwhelmed. Keep up the amazing work, man. You've definitely inspired me.
Great idea, I'll try that next year. Regarding your harvest, perhaps you should put less seed potatoes in there for a better one. I found that it should not be more than 6 to max. 8 per square metre, otherwise the plants will compete for nutrients and most of all space. This also helps in filling even more boxes with one seed potatoe bag ;)
Earth worms are spectacular. I never see any because everyone sprays chemicals to kill weeds. I love to see worms in the soil because I know it's healthy.
Love it, Mark! I've got to try this ...I've got limited sunny space and I can see grabbing a few more sunny spots without digging another bed. I'm on a mission to recycle everything so win-win!
I still think this is a most excellent idea. I tried a very low framed area and did grass clipping and straw, and it worked nicely. Next year I will do the boxes ( I am saving them now). Since we have a lot of snow I think I can start the boxes in my greenhouse and get a spring and fall plant. I would change one thing and put only one or two seed potatoes in each box. I think if they have more room, there will be a higher yield.
Some of my old potatoes have sprouted and we have all these boxes lying around, I’m definitely going to see how this experiment goes with my potatoes and see what happens
Nice! I have a bunch of boxes that I have been trying to find a purpose for. Just bought a travel system for the soon to be baby and that thing is bigger than a chest of drawers.
@@gwenwade6059 cut it in half 1st in the height so you have a bigger surface to work with. Worked for me. I had to just put some tape around the box so it retains soil a little better
I love the box option. I've been using large plastic totes for potatoes. I do need to keep my boxes elevated though, my dog likes to go garden shopping for anything within his reach. His favourites are green beans and tomatoes.
Learned there are so many different types of potatoes. In the spring I will look into other variety. I had 50 lbs of potatoes from 3 I planted. Great return from what I planted. Love your pod casts. Great job
You planted 3 potatoes and got 50 lbs??? Are you sure???? each potato root can only produce 5 small potatoes,,, or 3 large ones,,or about 2 lbs of potatoes at the most,,, so 3 times 2 lbs is 6 lbs,,, HOW?? did you grow 50 Lbs?
@@JustMe-gs9xi Yes I have had a great Harvest from my garden. I have planted in my container and had so many 🥔 potatoes going down to the bottom and it filled it with so many more than I ever dreamed of getting back for my efforts.
I found when I put 70% fresh compost in my potatoes they grew exponentially more than my previous harvests, which did have a little compost or where grown in store bought soil. I think the vitamins I composted in that pile may have been a major contributor to the out come. The leaves were HUGE and they yielded Way more and larger potatoes than the previous harvests. I bet they could have produced more for me but the stems got SO big they started falling over and breaking prematurely. LOL. I had to prop the up with sticks! Also my tip for home growers with potatoes is go out and find a few spuds from as many varieties from the grocery store and farmers market you can find. Experiment with them to see which ones grow best in your area. I've had everything from varieties that are more/less susceptible to the caterpillars in my area, to ones that do better in my shady front yard, to ones that are better with cooler days/hotter days where I live, and ones with larger stems (both green AND purple STEMS). Most importantly, Have Fun! These are one of my favorites to grow...and eat😊😋
Have you ever heard of the Ruth Stout method of planting potatoes? All she did was throw a few left over (store-bought) potatoes on the ground with a little cotton seed fertilizer and then covered them all with hay .. never watered them and she got so much yield out of this way of growing potatoes as to be staggering. Check it out. Greetings from The Netherlands.🌹
I’ve used cardboard as pots when I’ve ran out of pots. It works well and you get the benefits of the micros seeping into your dirt if you put the box on the ground where there is dirt instead of concrete. I love this video! Thank you Mark!
Good morning, Mark: potatoes are a must for me and mine and i, too, have regular deliveries of stuff in cardboard boxes, so THANK YOU for the tip! My raised bed space just isn’t practical for spuds, and as i get older, i’m constantly on the lookout for methods that are easier on these bones. Getting older doesn’t HAVE to be hell, and i can see that you are hip to this! 😎💋👍🏼
I have always cut my seed potatoes and you get a lot more out of the seeds planted, and if you want to do an experiment then why not plant so on the dark of the moon and some others on the full and let me know which ones give you the most productive .
That was a grand experiment, Mark. Every garden I've ever had was an experiment that worked well or not so well. I think it would have been better with better timing: time of the year, too late in the season. I'm so glad that I found your RUclips site. In the US we don't use metric measurements so thank you for the translation of the box size. Thanks!!
Hello! I am a Brit living in Texas (where the climate is always trying to kill us) I bought those green bags to plant potatoes. All went well until 'someone' who lives in my roof and has babies to feed, raided the bags , trashed them and left me with heaps of dirt with mangled green bags. She is cute and keeps the snakes away so I can't begrudge her a meal or two, but I will try again this year to grow spuds in a cardboard box. That will help with the cardboard box inundation and feed the racoons again! (she is very pretty and the babies are adorable!)
The thing that I like about your content is apart from you being a nice guy, and the great content, Dad jokes etc, you actually show us how to do things. Other channels show you the perfect end result but not how to get there. I’m sure most of those channels will in future ask us to pay for courses and ebooks. Thank you 👍👌
Cardboard is a fabulous resource for the garden. Every single scrap of paper, wood, napkins, catalogues, boxes etc. that enters our property goes into our garden (never sent to a recycling facility). They can be used for “weed” control, growing food (just like this video), mulching and composting. Great idea - thanks for sharing.
It is too cold outside here in Georgia in the U.S. to grow potatoes outside but I would love to try this on the back porch. It is all glassed in and pretty much 40 -60 degrees all the time. Hopefully I can get some potatoes this winter. Thanks, we really enjoy your videos! Keep 'em coming!
Thank you for posting this comment. I'm in Atlanta and I was just wondering if we could yield anything at this time of year. Or rather, what would be the best time to start planting any potatoes out here!
@@RubeeRoja And I'm in Suwanee. and I have designed my very successful storage system. They lasted from May til early Nov. in a small cold hole. You tube link is .Storing potatoes in Atlanta in July 2021
I love purple potatoes and bonus the plants are gorgeous. I grew them on my deck and got tons of compliments..and no one knew it was a potato. Plus they're delicious
I have tried something similar with an old plastic bin ( with holes in the bottom) and absolutely no soil! Just shredded paper and leaves. As soon as the plants start showing a few leaves, I added more paper covering and so on and so forth. I just upended the whole thing at the end of the season. Lots of nice clean potatoes!
