After a completely miserable potato harvest this year we’ve
decided to pull them out of the ground and do them in boxes made out of
pallets. That way we can use weedblock under them to eliminate the whole
bindweed issue. So today, the boxes went up.
We cleaned up an area of our yard which was just a pile of
old scrap wood. We pulled the weeds and raked it as smooth as we could get it.
We got some 4′ wide contractor grade weedblock
and laid it down using staples.
We used two sizes of pallets. The back and front sides are
36×48 and the sides/dividers are 36×36. This allowed the weedblock to extend
past the bottom footprint of the boxes.
The corners were screwed together in 4 spots with 1-1/2″
deck screws.
We used 3″ deck screws to attach the front
and back pallets together in 3 places.
We did the back, sides and dividers first before attaching
the front pallets. Of course the two sides closest to the camera were put in
sideways and had to be redone, which really didn’t take much time.
Tom had to jump in for a photo op once they were all put
together.
We started filling them by putting straw on the bottom just
to help keep everything from falling out.
We then started putting in composted animal bedding and
manure and screened top soil. We only filled them about half way so we can
build up as the potatoes grow.
My friends in college used to call me a Renaissance woman. I was always doing something crafty, creative, or utilitarian. I still am. My focus these days, instead of arts and crafts, has been farming as much of my urban quarter acre as humanly possible. With my husband, we run Dog Island Farm in the SF Bay Area. We raise chickens, goats, rabbits, dogs, cats, and a kid. We’re always keeping busy. If I’m not out in the yard I’m in the kitchen making something from scratch. Homemade always tastes better!
