Are potatoes a staple in your house? What if you could plant them now to have an abundance by the spring? Luckily, one gardener has just the tip for you.
The scoop
Nicole Johnsey Burke (@gardenaryco) posted a video on Instagram showing her followers how to plant potatoes. She said all you need is a barrel from Home Depot, drill holes in the bottom, and then fill it with seed potatoes and compost. The gardener suggested planting 12 seed potatoes in each barrel, six inches deep. Additionally, she said to water frequently until it yellows.
How it's working
Nicole said, "I love growing potatoes because it's like digging for gold."
She added that the potatoes will "harvest in 80-100 days" and that you'll get five to six potatoes for every one you plant.
Growing your own food can even save you money. It can be a small investment upfront, but $70 can produce $600 worth of food yearly. Just think about how much money you can save grocery shopping when most of your food is in your backyard.
Gardening your own food can also bring you other health benefits. For example, a study from the University of Colorado found that gardeners eat more fiber and engage in more physical activity.
Additionally, community gardening can decrease stress and increase optimism.
Growing your own food can also have positive effects on the environment. According to The Garden Continuum, no toxic gases are emitted when you grow your own fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, the produce you buy from grocery stores has to travel an average of 1,500 miles in the U.S., which requires fuel and therefore leads to polluting gases.
The website also noted the Environmental Protection Agency estimated "sales of pesticides in the U.S. for commercial food production total well over $15 billion annually and over $19 billion for fertilizer."
That's a massive amount of chemicals going into our food supply, but when you grow your own, you decide how much pesticides to use and thus have some control over what gets into your food — if anything.
What people are saying
Instagrammers were excited about trying the hack out for themselves.
One user said, "Love it, great idea."
Another said, "Love a good garden hack."
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