Veg Showcase Rooftop garden build

[Geo]

Hi all!

Thanks to @AndrewB for giving me the idea to start such a thread.

Last year I started some plants in pots on the top of my garage. They grew somewhat... but during the year I built up on it, made myself a tumble composter and started this year with a lot of hope... and plenty of home-made compost. Here's this year's update:

 

[Mary Playford]

@Geo

Impressive setup. You could run solar irrigation to help with watering. I reckon wicking buckets would work up there too.

 

[Geo]

@Mary Playford

There are pipes that bring water up there, but I've left them on the inside (for now) as we get a lot of negative temperatures during our winters. I am thinking of adding a small greenhouse and have tap (and collected) water in there for use. Thank you!

 

[Geo]

This year I'm attempting Mark's experiment of growing potatoes in cardboard boxes

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Let us know how you go! I've been contemplating it too...

 

[Geo]

Let us know how you go! I've been contemplating it too...

Sure thing! I'm eager myself

 

[t4ms]

This year I'm attempting Mark's experiment of growing potatoes in cardboard boxes

I'm interested in this too as I've been contemplating buying a couple of potato grow bags for indeterminates (I've got a small space which I'm prepping at the moment for determinates). I've got a patch of concrete that I can cover with pots but I'm wondering how messy this is going to get/how quickly the cardboard box will collapse. I don't want the added work of shovelling and I'd like to keep it relatively contained. I think this idea would be great if you could place it on soil as opposed to concrete (the ideal start to a no-dig bed).

Let me know!

 

[Geo]

I'm interested in this too as I've been contemplating buying a couple of potato grow bags for indeterminates (I've got a small space which I'm prepping at the moment for determinates). I've got a patch of concrete that I can cover with pots but I'm wondering how messy this is going to get/how quickly the cardboard box will collapse. I don't want the added work of shovelling and I'd like to keep it relatively contained. I think this idea would be great if you could place it on soil as opposed to concrete (the ideal start to a no-dig bed).

Let me know!

Yes I originally wanted to plant it on soil, BUT I actually was more interested how it goes on concrete - since this will be the main garden in years to come. Also... it gets very wet here (temperate climate) and leaving a cardboard box on the soil is more often than not bound to lead to a crash of the whole thing. This way it drains better. We've had some heavy rains... still holding

 

[Geo]

Still going strong... - I'm so excited!

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

They look great! How many seed potatoes did you put in?

 

[Geo]

They look great! How many seed potatoes did you put in?

I placed 12/13 really bad potatoes that were about to go to the trash bin in pairs of 2/3... they came out all over the place ) - but since they were that far gone... I was glad they came out at all... can't wait for the harvest

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Keep us updated

 

[Geo]

Some of the box potatoes started dying down last week. I blame the Sun... (Summer hit over here and the soil dries faster) so I started giving them water more often. Some of them flourished... but the ones that started decaying did not stop. Fingers crossed that I still get a good harvest:

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Looks like the majority survived. Fingers crossed

 

[DThille]

For those looking at growing potatoes in boxes, a while back I came across a YouTube video that wrapped the box in chicken wire (or similar) prior to planting. That way, if the cardboard breaks down faster than anticipated, the poultry mesh holds everything together.

 

[Geo]

For those looking at growing potatoes in boxes, a while back I came across a YouTube video that wrapped the box in chicken wire (or similar) prior to planting. That way, if the cardboard breaks down faster than anticipated, the poultry mesh holds everything together.

Thank you @DThille - that's a really nice tip!

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

How did it go @Geo ?

 

[Geo]

@Mandy Onderwater Some of the plants died down and some new ones popped up. But I'm still optimistic. I plan to take out the harvest next week.

Here is today's photo:

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Looks good! I'd love to see the update when you harvest

 

[Geo]

Harvest update

The remaining box - bottom is a little beaten up but it could have still held some veggies - in a temperate climate with tons of rain. I am VERY impressed by that.

Potato harvest:

Potato harvest with hand for comparison:

Some thoughts:
1. Growing potatoes in a box in a temperate climate which got a lot of rain and thunderstorm IS FEASABLE!
2. The box is reliable even after months of use. This could be an annual usage of old boxes before composting. I am pretty sure they won't survive the winter, but one or two harvests in the same year... seems to work.
3. Was it worth it? Well... I didn't plant ANY "good" potatoes. I had some potatoes that went bad, selected from them 20 smallish ones that were not completely mushed (still not eatable, but not destroyed) and got this harvest out of literraly "garbage" potatoes.
4. They tasted amazing. New potatoes from your own garden - loved it!
5. Would I recommend it? Sure, if you have potatoes going green or bad, throw them in a box with some dirt on them (compost if you have) and whatever new potato harvest you get from that is going to be good. Buying and planting seed potatoes specifically like this? I'm not so sure. Maybe for an experiment... otherwise... I would use a proper reusable container. But if I don't have one... I would use this method. Big box, a handful of potatoes and you get some tasty treats.