I just planted my potatoes. I know, it’s really late. I was supposed to do it in March (yeah, right) or April. But I’m hopeful that they’ll still have time to grow, and that the delay will help foil the potato beetles that plagued them last year.

It took some time to get them planted this season because I had to do a little hunting and gathering project. Remember those cool potato barrels that GG reader Patty wanted to find in the States? I couldn’t find them either, but I liked their functionality and looking for them inspired me.

Since those pesky beetles are still hanging out in my garden plot (tormenting my tomatoes since I didn’t plant any potatoes for them there this season), I thought it made a lot of sense to plant my potatoes elsewhere this year. But where, elsewhere?

Why, in one of those potato barrels, of course. Strategically placed all the way across the yard from the garden.

Since I couldn’t find those sharp-looking Euro barrels, I started scoping for alternatives. I’d seen large round compost bins for sale occasionally on craigslist, and I bought one used. Turns out, this bin is offered new at a reduced rate by many counties, including Hennepin, Anoka and Dakota.

Not only is it huge, but it has two sliding doors at the bottom. So I planted two varieties in the bin, each accessible by a door, for harvesting of new potatoes or checking progress.

I liked it so well, in fact, I bought two more and am on the hunt for a final fourth potato bin (please don’t ask me why I have eight varieties of potatoes. I really don’t know what came over me).

What do you think? Will the potatoes have time to grow? Will the bins work? Will I foil the potato beetles? Can I even find a fourth bin to complete my collection?

Have you ever adjusted a time table for planting to accommodate something else or avoid a problem? Did it work for you?

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 9:22 am and is filed under Container gardening, Potatoes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.