I've been using the bags that my chicken feed comes in as pots to grow some onions in. Just turn them inside out and roll the sides down to the size I want. This way I have been able to move them around to get the best sun. Not sure what they make the bags from here is Oz but its not paper like I see in a lot of US videos. It looks like woven weed fabric but stiffer and it does break down if left in the sun (eventually). Figure its better if I reuse them until they fall apart than putting them straight in the bin. As a side note on the cardboard boxes, if you have a shredder you will probable be surprised at the thickness it can easily cope with. And how willing children are to sit there and feed the shredder. then it can go straight to compost or garden beds
I've grown potatoes in galvanized trash cans and had great luck with them drill holes in the bottom, place the bottom edges of the cans on blocks, for drainage. Add some dirt to the can, plant and just before the flower, add more soil. Keep adding until you've reached the top. When ready you can dump the soil from the Dan's onto your compost and collect the various sizes of potatoes. The cans can be washed, scrubbed clean and stacked for storage when not needed. Worked great for me.
Morning from Uk ! I am planning to grow mainly tomatoes and potatoes this coming spring ! Your videos helped me to refresh the important points needed to pay attention to ! Thank you !
I am fascinated with your growing comparisons and experiments. I love that you are happily spending hours in your garden. Please keep doing what you are doing because I learn so much and enjoy it.
Mark, that worm was AMAZING! We're in the United states and our worms are about half that length and hardly move at all. We thought that was a young / very small snake! Love your channel, thanks for the videos!
My dad's garden would get worms like that. It depends on how much they have to eat. Compost bin worms can get pretty big. The thing about the US is that it is so big and diverse that we really should not make general statements about how things are in the "US".
I'm in central NC and I regularly find worms that size. We've got some really weird jumping worms that like 7 inches long that freak me out... not to mention, recently we've had an infestation of these flathead worms from Asia, apparently they came a bag of topsoil from Lowes. They're disgusting, they have flatheads and looooong skinny bodies, they eat regular earthworms, and they reproduce by biting themselves into multiple pieces 🤮 so you can't chop them up because it'll just make more of them. It's awful, we went from having none of them, to now when it's warm out they're everywhere 😭
I use old truck and tractor tires. They make a nice, raised bed with plenty of growing space, and they are free. They work really well in a limited space. I tulip mine which opens them up for a larger planting area. Stacked two high and painted makes a very attractive garden. For potatoes I do three high. I start with one tire and when the potatoes grow high enough to reach the top of a second tire, then add a second tire, fill with soil and plant more potatoes. When those have grown high enough add a third tire, fill and pant more potatoes. The harvest is considerable.
I appreciate learning about all of the ways potatoes can be grown. My potatoes are usually small, but I agree that they are so tasty and I know that they haven't been sprayed with anything or "modified". Thank you, love your ideas.
Try giving their roots more room to grow when planting. Spacing the seed potatoes apart more could produce larger end results. A longer and wider shorter box will give them more space. You could also plant more boxes, but less seed potatoes in each box.
Brilliant! Love your videos, so empowering. Anyone can grow food! I'm in the. States and recently bought dragonfruit cuttings from a local home gardener. As we were discussing how to plant and grow them, he referenced your channel and we had an immediate connection. Small world. You are inspiring gardeners around the globe.
Thanks for the subscription and also the referral! All the best with your dragon fruit - they are one of my favourite food plants - absolutely magical! Cheers :)
I did the same this past season with the boxes. My yield was probably even less than yours, but I did learn a couple things from it. 1 being don’t put the boxes right up against the house. Being away from the rest of the garden meant it would be neglected a bit, and to top it off, the eave of the house kept rain from helping me out. Combine that with the three lined potato beetles…
G'day Everyone, as usual, thanks for your ongoing support! Don't forget to check out my website selfsufficientme.com/ for more content and also consider joining our forum www.selfsufficientculture.com/ where we are learning and growing every day. Get into it! Cheers :)
Cardboard Has Cancer Causeing Chemicals
🚨🚨🚨Knowledge is Power🚨🚨🚨
I think there is a place for this technique and it's in growing your main garden's crop of seed potatoes in the offseason.
I have been trying to grow potatoes for five years. This time I am raising rabbits. So I am going to use their manure to see what that does.
I was always trying to grow them when it was too hot. I guess that has been my mistake.
Do you work on Sabbath?
Growing potatoes in a 5-gal bucket was one our "Covid-projects" we experimented with. Great success. Then...for the 2021 season, we searched the web and found cloth bags in various sizes for that purpose. Bought the 10-gallon size. We averaged 8-10 pounds of potatoes per bag. In fact...we are still enjoying them. We planted several varieties. SOOOO Easy! Will be going back for more next season!
We grew purple sweet potatoes in a 5 gal bucket this year, 👍🕊️ awesome right !?!
@@lynnmitzy1643 I grew the same sweet potatoes in a 4’x4’ raised bed. Ended up with 35lbs. I was thinking of going with the grow bags next year. How much success did you have with the bags?
@@markmcmonagle6794 we got a good handful of small, very dark purple sweet potatoes. We made a casserole, it was delicious.
We are gonna try this box method.
We grow them in the large storage bins. That works really well. Started about 10 years ago.
That's awesome! How many seed potatoes did you plant per bag and did you fill the bag all the way up initially or did you hill them as you went along?
Never thought of cardboard boxes that way before. Now they are staying in my garden and being repurposed as growing boxes, weed mats, shade tops and wind breaks. You inspired me. Thanks.
A lot of excellent ideas for repurposing boxes 📦
From my experience, your back and shoulders really appreciate the weed mat process.
I've also grown plants in cardboard and styrofoam boxes. Styrofoam boxes are great for storing pots over winter.
Old scribe... Add another use... I shredd strips of cardboard and add the my containers and my raised beds. They attract worms, always a good thing and retain water.
Putting shredded cardboard around the base of my peas and beans held moisture and again, brought worms to "WORK THE LAND even while I'm off doing something else."
When we really think about it we really do have most everything we need. 🤔
you can grow so much in cardboard boxes. I used them entirely for all my growing 2 years in a row until I started getting totes and buckets donated to me..I called them seasonal grow boxes because thats as long as they lasted
Not to mention, dismantle cardboard boxes flat, to use as biodegradable, no-dig, weed suppression cover.
One thing I have found about growing potatoes in any kind of container is you don't want to over crowd them. Give them plenty of room to develop a good root system. That root system is what will determine your yield. For the size of box you used, you should have no more than 3-4 seed potatoes planted. The amount you had planted in the one box could have planted two boxes and doubled your yeild. The same principle can be applied to planting sweet potatoes in containers. Don't over crowd them and they will yeild better results ... All that being said, I never thought about recycling cardboard boxes like that. Gonna have to give it a try. Maybe they could be used to plant other things such a zuchini or various greens, even a cabbage or two. Definitely something to think about and try next spring.
I was thinking the same thing about overcrowding. But the video did give me a new project for the Spring.
Facts, he planted them way too close together, hence why they were so tiny.
Excellent point. I’m currently growing potatoes from the single eye of a discarded potato skin. I noticed the foliage growing out of the soil so I’ve kept adding soil and it keeps growing bigger. I don’t know the eventual yield yet but it seems from a single potato you can grow several boxes worth!
