It seems to happen to everybody. The potatoes in that long-forgotten bag in the pantry start to get a little green, and eyes peak out on all sides.
Instead of throwing those unwanted potatoes out, one woman decided to transform them into a brand new harvest. Laurie Ashbach, from the Dan 330 blog, built a simple potato tower that nurtures those budding spuds into a brand new harvest. And it doesn't take up much space for those lacking in garden real estate.
To make her genius tower she planted four fence posts into the ground to make a square.
Then, Ashbach wrapped some wire fencing around the posts to create a cozy tower that stands about 4 feet tall.
Finally, she put some lightweight straw in the bottom of the tower and topped that off with a little soil.
Here's where the fun potato makeover starts. She cut the potatoes into chunks and made sure each one had a healthy eye on it.
Ashbach recommends facing the eyes to the outside of the tower so they can grow out and through the fencing.
After watering her beautiful tower every day for one month, green leaves and blossoms popped out to create a summery, floral tower.
By September, she had a full harvest. She just removed the wire fencing around the outside of the tower and dug through the soil to get all those brand new potatoes out.
Who knew potatoes were so willing to grow in tiny spaces? You can watch the alarmingly abundant harvest from this potato tower unfold in the video below: