How can I grow potatoes without a garden (in pots)?
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Put approx 6" compost in largest pot you have. Put in chitted seed potatoes (leave potatoes in cool light place until "eyes" sprout / e.g. chitted) cover pots with compost. When growth appears cover with more compost. Continue this process until growth reaches about 2" from top of pot. Leave enough room from top of pot and compost level to allow for watering. Enjoy your bounty.
You need a barrel, as the root system goes deep. An old barrel cut in half will give a decent crop. Plant the tubers in a loam soil.http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk
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They won't grow in pots, but if you've got a supply of fertile soil, you can grow them in a plastic dustbin. Make a few holes in the bottom of the bin. Put about a foot of soil in the bottom of the bin. Put your seed potatoes on top (with the eyes upwards) and bury them with about 6 inches of soil. Keep them well watered. When the plants start to grow leaves, add more soil so that the leaves are only just at the surface. Keep doing this until you've filled the bin (or run out of soil) then leave them alone for 6 months. Turn out the bin and you should find loads of potatoes.
Sometime back I read where you can grow potato's in a barrel, by planting near the bottom with a little soil, then as the plant grows, just keep adding more soil until they are ready for harvest, then turn over the barrel and remove the tubers.
From the article as I remember, (this has been some years) this method can produce many potato's in a very small space.
black rubbish bags are perfect just one potato seed in each bag fill with compost roll the top back after the flowers drop off just rip the bag open
I have grown spuds in a pot as small as 12" diameter - not a big crop - just enough for me for tea!
They will grow in anything really - just leave enough room to top the soil up as the potatoes will grow up the stem up until the point the plant flowers.
There is a dedicated potato barrel made from a plasticised material; it has sliding shutters at the base for harvesting. Stands about 3' high. We bought one a few years ago from our local plant nursery. You may be able to find something about it on the web.
I've grown mine in a stack of old tyres. Most tyre places will be only to glad to let you have some.
1. Get 4 tyres - all the same size!
2. Stuff them with rolled up newspaper
3. You start the stack with two tyres, fill the bottom one with compost, add your seed potato's - I use 5, one in the middle & the rest at 90degrees round the edge.
As the potato's grow, add more tyres & compost.
From time to time feed with Tomato food
For compost I use a mix of 50/50 Westland Peat Free & 'Municipal' compost - from the local tip. In Somerset it's £2.50/bag. Add a bit of sharp sand to improve drainage.
When you think they are ready just dismantle the stack.
You can also get potato tubs of various sorts from gardening catalogues, & I have also used a large tub that a tree was delivered in (I think, - it was left in the road!)
A spot of seaweed extract will help as well.
Dont put the spent compost near Tomato's, they both suffer from the same diseases. I just spread mine on the vegetable patch.
I have them growing by mistake in a pot in which I am trying to grow a hydrangea. I must have introduced some home made compost into the pot. Both potatoes and hydrangea seem to be doing very well.
I planted some earlies in an old compost bag with some success. I turned the bag inside out and punched some holes in the bottom. I filled it with abouth 10cm of compost then planted 4 seed potatoes then covered with about 5cm of compost. As the potatoes grew I rolled up the compost bag and 'earthed up' by adding more compost till the bag was about 3/4 full. alternatively, many seed companies will supply 'potato barrels' with a bottom door which opens to allow easier harvesting (but I was too tight to buy one - hence the old compost bag!!)
hiya my dad used to do them in the black ordinary buckets they were lovely and cheap to do x
In a grow bag, just cut a hole and push in the seed potato. leave another hole with a flap so you can lift and water.
no.......... dont knock down the trees yuo just gotta make turns
I put mine in the bags that soil comes in. I roll them down to about half the size and fill them up with soil then place the potatoes on top. once they start making leaves and getting kind of tall I snip of the lower leaves and roll the bag up a few inches and fill with more soil. I repeat this until the bag is full. Potatoes make adventitious roots, which means they root from the stem. The more submerged stem the more potatoes you will reap.
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