Warning! You need to be careful about cardboard boxes though. If they are colored or shiny on the outside they may be contaminated with petrochemical stuff. Even recycled cardboard is potentially hazardous. You need to be wary. I did that and used some cardboard, also as mulch, but only with flowers that I don't eat.
Btw, year before last I had excess seed potatoes and put some in pots, the greens on top were spectacular, the yield was a letdown. Any suggestions on why or how to improve that? I added, like in the video, fresh earth twice.
Make use of shallow 📦 for onions & shallow root crops or whatever. A friend did this with great success.
I've been watching these home gardening videos for about a year I'd guess. One thing I've noticed in almost all of them....Y'all are all so dang happy!!! You're all smiling and playful and sweating, experimenting and laughing. It's like most of you have entered some strange magical second childhood of sorts. I'm not naive enough to not understand you are putting your best foot forward for the camera, of course. But honestly, have any of you folks ever looked back on your pre-gardening years of life and noticed a change in your overall happiness levels? Just a curious 🧐 question from a wannabe- green-thumb lady who is in her learning before actually doing stage. If I end up as joyful as you folks, I'll think I won the good life Lotto. Hope my comment is understood as admiration and a wee bit of green envy instead of any negativity. I'm truly impressed by the joy I see in all of you.
I thought the same, until I started gardening earlier this year and it made me absolutely happy to be outside, hands in the dirt. It was the first year I've actually grown to fruit! I generally kill cacti🙄
I actually understand what you are trying to say... and I think I can even answer as to why that is. Now, I'm not a gardener, I'm a crafter, but it's kind of the same principle.
1 - There is an AMAZING sense of accomplishment when you can use a blanket, put on a sweater (hat, scarf, etc) put on a piece of jewelry, or even harvest food that you have made (or grown) with your own two hands. Or when you cook a meal from your own garden.
2 - When you make (or grow) something for yourself, you know EXACTLY what you are getting. You know what goes into it ie: the quality of materials that made it, or in growing - what chemicals (or lack thereof) were used.
3. There's no 'one size fits all' when you are making/growing things yourself. Everything is tailored to YOUR likes and dislikes. In growing your own fruits and vegetables, YOU choose what you grow. Your garden is tailor made for you and your family.
4 - In growing your own fruits and vegetables, the QUALITY of your food skyrockets! I grew tomatoes a couple of years ago. They were sweeter, juicer, and MUCH better tasting than the ones I buy in the store. Healthier too, because I didn't use pesticides.
5 - Gardening (especially growing your own food) takes WORK. You are outside in the sun and fresh air. Which is actually good for you. In the end, you tend to be a healthier person for it. Healthier people tend to be happier people.
6 - It's a labor of love, just like in crafting. When your family (or friends) praise you for such a delicious meal (made from home grown fruits and vegetables), or exclaim over the handmade gift you've given them, or when you see them using that gift, your heart swells, you get all warm and fuzzy inside. My greatest 'treasure' is the quilt my grandmother made for me.
7 - It's work that can reap residual rewards. I'm also a canner. So for initial start up money, I can save money all year around, especially if I grow more than my family can eat during the season. I just can the rest, and then I have food I don't have to buy in winter, when nothing grows. And because I home canned it, there are no additives or preservatives. Again, healthier food... all year long.
I am a 3d generation gardener.. I grew up being forced to do “chores” 🙄.. not realizing that I was learning a literal library of skills and information..
then one day, when I finally had my OWN space…?? I planted like a possessed woman.. 😂 and I haven’t really stopped.. regardless of how life has changed.. my kids are “grown” now and I’m in a tiny townhouse apartment these days.. but.. I ended up building a literal forest every summer on my “patio”… growing enough flowers and food to feed the neighbors lots and still have too much sometimes.. people literally drove in off the street to see what I was up to 😅..lol
Gardening is like a lot of other “hobbies” in that they’re interesting, can build community, and can bring you peace and happiness by DOING them.. but there’s something a bit extra about gardening (and I have multiple crafting hobbies as well)
With gardening, besides the sense of accomplishment you get from having an end result that you’re proud of having ‘made’ .. it’s entirely different level of interaction by GROWING something, over time, and being outdoors, in nature, seeing the animals and bugs and the multiple lifecycles of the plants and the creatures that live among them.. to enjoy the beauty of the flowers that you literally coaxed from a tiny tiny seed..
and then..
You get to harvest the BEST tasting food you’ve ever had.. because garden fresh is not something that can be imitated.. it’s perception altering frankly..
((Got my meat&potatoes BF who ALWAYS over seasons his food 🙄 to skip the garlic powder etc and actually eat a potato without it and liked it a lot..😂 “you’re right..” 😮 lol ..that’s AMAZING 😂))
There’s a truly ‘zen’ experience that comes with tending your patch, that’s not a cliche, because it’s true.. it’s all the rewards of an enjoyable hobby, but a lot more..
I’ve battled depression my entire life and have pretty bad PTSD and the accompanying anxiety etc that goes with it.. but.. an hour puttering in the garden is the BEST “reset” I’ve ever found.. above hiking, camping and the 1/2 dozen crafty hobbies.. especially when, it’s literally a daily thing (and I don’t have to haul gear anywhere to hide in the woods 😂)..
There really is nothing quite like it, and I’ve personally been able to prove that you can accomplish a LOT even in an apartment, with physical limitations on myself health wise and on the space available..
🥰
Start small and never be afraid to ask for advice.. people stop by my little food forest regularly and I’m always happy to give advice, and most experienced gardeners are happy to help out too..
but, like our friend Mark here, experiments are fantastic.. I try a few different ones every season, and learn lots.. it amazes me how many things I can do that are “against the rules” for gardening 😂
Enjoy it, the planning, the research, the shopping for seeds, plants and gear, the seed starting, the planting out and the entire season of experiences, too dry, too wet, too hot, too cold, and occasionally just right! Then harvest! 😊
Enjoy it all, then spend the off season, planning for the next one..
ATB! ❤
Re. your cardboard collection. I run all my cardboard boxes through a 12 page paper shredder rather than put it out for recycling. It's then used for worm bedding and a carbon source for the compost bins. Even plastic coated coloured boxes can be used by peeling off the top layer first, revealing the plain cardboard underneath. I get a kick knowing that cardboard that comes into my house never leaves 😁
Yeah, that's a good idea about shredding the cardboard and to be fair I do this also - it makes a wonderful mulch mixed in with other stuff and composts down easily. Thanks for the suggestions :)
What an awesome idea
Great idea! I've been delaying my next batch of compost in the tumbler because I'm out of shredded paper. Why didn't I think of it??? Running out to rescue those boxes I just recycled!
