One of the things I keep coming back to with Shadowmere Farm is this: use whatever method works best for the crop. Sometimes that's hydroponics. Sometimes it's a mushroom fruiting chamber. And sometimes it's ten 17-gallon storage bins full of coco coir in a greenhouse.
Welcome to the potato experiment.
The setup
I'm growing multiple varieties of potatoes — not in the ground, not in raised beds, but in heavy-duty 17-gallon tote bins sitting on wooden racks inside one of the greenhouse structures. Ten bins total. Each one filled with a custom mix of coco coir and perlite that I blended myself using a cement mixer.
No soil. No fertilizer bags from the big box store. Just coconut fiber for structure and water retention, perlite for drainage and aeration, and the seed potatoes themselves.
Why coco coir instead of dirt? A few reasons. It's lightweight, it drains well, it doesn't compact over time, and it gives me full control over what goes into the growing medium. I know exactly what's in these bins because I put it there. That's the whole point of this farm.
Why bins in a greenhouse
Potatoes are usually a field crop. You dig rows, drop seed potatoes, hill them up, and wait. It works. People have been doing it forever.
But I wanted to test whether container growing in a controlled environment could produce a solid harvest — cleaner, more consistent, and without worrying about soil-borne disease or pests in the ground. The greenhouse gives me some protection from weather extremes and lets me extend the season a bit.
The bins are elevated on wooden rack shelves, which keeps them off the ground, improves airflow, and makes it a lot easier to work with them. No bending over digging through rows. Wide open and easy to check on things, and keep going.
What I'm growing
A mix of potato varieties across the ten bins. I want to see how different types perform in this setup — not just whether it works, but which varieties do best in a soilless container environment. That's data I can use going forward.
The honest part
I have no idea how this is going to turn out.
That's the experiment. I've done the research, I've talked to people, and the science behind growing potatoes in coco coir is sound. But I haven't done it at this scale before, and I'm not going to pretend I already know the results.
If it works well, these potatoes will be available later this year through the farm. Locally grown, no pesticides, no mystery inputs — just clean potatoes from a medium I mixed myself.
If it doesn't work, I'll tell you that too. And I'll tell you what I learned and what I'd change. That's how this blog works. You get the real version, not the highlight reel.
What's next
Now I wait. And water. And watch. Potatoes take time — roughly 70 to 120 days depending on the variety. I'll post updates as things progress. First sprouts, hilling up with more coir, and eventually the harvest.
Stay tuned. This one's going to be interesting either way.
William
Shadowmere Farm
