Use Empty Litter Containers For An Easy Potato Garden That Sprouts In 3 Weeks

If you've got cats, you've got cat litter containers. And, given their large size and sturdy construction, it seems a waste to just chuck them in the recycling bin once empty. Luckily, over on TikTok, nojustaboulder_rock has a clever way to upcycle empty litter containers: turn them into a raised bed for home-grown potatoes.

To make your own, you'll need four, clean and empty 5-gallon cat litter containers. You'll also need a drill to create drainage holes, landscape fabric, a staple gun, soil mix, and compost. For the potatoes themselves, choose smaller varieties of seed potatoes, like fingerling or new potatoes. These will grow better in this container garden than larger potatoes such as russets. While the tall and narrow design of a cat litter container makes it an ideal vessel for growing potatoes, it's also perfect for making a container garden on a budget and for growing plenty of other crops, such as tomatoes or peppers.

While you can grow hydroponic potatoes, when planting them in a container with soil, you want to ensure that the container has good drainage. So make several holes in the bottom and sides of the cat litter containers to allow water to drain away. Excess moisture in the container will cause the seed potatoes to rot. In the video, she uses a drill with a spade or paddle bit attachment, but any type of drill bit should work. Also, pop the lids and handles off of the containers, as you won't need them.

Once you've made plenty of holes in each container, arrange them in a square formation on a patio or directly on the ground in a spot that gets plenty of sun, as potatoes need full sun to thrive. Cut a piece of landscape fabric so that it's long enough to wrap around the containers and the same height as the buckets. Staple the fabric to the containers so that it's snug against them — it will conceal the containers' logos and prevent the potting mix from falling out of the buckets. 

After you've assembled your kitty litter container garden, it's time to get planting. First, prep your seed potatoes. You can cut larger seed potatoes into pieces as long as each piece has at least one eye or sprout. Spread them out on a clean surface and let dry out for up to 48 hours — doing so will reduce the risk of rot.

Pour a 50/50 mix of compost and potting soil into the cat litter buckets to a depth of about 4 inches. Set one or two seed potatoes in each container. If you're wondering if you plant potatoes with the eyes up or down, the answer is up. Cover the seed potatoes with the compost/soil mix, piling it on another few inches. Water your newly planted potatoes so that the soil is moist, but not waterlogged.

Keep the soil consistently moist, watering whenever the top two inches are dry. After a few weeks, you'll see potato sprouts popping up. Once those sprouts are a few inches tall, add more soil to the containers, covering the stems but leaving the top leaves exposed. Repeat as the potato plant grows — it will produce new potatoes along buried runners — until you've got to the top of the litter containers. Cut back on watering when the foliage starts to turn yellow. This is a signal the plant is putting more energy into the tubers, which you'll harvest as potatoes. Once the foliage completely dies back, you can harvest your potato crop.