Potatoe sandbox experiment a success!

Here at Rancho McGinty, our garden soil has been improved over the decades to the point that, though most plants LOVE to grow here, our potatoes had (past tense, now!) a severe case of potatoe scab (a common soil-borne bacteria-like organism that likes rich dirt, and makes for ugly spuds – delicious spuds, mind you, but still ugly).

My on-line research last Winter indicated that a sand and sawdust growing medium could just be the solution, so I (laboriously, I might add!) shoveled up some river bottom sand and some pine wood chips/shavings (a 50/50 mix) into a raised bed.  I added drip irrigation, a “fertigator” (an in-line fertilizer applicator, in my case a “Chapin” model #4701), and timed applications of liquid fertilizer (manure tea, every two weeks).

The results are amazing, and really tasty.  I plan to create another potatoe sandbox next spring, so that I can alternate/rotate crop locations to avoid any evil diseases or insect invasions.

I’ve attached a photo of some of the potatoe harvest:  the varieties are “Strawberry Paw” (some of them 8 inches in diameter!), and “Pinto"; both types of seed potatoes were purchased from “Fedco”.

Something to think about over the approaching Winter.

Jim