We have been working with Tui to bring you the second DIY garden project for the year - the Potato Tower!
The humble potato is a staple on many dinner tables around New Zealand. Roasted, boiled, mashed or in a salad - no matter how you serve yours, potatoes will always taste better from your own garden. If you've got limited space but still want to enjoy fresh homegrown spuds, a potato tower is super simple to build and produces lots of tasty potatoes!
To get your Potato Tower started you will need:
- 1x Tui Certified Seed Potatoes 1.5kg
- 2m wire mesh
- 2 stakes
- Hammer
- 1x Tui Pea Straw Mulch 90L
- 1x Tui Vegetable Mix 40L
- Seaweed Plant Tonic
- Garden staples - gloves, watering can
How to create your Potato Tower:
- Form a circular shape with the wire mesh to create the tower. Approximately 50cm diameter, although you could make it bigger depending on how many potatoes you would like to plant.
- Hammer a stake in at each side of the tower to anchor it to the ground.
- Add a little water to the bag of Tui Pea Straw Mulch to dampen it, making it easy to handle.
- Line the tower with Tui Pea Straw Mulch approximately 20cm high around the edges.
- Fill the lined tower up with Tui Vegetable Mix.
- Add 10-20cm lining of Tui Pea Straw Mulch around the edge of the tower. The base will be approximately 30-40cm high.
- Add another layer of Tui Vegetable Mix, level to the top of the straw lining.
- Now you're ready to plant. Place approximately 5-6 sprouted Tui Certified Seed Potatoes in the tower with the sprouts facing upwards.
- Cover seed potatoes with a light layer of Tui Vegetable Mix and gently pat down.
- Add two capfuls of Seaweed Plant Tonic to a full watering can and water your planted potatoes.
- Keep mounding with Tui Vegetable Mix and lining the tower with more Tui Pea Straw Mulch as your potatoes grow to the top of the tower.
- Keep watering and feeding until they are ready to harvest when the tops die back.
Or click here to watch a how-to video!
