potato tubs/ barrells - advice please

[NSB]

Any advice appreciated.

I do have limited space and am thinking about potato tubs for next year, has anyone tried growing them in dustbins before or any other alternative rather than expensive potato barrells

Thanks in advance

Nicola

[shirlthegirl43]

I plant one tuber in a 10litre black flower bucket (mine are bought from Morrisons but other stores give them away) Usually - blight permitting - get a fair crop. They are easy to move around and keep out of the way etc and you can grow as many as you want and stagger the crop fairly well.

[Alice]

Hello NSB, there's loads on here about growing potatoes in containers if you search for it in the SEARCH box.
My own experience is that bigger containers are not always the best answer. I use buckets (99p each from B&Q. For me, a container 3 times the size did not give 3 times the crop and dustbins were really disappointing in terms of crop returned.
But try it yourself, keep a record (bit of scientific evidence) and let us know what does best. We're all here to learn from eah other. Hope you get great potatoes.
Here's some of mine grown from a bucket - I think it's Cherie harvested in June.

[seasprout]

You can never have too many spuds....or so I thought.

I have grown potatoes in tubs and big flowerpots for several years, this year was the best crop yet, it was also this was the first year i used granular potato fertilizer. In fact i had too many potatoes and had to give some away....bad summer = not many salads.

[veg4681]

My own experience is that bigger containers are not always the best answer. I use buckets (99p each from B&Q. For me, a container 3 times the size did not give 3 times the crop and dustbins were really disappointing in terms of crop returned.

But try it yourself, keep a record (bit of scientific evidence) and let us know what does best. We're all here to learn from eah other. Hope you get great potatoes.

Interesting comments Alice, that bigger container doesn't necessarily yield bigger crops. I guess a compost bag is deemed 'biggish'. Anyway I'll try the compost bag as well as bucket seeing as I already have 2 of these from last renovation work (and I had thought of throwing them away ). How many pot seeds would you put in a bucket? No more than two?

[lainey lou]

i grew spuds in some cheep trugs i aquired this year, put 2/3 in each and had quite a decent result.

[Cutecumber]

I can echo what Alice has said. Early potatoes in particular can't necessarily fill up all the space you give them - you have to experiment with the number of tubers, and keep them very well fed.

This year, for example, I got much better (heavier) crops of my main variety (Valor) than my early (Duke of York). Next time, I shall put more seed potatoes in or use a smaller container.

[dan1979]

I stuck three potatoes from the organic farmers market in a B&Q bucket.

Three months later I had 22 small potatoes in there.

My first attempt at growing spuds, pretty succesful I thought.

[sunny-meg]

Hi NSB

We are novices but produced fairly good potatoes last year just in the ground, but next spring we are going to try growing them in tyres. Our local tyre man near us said he would be pleased to give me as many as I liked because he has to pay £1 to have each one taken away and he regularly has 200 at a time removed. Obviously if I decide not to use them in the future I will be able to take them back and pay him to get them taken away rather than dumping them (environmental issue). Happy growing.

[moggssue]

My first attempt, but I used a dustbin and a couple of the larger compost bags, turned inside out, and despite a touch of blight had decent results. I put four tubers in the bin, and two in each of the compost bags and had equivalent results from them. I've planted up some fresh compost bags in an attempt to get some christmas tatties too. Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[NSB]

Hi all what do you mean by a compost bag??


What compost were you using in the buckets Alice
Thanks everyone for yor advice

[shirlthegirl43]

Compost bags are presumably the bags your compost comes in - usually black on the inside.

My spuds are grown in multi-purpose compost with either chicken manure pellets or well rotted horse muck in the bottom.

[moggssue]

I used the bags I bought my compost in, as Shirl said, turned them inside out so the black was on the outside to help keep the tatties in the dark inside (dont know whether it made any difference though!).

[Hazel at the Hill]

....turned them inside out so the black was on the outside to help keep the tatties in the dark inside (dont know whether it made any difference though!).

Shouldn't think so, but I would think having the black side on view is more pleasing on the eye.

[veg4681]

Shouldn't think so, but I would think having the black side on view is more pleasing on the eye.

I think it does help from what I read from a randomly found forum. It says

"Bear in mind that the plastic of the bag does not always keep the light off the growing spuds and so any that are right up against the plastic will go green....so you could strap a large broadsheet newspaper round the bags to keep out the light".

And hopefully no one will have to find green spuds.