4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoe

[Paddy by Grace]

4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel

Container gardening isn't only for savvy urban gardeners and folks with limited space to grow, it can also be for folks who want to maximize their yields in a controlled environment. Not only does growing potatoes in a barrel reduce the amount of weeding and exposure to pests and fungi, you don't even have to risk shovel-damage to the tender potatoes by digging them out of the ground when they're done, just tip the container over!

After extensive research to plan my own potatoes-in-a-barrel, I've boiled all of the recommendations down to 4 simple steps to a winning potato harvest.



1. Select and prepare a container

You'll need to pick out a container such as a 50-gallon trash barrel or one of those half whiskey barrel planters. Alternatively, you can buy used food-grade barrels or commercially-available potato planters. Just about any 2 to 3-foot tall container will work, but be sure to select a container that either already has holes in it, or is okay to cut holes in. Next you'll want to clean your container with a mild bleach solution to get out any of the nasties that have been lingering in there.

Good drainage is critical for the cultivation of healthy potatoes so you'll want to cut or drill a series of large drainage holes in the bottom and bottom sides of your container. Alternatively, you can cut out the bottom altogether and place it on a well-drained surface like your garden bed.



2. Choose a variety and plant potatoes

Seed potatoes can usually be found at nurseries early in the growing season, but you should only have to buy them once. If you can, “chit” or sprout your potatoes before planting them by setting them out in an egg carton, the side with the most buds facing up, and putting them in a cool light room out of direct sunlight to sprout. Putting the tubers in an open paper bag can have this same effect.

Fill in the bottom of your container with about 6 inches of loose planting mix and compost. You'll want to use a planting mix with a peat moss-like soil amendment like this product made from repurposed coconut husks, doing so will keep the soil from becoming too compacted and help it to store moisture for the roots. Next, add some seed potatoes on the layer of soil, making certain to leave plenty of space between each cube. You can use the whole potato but I like to cut the potatoes into 1 to 2-inch cubes for planting. Loosely backfill the potatoes with another 6 inches of your soil and compost mix and water to dampen soil. Keep the soil damp at all times but be careful not to overwater.



3. Add more soil

When they have about 6 to 8 inches of foliage, add another layer of your soil-compost mix covering about one-half to three-quarters of the visible stems and foliage. Repeat this process of allowing the sprouts to grow and then covering the sprouts and moistening the soil as the plants grow up toward the top of the barrel.





4. Harvest the potatoes

After about 10 weeks or until the plants flower and start to yellow, the potatoes should be ready to harvest. Carefully dig down with your hands to inspect the top-most layer. After you've confirmed your suspicions, dump the barrel out on a tarp and inspect your bounty.



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4 people like this.
Connie Whitted I'm gonna check this out... May be a easier way of growing potato's then in the ground. And if it works for potatoes, it may also work for Tomatoes. : )
15 hours ago
Borys Polon if you pot Tomatoes, you can hang the pot and grow the Tomatoes upside-down.
15 hours ago · 2 people
Connie Whitted LOL, I tried the topsie turvie thingy, and it did not work well for me. I killed several kinds of plants...
15 hours ago · 2 people
Susan Lanphear opps Connie, sounds like something I would do...
15 hours ago
Susan Lanphear Borys-how do you do that?
15 hours ago
Connie Whitted This year I'm going to be planting in containers instead of the ground.Ithink I could do better that way. The weather gets so hot, it kills the plants so fast here in Central Tx. and its a big waste of time and money, so I'm trying something different this year. : )
15 hours ago · 2 people
Susan Lanphear I also thought of trying containers this year as I do not have a rototiller...Has anyone tried growing in containers in the house in winter months, could be interesting...
15 hours ago · 1 person
Borys Polon I used a plastic 5 gal. pail.
Cut a 1 1/4 in hole in the bottom.
Wrapped a large wad of cotton around the stem of the tomatoe plant.
Cotton wrap is a holder for the plant.
Stick the plant top through the hole until the plant is suspended upside...See More
14 hours ago
Tova Yisraela You CAN grow many things on top of the ground. I had tubs and pots for smaller plants (and potaotes) and for the bigger plants I built big planter boxes out of old scrap lumber and also rocks. Fill with compost and soil and all the other ...See More
9 hours ago · 1 person

[Paddy by Grace]

Growing Potatoes in a Barrel or Bag
Home Grown Potatoes from Your Patio - and No Digging or Mess

For most people, nothing beats the taste and satisfaction of their own garden crops. In the past, many gardeners have been put off growing their own potatoes because of the space - and the heavy work - involved. Nowadays, a bag of multi-purpose compost, a few seed potatoes and a barrel or bag are all you need to enjoy a crop of delicious home grown potatoes at any time of year from even the smallest garden with very little work. With a bit of ingenuity you can even have your own new potatoes at Christmas.

Choosing a Container
There are a number of purpose designed potato bags or barrels on the market, some simple and functional like those from Haxnicks while others have access flaps or doors for easy harvesting. There are also ornamental models like the Victorian Potato Tub from companies like Primrose London, and many garden centres, if you want something that will look smart on the patio.

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But you don’t have to have a specially designed one. Any free standing wooden or plastic container or bag about 18-24 inches across and 30-36 inches high will do. However, cut or drill a few holes around the bottom to make sure you get good drainage.

Normal grow bags aren’t really suitable as they’re too shallow.

