[Cob] cob raised beds?

[Joseph R Dupont]

Tires: There are two different methods of growing potatoes in tires. One
way is to stack three or four tires, fill them with soil and plant two to
three seed pieces about 1 or 2 inches deep in the top tire. The black of
the tire absorbs and radiates heat, and there usually is a heavy yield. 
Another method is to put a tire on the ground, fill it with soil and
plant the potatoes within the tire. Plant two seed potatoes, whole or
halved, about 2 inches deep. Once the potatoes have developed 3 or 4
inches of foliage growth, a second tire can be put on top of the first,
Fill in with more soil, always leaving at least 2 inches of leaf growth
above the soil level. Continue to fill as the plants grow. Once you've
filled in the center of the second tire, continue the stack to a height
of three or four tires. Keep in mind you must always leave about 2 inches
of foliage showing. 
Last year, we grew potatoes in eight stacks of tires, using eight:
different potato varieties. Each tire stack averaged 11 pounds of
potatoes: Some readers have reported yields of up to 38 pounds per stack.
Others have reported poor results, averaging as few as one or two
potatoes per stack. Over-watering or the use of too much high nitrogen
fertilizer could be the reason for poor yields. 
The reason you can grow potatoes successfully in this manner is that
potatoes develop on stems above the roots. Of course, it's for this
reason that mounding or mulching potatoes is recommended so highly. 
Some of the potatoes that we grew in tire stacks were: not harvested
until January of this year. So the tire stacks also provided an ideal
place to store them throughout fall and winter. 
WATERING - Black or hollow centers on potatoes is often caused by
over-watering. Irregular watering causes irregular shaped or knobby
potatoes. As a guideline, water potatoes (thoroughly) weekly during
warmer summer weather
On Mon, 24 May 2004 22:12:32 -0700 "yew" <yew at premier1.net> writes:
> From: "Joseph R Dupont"
> 
> >tires tires tires
> 
> Toxic, toxic, toxic.
> 
> Might be okay for ornamentals, but I'd never use them around food 
> crops.
> 
> Brina
> 
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