Planting Sweet Potatoes in a Cardboard Box

Inside: Planting sweet potatoes in a cardboard box? Yes, we’re trying something a little unconventional in our quest to grow veggies in simple items you most likely have at home. Check it out.

Planting Sweet Potatoes in a Cardboard Box

Okay, it’s really not difficult. You won’t need a lot of expensive items, and if you get as many smiley boxes as I do, you’re probably halfway to getting the job done. You will also need garden soil–mixed with compost if you have it–and, of course, sweet potato slips. In my case, I’ve had my slips planted in four-inch pots until I had time to write this post.

Easy-Peasy Planting

Select a large box–large enough for the harvest you’re expecting! Simply poke holes in the bottom of your cardboard container. Fill with your garden soil, about six to eight inches high, and plant slips with the roots in the soil and leaves above ground. If your box is big enough, you might be able to fit two plants in it. Water often while establishing the plants, then not quite as often after they’re growing.

Will the Cardboard Boxes Last the Season?

Yes–er, well, I’ve not done this myself, but I have it on good authority. Birds and Blooms magazine ran an article about using cardboard boxes as containers, and the editors claim they tested the boxes and found they lasted the season. I would suggest, though, that you decide upon a spot for your box and leave it there until harvest, as the bottom might collapse from the weight of the soil and watering. And support the bottom when carrying your box to its permanent location.

For more great ideas for using cardboard boxes in the garden, click on the Birds and Blooms link.

Whether you want to grow sweet potatoes, some other veggie, or even flowers in a simple container, why not give this idea a try? Or, if you’d like to be a spectator, check back in with me after frost when I harvest the sweet potatoes. I’ll do a followup to this post so you can see how it went.

Meanwhile, think outside the box by thinking inside the box! Yeah, I couldn’t resist.

Do you use any unusual methods in your garden? Tell us about it in the comments.

Related posts:

Turn Sprouted Sweet Potatoes into Plants

How to Harvest Sweet Potatoes

Planting the Late Summer Garden

Results of my Late Summer Garden

Posts from a year ago:

Lily Days, Pickup Talk, and Other News Fresh From the Farm

Compost 101 and Other Cheap Organic Fertilizers

From two years ago:

Hackberry Trees, Family Visits, and Other News Fresh From the Farm

Gardening Advice from a Thirty-year Greenhouse Veteran