Potatoes in pots

[moggssue]

I've just been looking at the weekend posts (didnt get a chance to get online so am catching up with you all!) and came across Debs photos of her garden (great garden by the way, something to aspire to me thinks!). Can someone explain the potatoes in pots thing? Do you just plant one potato per pot, and what sort of yeild do you get? It would be a brill idea for me, with very limited space and far more enthusiasm than room! Sorry if this is repeating an oft asked question by the way!

[moggssue]

Sorry, I didnt explain myself very well - the potatoes in pots were in Alice's garden and I'd love to have a go too!! Love your garden Alice, maybe in 20 years ....... hmm!

[mandyballantyne]

Hi,

I think Alice got about 2lbs from one potato bucket, I checked mine yesterday (planted a few weeks after Alice did hers) and found only a few small potatoes bit early I think but could not wait!

I am sure someone else will be able to advise on what type of pots give better yeilds.

Mandy

[Cutecumber]

It's pretty easy, I think. Definitely worth a go. It's so exciting when you tip out the crop!

I've used large pots, compost bags, proprietary potato "bags" ... all sorts. My pots are 40cm diameter and about the same high.

I use a mixture of garden compost, home-made loam (from a turf stack) and a bit of peat-free organic compost. I add in a handful of seaweed meal and some organic chicken manure.

I put two or three chitted tubers in each pot/sack and earth up two or three times until the foliage gets over the top. Sometimes I get a dozen potatoes from each chitted tuber, but usually it's between 6 and 10. They vary in size. Stick to an early variety as the top growth is slightly more manageable and they mature more quickly.

No matter how much I water, the mixture is always more or less dry when I tip out the potatoes - they drink and eat a lot!

Pest wise, the odd snail crawls up the side and chews on a leaf, but that's about all.

Go for it!

[Scruffy Duffy]

We've been looking at potatoes in pots too, to save room in our beds. At the garden centre yesterday, the woman there said that she knows people who have been growing theirs in those pop up bags for collecting your rubbish in. They're a good size, nice and flexible, let the water out as they're made of material, and a far sight cheaper that the other pot options we've seen on the internet at only about £4. I'm going to try one of those once I've decided which potatoes I want to grow.
Any recommendations for good croppers in a small space?

SD

[moggssue]

Gosh, I didnt realise you could get so much from one pot! Three tubers per pot is closer together than the books recommend in the ground. Think I have to forget going 'by the book' and listen to you guys instead!! I guess it's too late to get some in for this year though, unless I try without chitting (at risk of opening up the old debate hehe!)?

[Cutecumber]

If you can find some, just try it. I have a couple of tubers held back which I'll put in to a pot in a month or so. It usually works even then.

I think I would go for two in a sack if you can - I am sure they prefer more space, ideally, and you do have to water them a lot. I am restricted by the number of containers I have.

The yield varies from year to year, but I haven't ever been too disappointed. I don't expect you'll have much choice now - get any early variety that you can. For taste, try International Kidney. It is the variety from which we get Jersey Royals, and even grown in London in compost the flavour is comparable!! Swift, Rocket, Red Duke of York, Arran Pilot, Pentland Javelin ... they've all cropped in a pot for me. I am not keen on the sweeter, waxy salad potatoes personally, but you might be able to find some Nicola or Pink Fir Apple if you like them.

Scruffy - make sure that if you use a bag like that, you won't need to move it anywhere during the three month growing period. Not easy to handle without handles!

[Scruffy Duffy]

I think the bags do have handles, but no, I won't be moving them anyway. Or at least not planning on it.

Those recommendations for potatoes sound great. Hopefully I can still get some. I agree with you about the waxy ones. Not too keen either. I like potatoes that make a good mash.

As for how many to put in. The potato kits I've seen on the internet usually have had 3 - 5 tubers with them. hard to know how many to put it. If I end up buying a bag of more thatn that, I don't suppose I'll be able to store them till next year will I? Seems a waste of money otherwise.

SD

[Cutecumber]

I had to find room for 19 tubers this year (two small packs with "about ten" tubers in each), so I put three in five pots/ sacks. I put two in a smaller pot and that leaves two for a late crop when a pot becomes free again. If my maths is correct, that makes 19.

In my experience I can just, only just, keep them moist enough once the tubers are swelling.

[nick the grief]

A lot depends on the size of your pot

I've got some 9" pots with 1 per pot in, some 10" polypots ( like a plastic bag type of think) with 1 tubver in and some 25lt (I think) pots that I put 2 or 3 in this year I grew Swift earlies and Maris Peer/Charlotte 2nd earlies and have averages about 2lb per plant so far. The other year I had one odd spud that I had now idea what it was ( fell down the back of the staging as some point!!) and that gave me 7lb of spuds out of one of the big pots. Mind you is was spoilt with the treatment it got. Planted in well rotted muck Earthed up with John Innes No3 and watered & fed every day or so , so it ought to have done well

[libbyloulou]

We've been looking at potatoes in pots too, to save room in our beds. At the garden centre yesterday, the woman there said that she knows people who have been growing theirs in those pop up bags for collecting your rubbish in. They're a good size, nice and flexible, let the water out as they're made of material, and a far sight cheaper that the other pot options we've seen on the internet at only about £4. I'm going to try one of those once I've decided which potatoes I want to grow.
Any recommendations for good croppers in a small space?

SD

go to asda get their flower pots for free, and put one spud in each, your cost will probably be the compost.

[JennieAtkinson]

I got some cheap pots, sadly lilac colour, for a £1 each and use those for my potatoes. Used them last year and they are off again this year. Just for the salads, charlottes. The first earlies and maincrop go into the soil. I certainly had a good crop of salad potatoes last year from the pots.

When I was in our garden centre last week, there were still some seed tatties available (though I know we are are lot later planting up here), but it might be worth asking if anyone has anything left.

[shirlthegirl43]

I grow my spuds one per 10litre flower bucket (bought from morrisons 8 for 99p).

Our local Wilkinsons was selling off their seed spuds at half price yesterday. Not sure how good they were but it is worth a try if you have a Wilko nearby

[noidea]

I realised the other day that my OH had put approx 8 seed pots in an old compost bag (what we were growing in) but I hadn't noticed at the time. I had told him to choose the best 2!

They are now growing like crazy but I tried to haul out a couple the other day to try and salvage the whole thing but they were having none of it!

Not sure what to do now!

C

[moggssue]

Thanks for the advice Nick and Cute, I'm certainly going to give it a try (if only to stop the OH asking why I saved the pots from the young shrubs I put in the front last year!). Might be too late, but if you dont try you cant succeed ...