Got limited space? Creating a potato tower could be the perfect garden hack for you. They’re super simple to build and produce lots of tasty potatoes!
Shopping List
- Tui Certified Seed Potatoes
- 2m wire mesh
- 2 stakes
- Hammer
- Tui Vegetable Mix
- Tui Pea Straw Mulch
- Seaweed Plant Tonic
- Garden staples
What you need to do
- Choose a seed potato variety based on your taste and cooking preferences. Discover the Tui Certified Seed Potato range.
- Form a circular shape with the wire mesh to create the tower. Make it approximately 50cm diameter, although you could make it bigger to plant more potatoes.
- Hammer a stake in at each side of the tower to anchor it to the ground.
- Add a little water to the bag of Tui Pea Straw Mulch to dampen it, making it easy to handle.
- Line the tower with Tui Pea Straw Mulch on the base and approximately 20cm high around the edges.
- Fill the lined tower up with Tui Vegetable Mix to the top of the straw.
- Add another 10–20cm lining of Tui Pea Straw Mulch around the edge of the tower. The tower will now be lined approximately 30–40cm high.
- Fill up with Tui Vegetable Mix, level to the top of the straw lining.
- Now you’re ready to plant. Place approximately 5–6 sprouted Tui Certified Seed Potatoes in the tower with the sprouts facing upwards.
- Cover seed potatoes with a light layer of Tui Vegetable Mix and gently pat down.
- Add two capfuls of Seaweed Plant Tonic to a full watering can and water your planted potatoes.
- As your potatoes grow keep mounding with Tui Vegetable Mix and lining the tower with more Tui Pea Straw Mulch.
- Keep watering and feeding until they are ready to harvest when the tops die back.
Post a comment
Potato Tower Gardening Hack Comments
Best idea ever, last year was great result so doing the same now, thanks for advice
Diana Beverly
Hi Diana, thanks for your feedback. We're pleased to hear you had a great result with your potato tower last year, wonderful to hear we have inspired others in the garden :) We'd love to see a photo of your tower and spud harvests if you take any. Happy potato growing from the Tui Team
Tui Team
The Kaiapoi Garden Club has had a competition for 'A potato in a Bucket' and each members are asked to grow a chiitted potato in a 10 litre pot with potting mix or their secret formula. It is judged the week before Christmas. The garden Club is 111years old!
Colleen Young
Hi Colleen, wow 111 years. That's wonderful! Your potato growing competition sounds like great fun. Happy growing and we'd love to see some photos.
Tui Team
I've been using pea straw bales past two years for strawberries and leafy veggies as my garden is a work in progress still. I'm doing a potato tower this year for first time. Looking at other towers on line, some suggest planting spuds so the top growth grows out the sides, and also in extra layers. What are your thoughts on this? Must be awfully crowded. Really looking forward to the end result.
Rosalie Eyles
Hi Rosalie, thanks for getting in touch. Great idea to grow in pea straw bales while you complete your garden. We would love to see some photos and the results from growing your crops this way. On the potato tower method, we haven't tried the alternative method suggested ourselves, but agree we would be concerned this would crowd the tower too much. Some shoots may naturally sprout out the side of the tower but with our method most of the green growth will come up through the top and we suggest only 5-6 potatoes. Happy spring gardening!
Tui Team
How high do you keep the soil topped over the potatoes in the tower?
Jeanie
Hi Jeanie, cover your seed potatoes with 50mm of Tui Vegetable Mix.
Tui Team
Would like to do this at Canvastown School saving on space.
Josephine Gill