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Having had my potato crops decimated by slugs over the years, I now grow my potatoes in tubs. Having seen the price of the ones from the seed merchants and nurseries I was at first put off but then came up with an idea that recycles a waste product from where I work which happens to be a granite quarry.
We get through hundreds of gallons of different types of synthetic oil a week, most of which is supplied in 25 litre barrels with a handy carrying handle on. These barrels are just skipped for disposal once empty and are ground up into granules to be made into other plastic items. I just cut out the top with a knife which is supprisingly easy, and wipe it out with old newspaper and dispose of this sensibly.
once clean, I drill a few small holes into the bottom and add a little grit to deter slugs from trying their luck. The barrels are then half filled with a mix of compost and 10 year old manure, a potato tuber added and then topped up to the three quarter level and once the haulms break through top up to the top. Harvesting is just a case of tipping them out and picking out the tubers. The quality of the resulting tubers is fantastic and of course none are speared by a fork or touched by slugs, the yields are very good as well. An added bonus is that your crop is portable and can be moved around as the tubs have handles and are not too big to lift. I harvest the crop by tipping the barrels out onto a bed that is empty and fork in the compost manure mix as a soil conditioner.
Another variation to this that is used on our allotments is to cut the big blue barrels generally used for water in half, fill as before but add three tubers. Results are again much better than in the ground with more yield from less tubers. If any body local to me would like some barrels, let me know.
David
We get through hundreds of gallons of different types of synthetic oil a week, most of which is supplied in 25 litre barrels with a handy carrying handle on. These barrels are just skipped for disposal once empty and are ground up into granules to be made into other plastic items. I just cut out the top with a knife which is supprisingly easy, and wipe it out with old newspaper and dispose of this sensibly.
once clean, I drill a few small holes into the bottom and add a little grit to deter slugs from trying their luck. The barrels are then half filled with a mix of compost and 10 year old manure, a potato tuber added and then topped up to the three quarter level and once the haulms break through top up to the top. Harvesting is just a case of tipping them out and picking out the tubers. The quality of the resulting tubers is fantastic and of course none are speared by a fork or touched by slugs, the yields are very good as well. An added bonus is that your crop is portable and can be moved around as the tubs have handles and are not too big to lift. I harvest the crop by tipping the barrels out onto a bed that is empty and fork in the compost manure mix as a soil conditioner.
Another variation to this that is used on our allotments is to cut the big blue barrels generally used for water in half, fill as before but add three tubers. Results are again much better than in the ground with more yield from less tubers. If any body local to me would like some barrels, let me know.
David
I think I know where you work.
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