Hotel California for cardboard
if u dont get many deliveries u can go down to your local white goods shop (fridges , washing machines) and grab what u need from their bins. Ask permission they say grab what u want. Easy as. Great videos too Mark if u read this. 😉
Great idea! If you have any hay, you can use that to backfill instead of dirt- the potato bugs don't like hay so the pest problem is almost eliminated and the potatoes grow great in the hay and come out much cleaner- i live in a potato growing state- Maine- and a multigenerational farmer taught me- i love your channel and am a new subscriber- thanks for the cardboard idea! I am absolutely going to do that this year!
Will straw also work with this method, please?
@@marilynwilkins7296 yes i have heard that it works just as well as hay
I wonder if pine needles would work. They break down so quickly.
@@chrisz.9974 I have no idea but i think i will try it with a hill or two- interesting idea!
*Chris Z.*
Pine needles are fine.
The old myth about them being highly acidic was exactly that...a myth.
Mildly acidic, when green, but losing that within a couple of days of falling and turning brown, as you say, they break down quickly within a short time.
If everyone had a garden, it would really help with the inflation on food prices. A lot of financial gurus talk of ways to hedge against inflation. I think a "hedge" of fruit or veggies is the most practical option.
Too right! Great advice Josh :)
Yes- and preserving even a little goes a long way to self sufficiency and not being so dependent!
Well said!
Or get rid of the fed
@@treyellis3 alleviating ourselves of constant urgent dependence on the industrial food supply chain is one way we can loosen the grip of the fed and fortune 500 on us
Old retired city woman here looking for something new to do. Didnt want to spend lots of money on big plastic food grade containers to practice vegetable gardening so thrilled with this video. Never entered my mind to use cardboard boxes! Live & learn!!
🥔💜👍 Going to try planting potatoes in a box.
My parents had green thumbs and toes. Dad had 2 beautiful gardens, fruit trees and bees. He planted different types of potatoes and they were all wonderful. My husband and I planted sweet potatoes. They were small but tasty.
Enjoy watching you because my Dad was very into gardening like you are. He would come home from work like Superman, changing from his suit to jeans or short like you! He would be outside for hours. In winter he would read books on gardening, magazines for seeds and trees. Never stopping! Didn't appreciate it as a kid and lost all the knowledge when they passed years back.
My husband and I enjoy watching and learning from you.
God Bless!
That was a lovely read about your Dad Tammy - thanks for sharing and God Bless :)
I have an 18 yr old grandson with a green thumb I will share your channel with him👍🏼🙋♀️☕️📦👌🏼🫐🌨🌈🌟🌎🍓🍎🍐🥦🥒🫑🥕🧅🥔
Mark I think it was a great success! Everyone doesn’t have a yard to build raised beds. This just goes to show you can grow some kind of food everywhere! I’d say the experiment was a great success!
Mark, I think you missed another point and that is to grow your own food in case of a national disaster or the economy going crazy like it is today. I haven't been doing too much gardening over the past 15 years because food is pretty cheap here in Thailand but with the move next year to a sizeable chunk of land(7 acres) I will be getting back into it. I think at 74 years old I might have to hire a few people to help me.
LOL
Too true Brock! I always see our food garden as "backup" in case of an economic downturn or disaster. All the best with your move to acreage mate! 74 years young! Cheers :)
Yes, great to pass on your skills and knowledge too!
Nice you haveyour own land lucky
Absolutely right about being sure to have foods available-safely organic grown-especially those foods you enjoy. A great source of exercise, self sufficiency & satisfaction.
Don’t forget to buy canning jars and a Pressure canner and Water Bath canner. Canning is time consuming but easy to do.
Really interesting, thank you. We will try the cardboard box method this year. One thing: I wouldn't have peeled those potatoes; as they're homegrown you can be certain they're not dusted with any chemical products and you would retain more nutrients and flavour (and colour!) by eating the spuds in their skins! 🤓🥔
👏👏👏👏👍
I'm going to try this one to , it's a great idea 💡
I've never tried purple potatoes, but the tastiest way to cook potatoes with their nutritious skins is by making smashed potatoes!
\
Potatoes contain toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids.In a summary of several studies, the glycoalkaloid content was in order from highest to lowest: flowers, sprouts, leaves, tuber skin,etc. Source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato#Toxicity Peel your potato.
I genuinely like how you show your whole range of failures through successes. We can learn a lot from failures if we stop to think things through, but also from our mediocre successes...again, IF we stop to think. Your thoughtfulness as well as your willingness to experiment is what makes you increasingly successful as a gardener (& RUclipsr), not just the size of your crops!
Right! I hate how some garden channels, esp that woman in Oregon, only show their success. It's ridiculous because it's just unreal.
G"day Mark, I've been using old shopping bags, those cloth/paper ones with a great harvest for such as small space. Oh, and old seed bags with a few holes poked in them. I fold them down to be quite shallow, and as the potato grows I add straw, grass cuttings and soil as I unfold the bag. They produce a massive haul due to the depth and you can just cut it open without damaging the crop. Again, minimal space required. I'll never dig a potato crop again! So much easier and 6 bags will produce enough for 3 adults. I'm also doing this with sweet potato and might even see how beets go. Another advantage of the bags that I can check the soil is nice and loose, and being flexible I just jiggle the bag if it feels too hard. I'm still shocked at how well it works, and will remember to weigh them this next harvest.
Cheers
Thank you, I really enjoy your candid talks and good ideas . I Glenn something better or new each video and I am an old gardener in age and experience. I love your down to earth easy ideas. I gardened in Buffalo, NY and now in sunny Florida. Please keep sharing.
That's a brilliant idea, thank you.
Hey can you name the brand or what I should google? Not sure what kind of bags you are referring to.
And here I was thinking I had to build a potato box with wood.
What a fool I've been. I'll be trying this when winter ends up here in Canada.
Spectacular as always Mark! Thank you for the lovely start to my Saturday morning.
Yes, I'm trying it in Virginia in the Spring. Let's remember to share out results.
Hello fellow Canadian! I live in the Yukon and will try this to start them indoors
Just one suggestion: Look where you put your cardboard box. I now have a discolored spot on my balcony where the cardboard rotted for about 3 months.
@@donaldduck830 excellent tip!
@@donaldduck830 or, place plastic underneath. I've done that with success. (That plastic that the big box stores and independent garden nurseries provide for protecting your car.
Wow I am so going to try it I’m 70 years old and disabled health issues are a lot but we don’t quit amen 🙏 I so learn from you a lot keep doing what you do oh I’m in a small town in North Carolina in the United States
Just use regular potatoes you purchase to eat. As it gets close to spring here (I'm in the States) we let the older potatoes grow eyes/shoots. Then at planting time we divide each potato up and plant them in regular dirt with some top soil mixed in. We have planted them in grow bags, cardboard boxes, wooden boxes, planters and the ground. Only thing special that I do is the top soil (lots cheaper than "planting" soil(about $2.00-$2.50 per 20/25lb bag. Where the other stuff costs around $7/$8 per bag. And we still get a lot of potatoes.
Oops. I forgot. I mix in some organic fertilizer also. And every other year add in manure.
This is great, but in the US the eating potatoes (versus seed) can carry diseases as they aren't as strictly regulated. Still works great a lot of the time, but be careful!!!
Your topsoil brand must be better than mine. Mine looks like chopped bark in a bag. Granted, I’ve seen people grow potatoes in compost bins, so maybe that doesn’t matter…
You gotta be careful .. mosaic virus lives in the soil a long time once you catch it.
I just planted some today .
Better yet start composting, and make your own soil. You know what's in it, and it's free.
The cardboard box was absolutely a success. I live in a back yard mother inlaw flat with minimum yard space & this is a perfect idea.. Thank you.
A hint that i can give back to you Mark . Purple veg means it tolerates cold winter . So your potatoes supposed to be a winter variety for snowing icy times
The flavor of homegrown potatoes really is remarkable. The Adirondack Blues I grow keep all the way to the next growing season. They're my favorites.
You’ve probably got some of the happiest worms on the planet, because they’re loved 🥰 lol 😂
Last year we had a bag of christmas potatoes that got left forgotten in the cellar. The obvious happened and we tried sowing them in the spring. They were very sad looking by that time, long and leggy and not a hint of green because of the dark cellar. But even in a small bucket, they ended up flourishing and produced a decent crop. Potatoes are great.
This past Summer, I planted some Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes in farm tractor tires I had cut the sidewalls out of. They did better than the ground planted potatoes, plus I was able to plant earlier in the year because the blackness of the tires warmed the soil. I was able to plant a second crop in the same tires and they seemed to do better than the first crop. Pennsylvania USA. Love your videos.
Smart
I have been told that heavy metals can leach out of the tyres and be taken up by the potatoes. Not sure if true but might be worth checking.
@@julierobinson3052 Don't believe everything you hear. My mom used tires to grow small gardens for years & she's not full of cancer. Any toxins that do leach thru the soil get broken down. The food you buy in the grocery store are sprayed with chemicals too
@@julierobinson3052 I agree. Tire stores smell toxic. I can't breathe it too long.
MY GRANDPARENTS NICELY SURVIVED DEPRESSION BECAUSE GREW THEIR OWN FOOD!!
Hey Mark awesome video! I think another great point you may have missed is that if you're a self sufficient gardener that produces their own compost, you'd only have to pay for the seed potatoes once. In the long run you'd actually be saving alot of money, you'd have an infinite supply of potatoes if you wanted. Just use some of last seasons as seed :)
Oh so was the expense more the potatoes and not the potting mix? And please tell me I can grow potatoes in my homemade compost cuz I couldn't find potting mix where I live T.T
And yes...FRESHNESS. Nothing like walking out to our Bag-o-potatoes...digging down into the dirt with our fingers...and coming up with a half-dozen baby red potatoes...ready for breakfast!
I'm excited to try the potatoes-in-a-cardboard box idea. I have a feeling my Scottish and Russian ancestors would approve of such a resourceful method. Thank you Mark, you're the best!
For easy clean up, you could start out with a tarp under the box or other material to make an easy clean up at the end! 😀👍
I grew potatoes straight on new ground, my yard, I just put cardboard down and one area a tarp... Then put them cut in pieces or whole, in mounds of straw with whatever dirt and lawn clippings I could toss in now and then. Worked great and harvest was easy! Old straw is better as new straw might need more stuff mixed in to hold water and nutrients better but it works.❣️💪😁👍🌱🌻🏵️🥀🌾🌿🌷
A tarp under the box! Why didn't I think of that? Cheers :)
Yep. I failed in that two years ago, still have a discolored spot where the poatatoe's cardboard-box-bottom rotted for three months
Tarp idea 💡
I used a old rug , it lasted for years .
Love how ol' Scooter keeps his eye on you, lol. Fun Fact; your #1 biggest fan here got his first job picking up potatoes behind a small plow Old Farmer Jones worked. I was in the 6th grade in 1966 and was paid .50 cents an hour
After doing potatoes in 5-10 gallon grow bags this year in the SE US, I’ve decided that potatoes really want room to grow horizontally.
I saw Northshore Prepper grow in 27 qt storage bins with holes drilled on the narrow ends by the ground and he got a good result. But the cardboard box method looks like an improvement on the plastic bins.
I got phenomenal results with green beans in grow bags so I’m going to use my 20 odd bags for green beans and sugar snap peas next year and definitely use cardboard boxes for potatoes. Great experiment!
I'm in N. Georgia, used grow bags this season with limited results. Oh boy, the clay here makes gardening interesting!
@@katiekane5247 same here. I am just over the state line from you in SC, and the grow bags have not been a success for me except for jalapenos and cherry tomatoes.
@@katiekane5247 Start building up your soil by composting and staring a worm farm, using straw and leaves as ground cover, and adding charged biochar and a little sand. Put down layers of broken up boxes first, then add good soil and compost before you plant. Do this everywhere you plant. Eventually you will build up your soil changing it's texture and health. This is the reason forested areas are so rich. Limbs, sticks, and leaves carpet the forest floor, then fungus grows, bugs, and worms move in because of the habitat of cover, food, and moisture, to transform it all into black rich soil. If you use planting boxes, you can add small limbs, sticks and leaves into the bottom of the box, saving money on the amount of soil needed, as well as new fertilizer being made in the bottom of the container.
@@beccagee5905 What is charged biochar?
I appreciate how enthusiastic you are about your worms.
I love when you do experiments like this! The growing veggies in old milk cartons and the fish head experiments were great too.
And burying Hoppy the Kangaroo; unforgettable!😄
@@hbrws813 yeah (sigh,, still get Sad about that,,,
When I lived in a stand-alone house, I had a garden. I used to grow pinto beans. I started an experiment of selecting the pods that had the greatest number of beans and saved them for the next growing season. What I was trying to do was increase the yield per plant. I was able to do it for only 3 seasons which wasn't enough to tell if the process was working. That's something you might try since you say you like to experiment with growing vegetables.
You can still grow in an apartment if you have any large south facing windows, or a balcony.
Fantastic! You've demostrated that anyone with a box, tater and soil or straw can do this successfully. Thank you for this video 👍
Have you had luck with potatoes in straw
Great to see people out there living the dream , keep doing it
Always enjoy watching your “experiment” videos Mark. Not too bad of a haul for growing in a box 😝. We planted potatoes last spring, but we only got 30lbs. There was too much grass and wild grape vines so I dug up the whole patch and will buy some composted manure and earth next spring. I might try the cardboard trick just to add some more taters around the garden. I also like how easy it was to harvest the taters rather than digging them up potentially damaging some spuds like I do sometimes. Cool videos Mark. Cheers, Chad from Ontario.
Good on ya Chad! Cheers mate :)
Hey I have a request make a video about a garden tour again show everything your trees your plants your beds your root vegetables your perennials your pots your way of cooking them too and some recipes
Cool potato box! I'm in south Texas USA which is also subtropical only more arid. Your weather is a lot like mine so your videos are perfect for my gardening!
So I'm wondering do you have to change out the store-bought compost each and every time or could you get two crops from it
@@stevegermain1222 Container soil is rejuvenated by adding a small amount of amendments (ie compost, plants and leaves - chopped, manure, etc)
I actually think that's a surprisingly big harvest! Your box was not gigantic - but the plants were healthy and produced a lot! I love that the box can be composted, unlike many of the plastic pots and buckets I resorted to. I want to get to better methods like you share. Thanks for this and all your other helpful videos!
The advantage of using the cloth bags for planting is they have handles. When time to harvest...dump the bags to the potting bench for harvesting...saving the dirt for next year...is so convenient.
It's so good to know that Mark is still alive in the future! I enjoy present Mark's channel so much, I can only imagine how much better it will be in the future🎉🎉🎉
you know the purple potato variety in the states seems to be only found in the small variety of potato so I wonder if its just the way they are
Hi Lisa 👋 how are you doing?
I like when he says " and I'm from the future" 😆
Ok, I am going to try this when spring comes. That idea mean that potatoes can be grown on a concrete patio or gravel area. No special containers needed! Hey, we can grow other things in cardboard boxes also! I think it was a great success! It generated ideas for other plantings! Thank you Mark!
It you live in an area that rains a lot, wrap the box with chicken wire to keep the box stable. You can also cover the bottom of the box if your area has moles, or other rodents that burrow from eating your plants.
@@beccagee5905 I have used milk crates (plastic box with large holes) lined with cardboard to good success. A nice solid frame but good drainage. Easy to move and just put a tarp beside and dump out for harvest. Reuse and move that soil easily on the tarp.
I live in the state of Maine USA and I grow tons of potatoes. Because of Global warming I am growing grapes; hardy grapes which can survive to -40 and -50 F. Right now we are having a heat wave. It's 18 F. We are in a polar vortex and every night is below zero, some nights have been -28 F. Years ago our temps were much colder without the polar vortex. I can't imagine what it would be like not to have winter so when I watch your videos I'm at a lost as to how you would grow what you do. I wouldn't think potatoes which are a cold weather crop would even survive your warm winters. Many decades ago I couldn't grow tomatoes or squash. Summer nights in June hung around the high 30's. I love your beautiful garden, though. I wish I could grow some of the things you do, like for example bananas. Keep up the good work!
G'day, Mark! 🙂 I'm based in the north of England [Aargh! Beware the evil Pom!👹] and love experimenting with veggie growing, too. The UK climate's lousy, but spuds do surprisingly well despite the gloom, cold, fog, rain and hail of a typical British summer.
Growing food in open soil or in raised beds is a challenge, though, because of the killer slugs - as big and mean as Aussie saltwater crocodiles 🐊 - so I use pots, bags and tubs for everything. I'll definitely give the soggy cardboard box method a try next year. Thanks for the idea!
I have a tiny (7' long) lean-to unheated greenhouse which is good for tomatoes, peppers and chillies. I agree with you about fresh-picked food tasting better than anything from a shop.
In terms of recyclability, I got excellent results from growing spuds in some old woven jute sacks that I liberated from a supermarket rubbish skip (they were similar to the sack you show at 2:56). They lasted for three wet seasons before finally turning into mush, but they were easy to compost when they died.
The local birds also carried off heaps of the disintegrating jute as nest-lining material, so I think we all won, there.
I'm still not sure if it's better to use biodegradable containers that can be returned to the soil, or sturdy plastic bags and tubs that last for ever. 🤔At the moment I use both. Ah, well - the really important thing is that the spuds make decent chips!
P.S. Do you want any slugs and snails? 🐌 I'll swap you some for a bit of sunshine...
I had a solid laugh at "typical British summer" 🤣
Hi Elli! Can you get the Sarpo Mira variety in your area? I just left Mark a comment about them and the only place I know that they were available is in Scotland or Ireland (can’t remember which). They are blight resistant and grow extremely large. Allotment Diary and Home Grown Veg have videos on growing them.
Omg, I just moved to geordieland from the US this year and the slugs are *no joke*. Absolutely incredible.
Decided to do hydroponic lettuce inside this year 🤣
G'day Elli, no I don't want any slugs thank you! But, I have to say with the three weeks of non-stop rain here at the moment it does remind me of the UK 😁 Thanks for your tips and for sharing your experience in growing spuds. All the best :)
You can wrap chicken wire around the cardboard box to give it stability when it gets wet. Then when it dries it will still be a box 😊 We don't have a slug problem where I live in the USA, but I saw a cure for them somewhere, if I can locate it again, I'll come back, and point you in that direction.
I'm salvaging my raised beds out back after my bro, sis,and I took turns caring for our mtr in another state for several years. I weeded as well as I could , covered them with cardboard and straw. I'm going to plant boxes of several varieties of potatoes next month on top of one bed. I'm going to use my compost and soil I've been collecting from mole mounds. The soil they mound up is great and the yard recovers quickly. I may plant zucchini similarly and will make openings for tomatoes.
I’ll have to try this bc we’re gathering a lot of diaper boxes due to us raising now 3 more of our grandbabies that’s in pull ups & diapers. Thk u for the idea & I think u got a good crop. It fed ur family a meal and that’s what matters & ur idea did work.
That's what Grandparents are for... Nice :)
Mark your a great role model for us novices trying to get into the vast sea of self sufficiency. Thanks for all the information you share to help us learn properly. Also you remind my 5 year old of Bluey's dad whatever that means.
Bingo! Such a fun dad. I love that show... my young grandsons laugh out loud 😊
Still with you Mark and your still making great video's 😇You gave me my first advise 4 yrs ago you were a much smaller channel and I knew then I would be watching you!!! Many blessings to you and your family.
I appreciate you sticking with me Mari - boy, there has been some ups and downs but overall lots of fun! Blessings to you and yours also :)
So glad I found you, my husband was an organic farmer but now we’re older and he works more than full time for organic food delivery company here in Ohio. Yet having ideas like yours is practical and even fresher food...
Smarter than the average Australian bear. And more adorable than a box of Koalas.👍👍👍 🇺🇲 🇦🇺🧸
LOL...
@@Selfsufficientme just a fact Mark
In many US grocery stores "baby potatoes" go for a premium price. We used to harvest our potatoes at "fingerling" size and sold them at farmer's markets and we always sold out. Smaller potatoes are great in roasts, stews etc.
I have seen potato towers, buckets, in-ground, but never in a cardboard box, that worked a hell of a lot better than I thought it would.
We have ours currently in a raised bed, but my health has been poor the last few months, so they have been attacked pretty hard by pests, might dig them up in a few weeks, the best thing about Melbourne, I will plant some of them in a different raised bed and start the whole thing off again no waiting on seasons.
Dig in soil barefooted and barehanded for regaining your health. Sending love, support and motivation from South Africa. Pot on!
@@gwenwade6059 Sadly, while the barefooted and barehanded does wonders for mental health. In this case, it won't help me, it's a physical problem that requires doctors and medicine. It will heal but will take time.
I hope your health improves soon Matthew and you can get back into it mate :)
@@Selfsufficientme so do I, its really hard being stuck sitting down when you have so much to do.
Thank you.
O my gosh I got excited when you pulled the cardboard up. Your hysterical driving the big rig in to scoop a bucket of soil. You crack me up
NOTICE: Never consume liquids while watching one of Marks’ videos.
“This is me, Mark in the future” comment equals me passing my morning tea and choking.
Love your videos Mark❤️🇨🇦
lol
🤣
LOL... I hope you are ok :)
Thanks for the warning! Hope you recovered!!
@@KaeleyStormcrow
You never know what’s going to catch you in the funny bone. I laughed and snorted then choked. So worth it though.
Hey, Mark. I know this is an old video, but I just wanted to take the time to thank you for all the work you do on this channel. I live in Alabama, in the Southeastern United States. My wife and I just bought our first house with a good bit of land attached to it, and I knew I wanted to start gardening now that we have our own place with plenty of room outside. I just happened upon your channel one day and I have loved everything. Especially this video. We're still unpacking from the move, so obviously we've got plenty of cardboard boxes, and potatoes are high on my list of what to grow. I think I just have to remember that our seasons are opposite to you since we're north of the equator. We're going into winter here, so it's giving me time to figure out what I wanna do to start with so I don't get too overwhelmed. Keep up the amazing work, man. You've definitely inspired me.
Great idea, I'll try that next year.
Regarding your harvest, perhaps you should put less seed potatoes in there for a better one. I found that it should not be more than 6 to max. 8 per square metre, otherwise the plants will compete for nutrients and most of all space. This also helps in filling even more boxes with one seed potatoe bag ;)
)
More growing time (8 weeks in heat is not ideal) may increase success of harvest rate.
Love how excited you get about the worms! Especially the big worm.
Earth worms are spectacular. I never see any because everyone sprays chemicals to kill weeds.
I love to see worms in the soil because I know it's healthy.
Love it, Mark! I've got to try this ...I've got limited sunny space and I can see grabbing a few more sunny spots without digging another bed. I'm on a mission to recycle everything so win-win!
Hi Helen 👋 how are you doing?
I still think this is a most excellent idea. I tried a very low framed area and did grass clipping and straw, and it worked nicely. Next year I will do the boxes ( I am saving them now). Since we have a lot of snow I think I can start the boxes in my greenhouse and get a spring and fall plant. I would change one thing and put only one or two seed potatoes in each box. I think if they have more room, there will be a higher yield.
I must try those purple potatoes. They look delicious.
Some of my old potatoes have sprouted and we have all these boxes lying around, I’m definitely going to see how this experiment goes with my potatoes and see what happens
Nice! I have a bunch of boxes that I have been trying to find a purpose for. Just bought a travel system for the soon to be baby and that thing is bigger than a chest of drawers.
Hi Liza how are you doing?
Good idea for my washing machine box!
@@gwenwade6059 I'm from Dallas Texas USA how about you?
@@gwenwade6059 cut it in half 1st in the height so you have a bigger surface to work with. Worked for me. I had to just put some tape around the box so it retains soil a little better
I love the box option. I've been using large plastic totes for potatoes. I do need to keep my boxes elevated though, my dog likes to go garden shopping for anything within his reach. His favourites are green beans and tomatoes.
Learned there are so many different types of potatoes. In the spring I will look into other variety. I had 50 lbs of potatoes from 3 I planted. Great return from what I planted.
Love your pod casts. Great job
You planted 3 potatoes and got 50 lbs??? Are you sure???? each potato root can only produce 5 small potatoes,,, or 3 large ones,,or about 2 lbs of potatoes at the most,,, so 3 times 2 lbs is 6 lbs,,, HOW?? did you grow 50 Lbs?
@@JustMe-gs9xi Yes I have had a great
Harvest from my garden. I have planted in my container and had so many 🥔 potatoes going down to the bottom and it filled it with so many more than I ever dreamed of getting back for my efforts.
I found when I put 70% fresh compost in my potatoes they grew exponentially more than my previous harvests, which did have a little compost or where grown in store bought soil. I think the vitamins I composted in that pile may have been a major contributor to the out come. The leaves were HUGE and they yielded Way more and larger potatoes than the previous harvests. I bet they could have produced more for me but the stems got SO big they started falling over and breaking prematurely. LOL. I had to prop the up with sticks!
Also my tip for home growers with potatoes is go out and find a few spuds from as many varieties from the grocery store and farmers market you can find. Experiment with them to see which ones grow best in your area. I've had everything from varieties that are more/less susceptible to the caterpillars in my area, to ones that do better in my shady front yard, to ones that are better with cooler days/hotter days where I live, and ones with larger stems (both green AND purple STEMS).
Most importantly, Have Fun! These are one of my favorites to grow...and eat😊😋
I TOTALLY agree with the 70 percent Fresh Compost,,,,,,
What a great thing to do with the kids! Spring cannot come soon enough here In the US!
Have you ever heard of the Ruth Stout method of planting potatoes? All she did was throw a few left over (store-bought) potatoes on the ground with a little cotton seed fertilizer and then covered them all with hay .. never watered them and she got so much yield out of this way of growing potatoes as to be staggering. Check it out. Greetings from The Netherlands.🌹
I’ve used cardboard as pots when I’ve ran out of pots. It works well and you get the benefits of the micros seeping into your dirt if you put the box on the ground where there is dirt instead of concrete. I love this video! Thank you Mark!
Good morning, Mark: potatoes are a must for me and mine and i, too, have regular deliveries of stuff in cardboard boxes, so THANK YOU for the tip! My raised bed space just isn’t practical for spuds, and as i get older, i’m constantly on the lookout for methods that are easier on these bones. Getting older doesn’t HAVE to be hell, and i can see that you are hip to this! 😎💋👍🏼
I have always cut my seed potatoes and you get a lot more out of the seeds planted, and if you want to do an experiment then why not plant so on the dark of the moon and some others on the full and let me know which ones give you the most productive .
That was a grand experiment, Mark. Every garden I've ever had was an experiment that worked well or not so well. I think it would have been better with better timing: time of the year, too late in the season. I'm so glad that I found your RUclips site. In the US we don't use metric measurements so thank you for the translation of the box size. Thanks!!
thank you for doing the real work to help every person learn how they can do their fair share of keeping mother earth healthy.
Hello! I am a Brit living in Texas (where the climate is always trying to kill us) I bought those green bags to plant potatoes. All went well until 'someone' who lives in my roof and has babies to feed, raided the bags , trashed them and left me with heaps of dirt with mangled green bags. She is cute and keeps the snakes away so I can't begrudge her a meal or two, but I will try again this year to grow spuds in a cardboard box. That will help with the cardboard box inundation and feed the racoons again! (she is very pretty and the babies are adorable!)
The thing that I like about your content is apart from you being a nice guy, and the great content, Dad jokes etc, you actually show us how to do things. Other channels show you the perfect end result but not how to get there. I’m sure most of those channels will in future ask us to pay for courses and ebooks.
Thank you 👍👌
Love the tomato 🍅 plant. I find gardening to be therapeutic and a great pass time. Your videos are very informative. Thank you for sharing.
I'll always love this channel. Gardeners and growers for the win. This man has taught me so much.
Cardboard is a fabulous resource for the garden. Every single scrap of paper, wood, napkins, catalogues, boxes etc. that enters our property goes into our garden (never sent to a recycling facility). They can be used for “weed” control, growing food (just like this video), mulching and composting.
Great idea - thanks for sharing.
It is too cold outside here in Georgia in the U.S. to grow potatoes outside but I would love to try this on the back porch. It is all glassed in and pretty much 40 -60 degrees all the time. Hopefully I can get some potatoes this winter. Thanks, we really enjoy your videos! Keep 'em coming!
Thank you for posting this comment. I'm in Atlanta and I was just wondering if we could yield anything at this time of year. Or rather, what would be the best time to start planting any potatoes out here!
@@RubeeRoja And I'm in Suwanee. and I have designed my very successful storage system. They lasted from May til early Nov. in a small cold hole. You tube link is .Storing potatoes in Atlanta in July 2021
ruclips.net/video/3nSj3VPpRAQ/видео.html
I love purple potatoes and bonus the plants are gorgeous. I grew them on my deck and got tons of compliments..and no one knew it was a potato. Plus they're delicious
I love your videos, Mark. And I love that Mark in the future hasn't aged a bit!
LOL...
I love the way you talk and describe things. Very helpful. Thank you so much.
I have tried something similar with an old plastic bin ( with holes in the bottom) and absolutely no soil! Just shredded paper and leaves. As soon as the plants start showing a few leaves, I added more paper covering and so on and so forth. I just upended the whole thing at the end of the season. Lots of nice clean potatoes!
I've been using the bags that my chicken feed comes in as pots to grow some onions in. Just turn them inside out and roll the sides down to the size I want. This way I have been able to move them around to get the best sun. Not sure what they make the bags from here is Oz but its not paper like I see in a lot of US videos. It looks like woven weed fabric but stiffer and it does break down if left in the sun (eventually). Figure its better if I reuse them until they fall apart than putting them straight in the bin.
As a side note on the cardboard boxes, if you have a shredder you will probable be surprised at the thickness it can easily cope with. And how willing children are to sit there and feed the shredder. then it can go straight to compost or garden beds
I've grown potatoes in galvanized trash cans and had great luck with them drill holes in the bottom, place the bottom edges of the cans on blocks, for drainage. Add some dirt to the can, plant and just before the flower, add more soil. Keep adding until you've reached the top. When ready you can dump the soil from the Dan's onto your compost and collect the various sizes of potatoes. The cans can be washed, scrubbed clean and stacked for storage when not needed. Worked great for me.
Morning from Uk ! I am planning to grow mainly tomatoes and potatoes this coming spring ! Your videos helped me to refresh the important points needed to pay attention to ! Thank you !
G'day! Tomatoes and potatoes are two of the best backyard food crops to grow in my opinion! Cheers :)
I am fascinated with your growing comparisons and experiments. I love that you are happily spending hours in your garden. Please keep doing what you are doing because I learn so much and enjoy it.
Mark, that worm was AMAZING! We're in the United states and our worms are about half that length and hardly move at all. We thought that was a young / very small snake! Love your channel, thanks for the videos!
My dad's garden would get worms like that. It depends on how much they have to eat. Compost bin worms can get pretty big. The thing about the US is that it is so big and diverse that we really should not make general statements about how things are in the "US".
I'm in central NC and I regularly find worms that size. We've got some really weird jumping worms that like 7 inches long that freak me out... not to mention, recently we've had an infestation of these flathead worms from Asia, apparently they came a bag of topsoil from Lowes. They're disgusting, they have flatheads and looooong skinny bodies, they eat regular earthworms, and they reproduce by biting themselves into multiple pieces 🤮 so you can't chop them up because it'll just make more of them. It's awful, we went from having none of them, to now when it's warm out they're everywhere 😭
It was huge!
Not all worms are the same by far... Yes even here in the US
Love your channel. Spending time outside in the sun, instead of sitting in the shade, was worth any time and money I spent last year.
I love it. The experiment was fascinating to watch. The potato stems looked so healthy to begin with, they were flourishing.
Pretty sure that u wait for tops to wither n go brown...that means pots r ready to harvest!
My favorite person to watch on RUclips for anything gardening!
This looks so fun, and a great experiment to do with your kids - if you have any. It'll be fun to do this with my boys when they're old enough.
I use old truck and tractor tires. They make a nice, raised bed with plenty of growing space, and they are free. They work really well in a limited space. I tulip mine which opens them up for a larger planting area. Stacked two high and painted makes a very attractive garden. For potatoes I do three high. I start with one tire and when the potatoes grow high enough to reach the top of a second tire, then add a second tire, fill with soil and plant more potatoes. When those have grown high enough add a third tire, fill and pant more potatoes. The harvest is considerable.
I appreciate learning about all of the ways potatoes can be grown. My potatoes are usually small, but I agree that they are so tasty and I know that they haven't been sprayed with anything or "modified". Thank you, love your ideas.
Try giving their roots more room to grow when planting. Spacing the seed potatoes apart more could produce larger end results. A longer and wider shorter box will give them more space. You could also plant more boxes, but less seed potatoes in each box.
Brilliant! Love your videos, so empowering. Anyone can grow food! I'm in the. States and recently bought dragonfruit cuttings from a local home gardener. As we were discussing how to plant and grow them, he referenced your channel and we had an immediate connection. Small world. You are inspiring gardeners around the globe.
Thanks for the subscription and also the referral! All the best with your dragon fruit - they are one of my favourite food plants - absolutely magical! Cheers :)
First time following Mark. He’s funny. Enjoy watching him!
I did the same this past season with the boxes. My yield was probably even less than yours, but I did learn a couple things from it. 1 being don’t put the boxes right up against the house. Being away from the rest of the garden meant it would be neglected a bit, and to top it off, the eave of the house kept rain from helping me out. Combine that with the three lined potato beetles…
I love a man that cleans after himself
Good job Mark love your clips 👍 keep them coming.
I really love your personality, your accent and your delivery. Thank you for teaching us how to grow food correctly 🙏
G'day, Mark. I love your experiments! I am going to try this next planting season!
G'day Isabella! :)