Planting Potatoes in a Wire Container

This year I have a big plan to get more creative in the garden. I've been growing vegetables for about four years now but I have never put much thought into the aesthetics of the plot. In 2016 I am concentrating on flowers as much as vegetables and thinking about structures for growing climbing plants to take things above ground level.

So on the subject of growing potatoes, how can you make that look more interesting? Well I have a big roll of wire and a bag of hay waiting to be used so today I started building a container for my potatoes using both. 

First I cut a strip of wire to size and fashioned a cylinder. At the base I placed a layer of straw.

Next I added a mix of garden compost, soil and shop bought compost to create a layer of a few inches, surrounding the sides with a layer of straw.

On top I placed my nicely chitted potatoes - Golden Wonders. It is tempting to add more tubers but they need space so three is enough for this area.

I removed any small sprouts, leaving three big ones per spud, taking care not to crack them during the planting process.

The potatoes are covered with a few inches of the compost. I'll wait until the green growth starts and then add compost gradually (earthing up) as the greenery gets taller, until they are ready to harvest

I think the soil/hay layers will give a nice touch to the overall look. Im hoping to build three more of the same.

**Photo update on 25.04**
Here's how the spuds are doing today:

** Photo update on 14.05**

 Must earth -up more.