Come Again Potatoes

[Bigmallly]

Firstly thank you to the grape whose blog I've nicked this idea from. I had 2 planters lying around doing nothing so I thought what the heck, it may just work for crimbo. The theory being that potatoes can be harvested for a longer period as you only pick the amount you need (not sure if it can be done or not). The planter was made in 5 mins with the help of a drill & jigsaw. The pics are self explanatory, the inner pot being lifted to access the crop. Comments pro or con would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Jax]

Thats a wicked idea, I always slide mine out of their pots and take the ones I want then put them back again

[Bigmallly]

My initial concern is being able to separate the tubs once they are full. I may have to fasten something to the bottom of the outer tub that I can stand on while lifting the inner tub.

[OllieMartin]

I've left my potatoes in the ground. I harvested the first plant back in June and was disappointed with the yield. A few weeks later harvested the next one, and got a good baking size and several in-betweeners. A few weeks later (last night) I went out looking for a baking potato and harvested the next two to find 4 HUGE ones (posted on my facebook album) weighing from 12.5" (354g) to 1' 5.25" (600g).

One of them was fantastic with my home-made coleslaw.

[falkon]

good job bigmally...atleast i know that some one is looking on my blog.. maybe i should update it more often

[Bigmallly]

good job bigmally...atleast i know that some one is looking on my blog.. maybe i should update it more often

Cheers Falkon, I could not remember where I saw it. Do you have problems seperating your buckets due to vacuum. I was thinking of drilling a couple of holes on opposite sides near the bottom of the outer tub and feeding some plastic pipe through, leaving a couple of inches showing which I could then stand on making it easier to lift the inner tub.

[falkon]

No I dont have problem as such, because my buckets are round in shape so while holding the outer bucket I give a twist to the inner bucket and lift it up.
As your pots are hexagonal in shape you cannot twist them. However I have some space between the two buckets so the outer bucket can hold a bit of extra water. place a stone/a piece of wood of few cm thickness at each corner, so that the inner bucket just sits or fits in the outer one. Dont go for a tight fit.

[Bigmallly]

Gotcha......I'll try that first. I filled it with compost last night as a test, that's how I came across the problem but lifting the inner tub a little higher may just solve it. Cheers.