Hey Tube, what does NASCAR drug problems have to do with Bees? :) ?
Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I was looking for a way to 'contain' the potato plants which had already outgrown the buckets that I had planted them in. The 5-gallon buckets were 18 inches high, and I had planted the seed potato at the six-inch level, allowing for twelve inches of growth (and then some, above the lip of the bucket). They grew like a rocket, and were above the top of the bucket in no time. How could I continue to hill my plants, as the mix would just slop over the side onto the ground? JDB suggested a material called polypipe...you could slip a sleeve of this over the top of the bucket and duct tape it in place...as the plant continued to grow; you could fill the polypipe with growing medium, which; although flexible, was sturdy enough to contain the dirt. She posted a picture on an earlier gardening thread. I did some investigating locally, but no one had ever heard of 'polypipe'. (Of course; they have never heard of 'heirloom tomatoes around here either, but I digress...)
JDB graciously offered to send me some to try out...yay! About a week later; my package of polypipe arrived. We didn't quite follow the same directive as JDB's picture, though...we were concerned that attaching the sleeve to the top of the bucket might deny the plant access to the sun that seemed to be doing such a great job up to that point. We slipped the sleeve over the bucket right down to the ground. We had cut thirty-inch sections of polypipe, so with the PP 'sleeve' in place; we had a bucket eighteen inches in height, plus an 'extension' of PP measuring an additional twelve inches. Since the potato plants were all ABOVE the rim of the buckets; they would be able to get all the sun they need. As the plants continued to grow; we would just slide the polypipe sleeve upward; filling it with medium as we go...we felt the pressure from the dirt would maintain the pipe in place, which has worked like a charm. When the bottom of the PP sleeve comes level with the top of the bucket; THEN we will duct tape the sleeve in place. This would result in a bucket/polypipe container of roughly 48 inches in height.
Some of the plants are approaching this four-foot 'ceiling', and we are beginning to wonder if they are going to slow down at some point. If nothing else; we are going to have the TALLEST potato plants in New England...maybe we need to quit feeding them. :-)
They look like four-foot tall cigarettes, and they get some strange looks from the people that pass by...I'll update when the plants start to blossom, and I hope it is soon!!!