How to Grow Potatoes in Tires

Planting Potatoes in Used Tires Helps the Environment as Well as the Gardener

That time of year comes around and April showers begin to dampen the soil. All the gardeners have talked and guessed on a week that they think the last frost has come and gone, allowing them to plant their potatoes. The old, more common method is to dig a trench in the ground, plant part of a potato with roots in it (or a whole potato with roots), and cover it up. Then, water and compost the bed, gradually raising it up around the base of the plant as it grows. This process takes around 70 days before the potatoes are ripe and ready to harvest.

There is a more convenient way of growing potatoes, though, that is less time consuming, environmentally friendly, and causes less strain on the body of having to bend over. Growing them out of old, used tires. Just mix some good soil and manure about 50/50 and lay a tire on the ground in your new garden. Place a few potato pieces in it (make sure they have been sitting in the dark, growing roots) and cover them with compost. As the plant starts to grow above the tire, stack another one on top of it and gently add some more compost, gradually raising up the bed. Soon, you will have a stack of tires filled with soil, compost, and if done correctly, a bunch of potatoes!

Once your potato plants have produced flowers they have started to die and fall off, it is time to harvest them. You may want harvest one of your stacked beds a little early just to see if they may be ripe sooner than expected. The time to harvest may vary depending on the area and climate. Some people like to eat small potatoes, too. Just take off the top tire and work your way down until potatoes will start to come falling out. You can also add more potato pieces with roots as the stack gets taller, or even cut holes in the tires for the plants to grow out of.

While some people use different mixtures of soil and compost, I have found manure to be essential in the soil where I live. I try to mix it at least half and half, and there are other mixtures as well as different organic food you can add to your compost to help potato plants to grow, such as fish carcasses. So, get out your old used tires and get ready to harvest buckets full of potatoes this Summer!

Read More

Growing Onions Successfully From Seed

Fall is coming soon. Your onions still don't look like onions. It's almost harvest time for everything in the garden. Those onions you planted from seed are just little wisps blowing in the wind. You followed the seed packet directions to the letter. What happened? Why is growing onions from seed so hard? What could you be doing wrong?

Planting onion seed in the garden rarely works.

I'm not sure why those people who package the seeds tell you to do it. You see, planting onion seeds in the garden doesn't give them time to grow. You'll have much more success when planting bulbs. Since they have a head start on growth, they'll be ready to harvest on time. Yes, it's that simple. But what if you want to start your own seeds, rather than buying bulbs someone else nurtured?

Indoor onion seed starting.

If you want to start your onions from seed, you have to start early.

This is the main reason starting onion seeds in the garden doesn't work out. It takes several months of growth to get onion bulbs. It takes the rest of the growing season to get full grown onions. You have to start your onion seeds indoors in January or February in order to plant the resultant onion bulbs (sets) in the spring.

It takes patience to start onions from seed.

It takes a lot of time and patience to grown onion bulbs from seed. Onion sprouts are extremely delicate. You really have to baby them and watch them closely. They can't have too much sun or too little. Over-watering is also a concern.

You will need a lot of seeds at first.

If you like both small green onions and large full grown onions, you'll need to sprout a large number of seeds. I've grown 160 bulbs before and not had enough onions to last through fall and winter. It may sound like a lot. Remember, the green onions you harvest for summer salads are quite small. The good news is that after several seasons, you will have onions popping up naturally in your garden. The longer you grow onions, the less seeds or bulbs you will have to buy.

Use loose potting soil.

You'll need to pull your bulbs cleanly from the soil for outdoor planting. Therefore, your soil should be looser than normal. One trick I use is adding cornmeal to the potting soil. Make sure to use GMO free cornmeal to avoid organic seeds being contaminated. Sand can be used as well.

Let your onions go slightly dry between watering.

Wet soil causes fungus growth. It also tends to hold seeds too tightly. The soil you start your onions seeds in will need to be damp for initial sprouting. After that, allow your soil to mostly dry before watering. This forces deeper root growth and healthier onions.

Sometimes nothing works.

Starting onions from seed is a fussy process. Not everyone is up to the task. I spent a lot of years planting ready grown bulbs, while learning to propagate my own onion seeds. There will be years when your seeds simply aren't successful. Don't despair. There's always next year. If this happens to you, just "suck it up". Go buy some organic GMO free seedlings. Most good greenhouses carry them. One failure doesn't make you a terrible gardener. In fact, the learning experience can make you a better one.

Read More

How to Grow Container Onions From Seeds

Growing onions in containers is a perfect method of ensuring year-round access to fresh produce. Planting onions calls for soil pH considerations and light availability. Planting in containers also comes with the added call for wise variety choices. For example, bulb-forming onions have different habitat needs than green onions. Get your container garden off to a good start today.

Select appropriate Varieties

Growing onions in containers begins by choosing the varieties that are most likely to thrive in this environment. Texas A&M suggests planting three to five green onion plants in a one-gallon container. Appropriate varieties include Crysal Wax and Evergreen Bunching.

When growing onions from seed, they will germinate in about six to eight days, do well in partial shade and can be harvested within 80 to 100 days of seeding. In contrast, the Egyptian walking onion can be grown indoors but does not produce the famous top-sets until the second year. Not surprisingly, they are not good container onions to consider - if same-year harvesting is desired.

How to grow Onions the right Way

Green onions require approximately six to seven hours of sunlight to thrive. Shady conditions may lead to slow growing specimens, although partial shade may be tolerated. In a pinch, supplement natural light with artificial lighting from fluorescent bulbs. The Gardening Patch suggests that you start with a nutrient-rich soil that features a pH ranging from 5.5 to 6.5.

Stagger your planting schedule for year-round access to onions ready for harvest. If you instead choose to plant all the seeds at the same time, you must have appropriate room to dry and store the plants after harvesting. Although usually edible no matter how far along in the growth season, it is high time to harvest the onions when the tops yellow and go limp.

What about larger Onions?

Can you plant larger onions in a container garden? Yes! However, spatial considerations are one of the downfalls when it comes to onion container gardening. While green onions are good options, those that form large bulbs - most commonly the yellow Granex or red Grano - present a very real challenge. For example, it is possible to grow about three large-bulb onions in a five gallon container, but only if each bulb is surrounded by approximately three inches of unencumbered soil.

Remember to also explore drainage options, such as trays, since onions need frequent and deep watering. At the same time, they abhor getting "wet feet," which leads to quick root rot. As a general rule of thumb, if the top of the soil feels dry to the touch, it is time to water. Soils that went too long in between waterings have a difficult time holding on to the water. Rehydrate the soil by placing the container into a water bath and allowing the liquid to saturate the dirt.

Read More