We got a really good deal on some whiskey barrels. They are on sale in Anchorage at the end of the season, as a rule. I think we got nine of them for around $15 or $20 each. When we drilled extra holes in the bottom, you could smell whiskey in the wood shavings!
Suggested planting is a piece with at least three eyes every foot, but we plant them thicker than that. We have a short growing season, so we plant a bit thicker. We can't really plant until mid-May, and that is only if the soil pile is thawed! I usually dig them by mid-September, because they basically quit growing when the temps drop below 50F, and why harvest in the freezing rains of October. Because the summer hasn't been much over mid-50's, I wonder if we'll have enough potatoes to cover the amount we planted! LOL!
As for the size of the harvest, it varies, depending on when we get them in, how the weather goes, and how late it stays warm. I tried growing them in a raised bed once, and it didn't yield as many, but for folks that live in warmer climes and have lots of garden soil, maybe hilling is better.
We have very little top soil here... mostly crushed rock and gravel with an inch or two of composted topsoil, at best. Most garden soil is created from compost or purchased from The Mat-Valley or Kenai, brought over by the truckload. Most Seward gardeners raise their beds, so most all gardens are container gardening, whether a pot, a barrel, or a big box frame. Raising the soil in this way keeps it warmer and allows good drainage. We get lots of rain here and the ground level soil remains cool.
