Has anyone ever tried and succeeded at the infamous "potato tower"?

So, I am looking around on the internet and have found a lot of conflicting reviews on the potato towers. You know, the ones where you stack up a bunch of wood planks or whatever and keep on filling up the box with dirt to keep your roots going? Yeah, that one? Just wondering if anybody here has actually tried it and succeeded, or if it's just a load of hooey. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!