How to Plant Potatoes in Tires

You can use old auto tires to help grow your potatoes.

Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetable crops on the planet and are grown in many countries. Though potatoes are not terribly difficult to grow, they do require a lot of time to keep enough soil around the plants as they grow taller. Normally you have to keep piling soil around the plants to ensure that they grow larger and produce larger yields. An easy way to do this is to use old tires to help keep the plants and soil in place.

Things You'll Need

• Gravel or small rocks
• Compost
• Dry leaves
• Shovel
• Soil
• Knife
• Garden hose

Instructions

1. Obtain some old tires. You will need four regular-width auto tires for each stack of potatoes you want to grow. You can get old tires for free or cheap at auto garages or at a junkyard.

2. Place a tire flat on the ground in the planting location. Use a shovel to place 2 to 3 inches of gravel or small rocks on top of the soil inside the tire. The gravel or rocks will help the soil drain better.

3. Cover the gravel with a 2-inch layer of compost. Add a layer of leaves on top of the compost.

4. Fill the rest of the tire in with soil. Remember to fill in the inside walls of the tire as well.

5. Prepare the potatoes. Make sure you use seed potatoes and not potatoes from the grocery store, which will not grow.

6. Cut the seed potatoes into pieces that each have two "eyes" on them. Place four of the potato pieces on top of the soil inside the tire. Make sure the potatoes are cut side down and the outside skin is facing up.

7. Cover the potatoes with compost, soil and leaves.

8. Water the potatoes and soil with a garden hose.

9. Place another tire on top of the first tire after the potato plants have grown to a height of 8 inches. Fill in the inside of the tire around the plants with soil and leaves. Add enough soil until there is only 2 inches of the plants poking through. Water the plants.

10. Repeat the process in Step 9. Add a third tire to the stack once the plants rise 8 inches above the second tire.

11. Harvest the potatoes once the plants are 8 inches above the soil of the fourth tire.

References

• Stop the Ride: Planting Potatoes in Old Tires
• "Backwoods Home Magazine": New Uses for Old Tires
• Ed Hume Seeds: Potatoes