Read on
Growing Strawberries in Ornamental Containers
Small Space Gardens
Growing Potatoes in the Spring School Garden
Seed Potatoes
It’s possible to use ordinary greengrocers’ or supermarket potatoes, but specially grown seed potatoes will give the best results and a choice of varieties.
If you’re only growing one or two crops a year, it’s best to concentrate on "new" or early potato varieties.
Small plump tubers with one or two “eyes” or buds are best. Slice any larger ones in two with a sharp knife, and dust the cut face with sulphur powder.
“Chit” them straight away, by setting them out in an old egg tray, “rose” side up (that’s the end with most buds), and putting them in a cool but frost-free, light room (but not in direct sunlight) to sprout.
On early varieties rub off all but the two or three best sprouts on each tuber as soon as they appear.
Planting and Cultivation
From March onwards (or February if you have a cool greenhouse), put 6 inches of compost in the bottom of the barrel or bag.
For a bumper crop, mix a little high potash fertiliser in with the compost.
Set 3-5 tubers on top of the compost,shoots upwards.
Cover with another 4-6 inches of compost, and water.
Keep the compost moist at all times, but don’t overwater.
After 2 or 3 weeks the shoots will appear through the compost. When they’re about 5-6 inches high add another layer of compost so that just the tips are showing.
Keep adding layers of compost until you almost fill the bag.
After about 10 weeks for early varieties, or when the first flowers appear, your potatoes should be ready for harvesting. Carefully dig away a bit of soil to check.
Having lifted your crop, you can grow another crop, such as salads, in the bag in the same compost, or use the compost as a garden mulch.
Don’t reuse the compost for another potato crop, and before using the container for more potatoes disinfect with something like Jeyes fluid to prevent disease.
If you plant up several different bags in succession, moving them into a cool greenhouse before the first frost, you can harvest your potatoes for most of the year. In fact you can even have your own Christmas potatoes.

Alternatively, if you want to produce even more potatoes, why not grow them in a raised bed, or in the open ground under plastic, both of which are easier than the traditional method.

[Paddy by Grace]

Grow 100 lbs. Of Potatoes In 4 Square Feet: {How To}
Quite the clever gardening tip here folks! Today’s feature includes tips from three different sources for growing potatoes vertically (in layers) instead of spread out in rows across your garden. If you have limited garden space or want to try some nifty gardening magic, this could be a great option for you.

First, there’s this article from The Seattle Times: It’s Not Idaho, But You Still Can Grow Potatoes:


The potatoes are planted inside the box, the first row of boards is installed and the dirt or mulch can now be added to cover the seed potatoes. As the plant grows, more boards and dirt will be added.

You plant potatoes in one bottom layer, boarding up the sides of each layer and adding dirt as you go higher (you wait until the plants have grown a bit before adding a new layer). While new potatoes are growing in the top layers, remove the boards from the first layer at the bottom to carefully dig out the potatoes that are ready for harvesting. Fill the dirt back in and board up the box again. You move up the layers and harvest as the potatoes are ready. I imagine the new potatoes in the first couple bottom layers would be somewhat awkward to get at but as you move higher–not so bad.
I traced the information provided in the article to Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, they have another how-to article online here: How to Grow 100 lbs. of Potatoes in 4 Square Feet. They also advise you can skip the box and try growing the potatoes in a barrel or wire cage instead.
In another article on The Seattle Times (How To Grow Potatoes At Home), I came across this blog post from Sinfonian’s Square Foot Garden that details his attempt at growing potatoes with this potato box method: Build-As-You-Grow Potato Bins. The info was from last year (lots of pics) and he’s promised updates of this year’s attempts. He added this tip for a better yield:
Greg from Irish-Eyes Garden City Seeds let me know that Yukon Golds, and all early varieties set fruit once and do not do well in towers. You only get potatoes in the bottom 6 inches, which is what I got. Late season alternatives to yukon gold are Yellow Fin and Binjte.
Bonus! For a handy project sheet, The Seattle Times has a nice image file detailing the steps (click to view the original):



Imagine growing all those potatoes in a just a few square feet–and how drastically reduced the potato-patch weeding job will be! So Clever.
Reader Update: Here’s some info sent in by Christine who made a potato bin using wood pallets:
Last weekend, I was inspired by the Tip Nut potato bin – grow 100 lbs in 4 square feet. As nice as it looked, it seemed to be very complicated, especially unscrewing slats. Being a “just do it” kind of person, I asked my husband to build me one using pallets — which are free. He picked some up, but I realized that they were enormous, so he cut them in half and made side by side compost / potato growing bins.
The Tip Nut plan called for unscrewing the bottom portions to get the grown potatoes out. Rod attached pieces of wood to hold the front pallet in place and to allow you to slide it up like a window. I took books of hay to stuff in the openings of the potato bin so the dirt wouldn’t fall out. We’ll see how it does.
Here’s a photo:



Unfortunately we placed it up against our neighbor’s fence. On the other side is their dog, who our Puggle Feeney loves to visit. He is always trying to dig under the fence. With the bins in place over his digging spot, the poor guy jumped into the compost bin and got stuck!
Christine’s Update: After having it in place for a couple of weeks, I discovered that the local cats think it makes a fine litter box, so I’ve added a frame on the top with chicken wire to keep them out, but allow the sunlight and water in. See her page here for lots more info and tips:
www.catholichomeandgarden.com/food_security_2009.htm