FieldNotes: Vertical Potato Towers

This year, our Shares team is experimenting with various growing methods, including vertical growing! When you think vertical, you might envision pole beans, peas, and vining plants. But have you ever considered growing potatoes vertically? This year, we decided to optimize our small and ornate spaces by cultivating potatoes vertically.

In the past, we’ve always grown potatoes horizontally in in-ground beds in furrows. While this has been successful to varying degrees, the late start to working the soil this year made growing vertically a great way to get a head start on planting our potatoes. This method could also be a fantastic alternative for someone who wants to grow potatoes but doesn’t have in-ground land, a raised bed, or the time to prep a weedy plot!

We started by digging an 8-inch deep hole for our tower to sit in. Alternatively, you could skip the digging and use rebar to secure the towers. Each potato tower consists of steel-wire fencing wrapped into a tube shape, measuring about 2.5 feet in diameter. We secured the wire tube together with zip ties, but you could also use fencing wire.

After securing our tower, we placed the structure into the hole. We then started building our lasagna layers that will hold our potatoes. Using straw, we built a nest at the bottom, about 2-3 inches deep and 12 inches high on the sides—a relatively thick layer! Next, we filled the nest with a good compost-soil mixture. We cut potatoes into small cubes, making sure there were 1-2 good eyes per cube. Then we placed them around the edge in a circle of the compost/soil area. You should be able to fit about 6-8 potato pieces.

We repeated this process four more times, all the way to the top of our wire structure. Now, you might be thinking: how are my potatoes going to grow inside the tower? The tubers stay nested in the tower while their leaves sprout out of the sides and top to receive sunlight.

For watering, hand watering with a hose works great, saturating from the top layer and from the sides. If you want to maximize your space even more, you can plant vining plants around the sides of your trellis. We planted peas, which will climb the side of the structure and will be dead by the time we are ready to harvest potatoes.

These towers are amazing yet so versatile and have been used by other growers as windbreaks and trellises!

For more information about vertical potato towers, or other innovative ga, email us at shares@feedinglaramievalley.org or stop by our office at 968 N. 9th Street!