What a fun project. Looks like Jan/Feb are planting times. Amber, you can buy straw at any feed store. I'm sure you have some of those in Yuma. ;-) Be sure to use straw as hay will typically have seeds that you don't want. Good luck!

Thank you! Yes, I was planning on starting them mid/Jan. Do you know anything about the bagged compost? I know that is all our nursery has and I need quite a bit to fill the towers.

I'm sorry, I don't. Someone else will come along or you could check the compost forum. I make my own and also have a good connection here for quality aged horse/goat/chicken compost. If you ever get up to the Valley, I can put you in touch with my source. LMK. I don't know why you could not just let your partially finished compost finish while growing the potatoes in it, but I'm no expert on that idea.

Thanks, Mary! I actually come up to Mesa about once a month..in laws live over there. But I don't know how I'd get it back to Yuma. We normally travel with our children and dog. I will check the compost forum, like you said!

...that's handy to know! I have found zero compost sources up here so I might be interested in a few bags.

Where are you Marianne?

I can't make enough compost so would be interested in your source Mary.

My closest Safeway coffee shop is no longer giving away their coffee grounds. Is everyone finding that too?

I wonder why the instructions say Pure compost (no manure! not even composted!!), My father used to plow manure into our gardens, and he always had lots of potatoes. I don't remember him not using it in the section where he planted the potatoes.

Sure. You can contact Alison at alisonsmckee@gmail.com

I only get coffee grounds from Starbucks. For some reason even the Starbucks cafe's in Albertson's and Target do not want to give me the grounds. Don't know what it is about the cafes.

If I might add a comment about these towers - I built them last spring (from this exact page) - I also laid a strand of drip emitters hooked to my raised-bed system. By autumn, the compost and straw, which was originally stacked up to the top of the chicken-wire was compacted down all the way to the ground (maybe 6-8" above the ground, actually), and it was loaded with potato-bugs feasting on the straw. I had beautiful lush potato vines growing up and out, very healthy plants. Got about 7 potatoes combined from both towers. Doing it again, I would mash the straw/compost down as much as possible as I stack it, and maybe water it for a couple of weeks and stack it higher before putting the potatoes in - I think that would yield better results. Good Luck!

Thanks for the information Mary. I don't have a free standing Starbucks close by and it is the in store cafes that no longer give the grounds. I wonder why? Is it a liability thing? Everyone is afraid of lawsuits anymore.

I guess I am just too old, but these potato towers seem like a lot of work for a few potatoes.

Yes, I was discouraged too by cw's report. I've never had much luck growing potatoes but I'm easily enthused by others projects. :-} Veggies that do not taste much different than store-bought are low on my list so I may pass on this idea after all. My energies go into growing tomatoes and hot peppers, items I use a lot of and *any* homegrown tomato will beat store-bought in a heartbeat.

Great post Amber! (OP) Did you do your potato towers yet?

I'll share my story....

Saw this idea a couple months ago and planned to do it this January. Picked up a bunch of different potatoes at the local grocery store (some organic and some not), and brought them home to sprout. About 1.5 months go by and some sprouted and some didn't . Must be sprout inhibitor. Last week, I'm getting ready to build my potato towers, and I see some seed potatoes for sale at my local HD. I grabbed them too. really nice looking and sprouts on them were fresh and clean. So now I have Reds & Whites from both the store and the seeds, Yukon seeds, and Russets and colored fingerlings from the store ready to plant. Picked up a bale of fresh straw at my local feed store, six 3cf bags of compost, and 50'x3' roll of welded wire at the local HD. I had hog clips and the pliers at home so those are what I used on the welded wire to form the cylinders. The two bigger towers are 30" dia and the smaller one is about 26" dia. I was running low on straw, so with that diameter adjustment, I had exactly enough straw and compost for these three towers. Plenty of extra welded wire left for other projects. :)

Did them just as described with a layer of straw on the bottom, compost, then potatoes. Each tower has three layers of potatoes between 8" layers of compost. in the top layer of each I planted Cilantro, Italian Parsley, and Spinach seeds. These are on the north side of my house in mostly shade for now. Temps are good for potatoes of 55-65 and sun will come around as the angle changes. I don't know if these will grow but It was my son and I doing them and just the fun of working with him on something new is good enough for me. We are in the far NW valley. We'll see. I'll update. All the best of luck to you and everyone else in your potato adventures!!

Good looking towers Moe! Please make sure to let us know how they work out next fall!