Potato for Survival

My first try to plant potato was a disaster. None of the seeds grew at all. But, The Martian movie keeps inspiring me to redo. I have planted the second batch three weeks ago. I almost gave up until I saw one of the potato seeds successfully grew.

I was very excited and this motivates me to trim and clean the other plants that I have successfully grew. I spent an hour in the next morning to get rid any weed which has grown surround the plants, loosing the soil surrounding the plants, and add some fresh soil to mung beans and onion trees. After that I watered my 3rd batch of potatoes and to my pleasant surprise, another tree has grown.

Planting potato is important for survival. It takes only 58 days to harvest the potato. So, if there is any food shortage, potato is good to provide the carbohydrate. To provide the protein and vitamins, mung beans are a good alternative to meat. And of course, other vegetables can provide the additional vitamins and appetite to eat.

On the third day, both potato trees looks as below. Both trees pictures were taken at different angles.

The polybag size is 10" X 12". I only put soil for about 3" from the bottom. This is important because as the tree grow taller, additional soil will be put. I also need to put some mulch between the layers to ensure the soil is properly and continuously have enough nutrient.

I hope I will get a good harvest in February 2017.