Never grow spuds in a potato bin? ItÕs time you grew up!

If you don’t have a whole lot of room for planting potatoes—you gotta’ grow up! Potatoes are a spread-out kind of plant. Vine, actually. And they need room to grow. Now, just because your homestead isn’t spread out-- you don’t have to rush out and go buyin’ store-bought potatoes. That’s what a potato bin is for.

You ask any potato farmer what’s the best kind of bin, and you might get a dozen different answers. Yep, all from the same potato farmer! Y’see, growing potatoes in bins ain’t no exact science. Sometimes the tire bin works best. That is, if your neighbors don’t complain about a pile of old tires in your front yard. Sometimes plastic garbage bag bins work best, if you poke in some holes for ventilation. Most of the time, though, a plain old gunnysack (burlap bag to you city folk) grows potatoes best.

Your first batch may be no bigger than marbles.

Whatever bin you do use— tire, garbage bag, straw or gunnysack-- they all work on the same principle. Just fold down the bag, like you would roll up your sleeves. Throw in your potato sets (again city folk, that’s an potato eye with a circle of flesh around it) and cover with soil. As the potato vine grows, you unfold it, adding more soil each time. Till you run out of bag. By then you’re either ready for your first batch of French fries or a game of marbles.

Now don’t be disappointed if your first crop of potatoes ain’t much bigger than golf balls. You gotta’ get the hang of it And your dirt gotta’ get used to growing spuds. But keep it up and you’ll supersize those fries in no time.

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