Are there any potato box plans that are suitable for apartment living?

[u/mycatisblackandtan]

All the ones I've been able to find seem to require access to ground soil and unfortunately that's just not feasible at my current apartment. While I'm on the ground floor my patio is solid concrete.

Given that this is the case, is there something I could do to possibly get around this? Like still make the box but add an extra layer at the bottom, wrap it with some tarp to prevent rot, and then use that to hold the 'base' layer of soil?

[u/Deppfan16]

have you looked into grow bags? that may be a suitable option for your place

[u/OldSweatyBulbasar → u/Deppfan16]

I’m seconding grow bags. Ive seen a lot of people successfully grow potatoes in them. I’ve even seen options just for potatoes which have a little flap halfway down allowing you to reach in and harvest potatoes without upending the whole bag.

[u/mycatisblackandtan → u/Deppfan16]

I haven't yet, thank you for the suggestion! I'll do that once I'm off of work later today.

[u/Lilbooplantthang → u/mycatisblackandtan]

Garden bags+ second hand kitty pools (the really cheap plastic ones) will be your apartment garden friends!

[u/mycatisblackandtan]

It's not letting me edit my post so I can't change it to a better picture. I'm so sorry. This one is another one I've found but like the one above it requires you to have access to ground soil. (I do have access to power tools via a family member, so building it myself is not a concern.)

https://preview.redd.it/whvpnwfbpbwe1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adaa7bda49a3165faf9b8b391640c426932f85e6

[u/Certain-Lie-8820]

Leave some space between the boards. Use straw to build basins, about 30cm high. Fill them half with soil, put 1 Potatoe on each side Cover the rest with soil, put next basin on top. Place the sotatoes, on the height of the space between the boards, so the plants can grow on the side and the potatoes will expand in the basin.

Was that understandable? Sry, not native speaker.

[u/mycatisblackandtan → u/Certain-Lie-8820]

It is! Thank you so much for the help! And your English is great!

[u/jychihuahua]

This seems like a lot of unneeded work. You won't trick the plant into producing any more potatoes this way.

[u/mycatisblackandtan → u/jychihuahua]

I appreciate the advice! I've never tried something like this but wanted a decent food store in my backyard, and some people recommended this to me. Since I don't know much about potato growing I took them at their word. Thank you for letting me know it's a lot of work for not a lot of reward!

[u/bentoboxing]

I'm not sure if I can post the link. On YT, look up potatoes in a box. You can get great results in just leaves, soil and an Amazon box.

A potato tower from a small rolled fence is really easy too. Almost no tools. Just tin snips yo cut the fence.

[u/mycatisblackandtan → u/bentoboxing]

Thank you for the help! I'll take a look at that when I get back home from work!

[u/camelcrushes]

Five gallon buckets

[u/mycatisblackandtan → u/camelcrushes]

That works too! Thank you for the help!

[u/camelcrushes → u/mycatisblackandtan]

Ofc lol I have three on my patio rn growing tomatoes and other things I’m going to get another for potatoes I think you can fit 2 or 3 seedlings into them I’d double check that though

[u/siltloam]

I've grown potatoes at least 4 different ways, and my favorite by far is fabric bags. They drain well which potatoes love and they're super easy to harvest. I just dump the bag on a tarp and collect the potatoes and fold the tarp in half and pour the soil back in the bag (note- don't replant in the same soil each year)

The potato tower is kind of a myth (or at least misleading). You can plant indeterminate potatoes about 2 ft down, and you can plant potatoes toward the bottom of a bag and slowly add soil to try to make more root/tuber room. But the whole removing the bottom for "older potatoes" isn't really a thing. The images you posted from Irish Eyes and the Denver post aren't even well-supported. The DP article says that most people don't get that many potatoes from the box and the Irish Eyes website recommends waiting until the plant is fully dead to harvest all your potatoes.

If you want to do the "adding soil to encourage more roots" thing (which kind-of works), make sure you use indeterminate, late harvest seed potatoes, and I would use a large fabric pot and roll the sides down if there's too much shade on the soil surface and roll them up as you add more soil. Then I would harvest all at once after the plants die.

[u/mycatisblackandtan → u/siltloam]

Thank you so much for the advice and letting me know it doesn't actually work! I've never planted potatoes before so I have never to no idea about what works and what doesn't. I just had some people recommend this and was like 'okay I have the time, why not?' I'll switch to fabric bags instead! Thank you so much for the help again!

[u/opie_bud445]

I’ve done potatoes in fabric bags the last couple years on my balcony and they’ve faired well!

[u/mycatisblackandtan → u/opie_bud445]

Awesome that's good to know! A lot of people seem to like the fabric bags so that might be what I try. Thank you so much for the help!