Just ordered my very first seed potatoes from Wood Prairie Farm, and now I'm planning what to do with them!
I know there are mesh cloth bags, and you can mound them and put them in virtually any large tub or container. BUT has anyone tried self-watering them before? Good idea or bad idea? All I read is that they need well-drained soil, so not sure if it's advisable to do them in a system like this, but not having to water them every day in the summer is looking really attractive right now...
Potatoes in Self-watering buckets?
As much as I promote eBuckets, I'd personally not plant spuds in one. A medium size heavy duty contractors bag (less than the huge 45 gallon size) would be my homemade container of choice. My
first time growing potatoes, I used old perforated washing machine tubs. Great drainage, and I discovered spuds don't need as much water as you think. Just keeping the soil moist is all you need. The rain will help.
gymgirl, what's the thickness of the contractor bags (2 mil, 3, etc.) and where can they be purchased? I found compactor bags (2 mil I think) but they are scented and that's probably not a great thing if planting in 'em.
Mary
TX_gardener,
Don't really know the thickness. They just said Contractor on the box I bought. I believe they were lawn leaf bags. Just get something sturdy enough so once you place it where you want it stay for the duration after you start filling it, it won't start breaking apart from the weight of the soil/leaves you add.
I placed my sprouted spuds on an 8" layer of organic compost and potting mix and continued to hill up leaving at least 6" of vines peeping out every time I added soil. I filled the washing machine tub, then, I wrapped it with plastic poultry caging "wire" so the vines could keep growing without collapsing. At this point I stopped using the potting mix/compost and started adding leaves to prop the vines up. I was told the plants would form potatoes along the horizontal stems as high up as you continued hilling in the leaves -- but several of us did this and did not get a single potato growing in the leave, nor any higher than they were originally set on the soil.
My experiment this season will be to grow potatoes in vertical layers in my contractor bags. I'll place the original layer at about 8" then hill up the vines till they grow up to about 16". At this point I'll flatten the soil and place another layer of potato pieces in between where the vines are poking out at least 6" and cover the new pieces.
I'll grow spuds at different levels in the same container to see I get a higher yield.
P.S. I'm planning on using a hole punch to make drainage holes all over the bottom 1/3-1/2 of my contractor bag. Good drainage is VERY important. Also, potatoes do take at least the recommended DTM for harvesting. I harvested mine at about 100 days, and in a few cases, I left them in the containers as long as 120 days and they were fine, even though most of the vines had died back. More for storage than anything else.
So long as the soil isn't soggy wet and the spuds are relatively comfortable, they'll stay underground for a good many days past your harvest date.
Hope this helps!
P.S. Spuds don't need a whole lot of fertilizers. You'll end up with beautiful lush vines and NO spuds underground, so don't get zealous with the ferts, especially the nitrogen!!!
Here's a pic of my tubs with the plastic cages and leaves in place. It's filled with potting mix/compost to the top of the tubs, then continues with leaves.
Linda
This message was edited Jan 10, 2011 8:56 AM
Thanks Gymgirl!
I'll definitely be looking at just using some tubs then, and drilling holes for drainage or the trash bag method. Either way, definitely hilling them.
I have also read multiple places that you can harvest potatoes any time after DTM but that if you left them until after the visible plant had completely died and was dry and brown, that they would be better for storage (and theoretically biggest).
Thanks for the wonderful clear and concise advice! I'll be posting pictures of course when I finally plant in March.
~Kristen
PS Thanks for the fertilizer tip too!
Thanks, Kindlekat!
I'd certainly like seeing your methods and progress, and to learn from you, too!
Hugs!
Linda
Kindlekat: I would be afraid to water them too much, as they could rot. I had thought about doing the same thing and that was the reason I didn't and used smart pots instead, they breathe also, and since they are pouros any excess water will drain out of them. Only had one rotten potato in the bunch. The plastic might get too hot and cook the potatoes too?
joy