Watering potatoes in potato bags.

[Jo Sara]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but none of the search functions are working for me at the moment.

I've got 3 potato bags on the go this year. First time for me. I read that you shouldn't have to water the plants in the bags unless there's a really dry period, which we are obviously having. So I have watered the bags a few times to get the compost damp. But how often should I be doing it? Because surely the top is drying out a lot quicker than the bottom of the bag (they are 40 litre bags). I don't want to flood the bottom trying to keep the top damp. How much drought can potatoes stand?

[Chef_uk]

Little and often i've been told although in practice this isn't easy for me to do. First year for me growing in bags too so hopefully i will get it right. I have a wetness gauge gadget from Aldi's a while back that is helping me loads. Obviously in the potato bags i have to be really careful not to hit any of the tubers but so far its stopped me from watering when i thought it was needed

[chengjing]

Also first year for me as well. I am aiming at to keep the compost damp. Often even the top of the compost looks dry, it is rather damp inside.

[Jamesy_uk]

Last year I grew in bags and on hot days I had to dump a bucketful in each container, depending on how many plants you put in each containers they drink like fish.

[Jo Sara]

Ok, so not soaked and not dry, somewhere inbetween. I'll try and keep to that.

Chef_uk, couldn't help noticing you're in Sleaford. It all happens near there, according to Look North (BBC regional news for Lincs and East Yorks.) Everytime there's a news story in Lincs it's always a place 'near Sleaford'. It must be a very eventful place to live.

[hamsterqueen]

They do dry out quite quickly in bags. Even though the top looks moist the compost in the middle can be bone dry. I have to water them frequently, especially before the haulms are big enough to provide shade.

[newspuds]

I give my bags a good watering once a day to maintain a damp condition.

[chengjing]

Mine in other hand hardly get watered at all, saying that, most of mine bags set directly on soil so their roots will go down in soil for water. It is interesting to see how they turn out. We must compare the results when harvest them.

[SarahStrawberry]

First year for me with potatoes in bags too! We thought we were watering ours loads until we needed to move the bags. We were expecting them to be really heavy but we were surprised when they were quite light and discovered the top compost was damp but underneath must have been dry. So now we are doing a "lift" test now and then to check (Not very technical I know, but we'll see what the results are like)

[Jo Sara]

Now that's a good idea, Sarah. If I'm honest, I still can't really get my head round when to water. When I do water I water them really well so it must get to the bottom and I think the bags dry out from the top down. But how do you know? Testing the top of the bag isn't going to tell me if the bottom is still wet. Trying to lift them will give you a clue. They are quite a weight when wet, aren't they.

[chengjing]

Lifting them up? Would it get potatoes disturbed?

[SarahStrawberry]

Jo Sara

Yes, I can hardly lift them when they're newly watered.

chengjing

Perhaps someone with more years experience will be able to advise - I don't lift them high or very far just about an inch off the ground to try and gauge the weight and gently put them down again, and only once in a while, not every day. As i said I will see what results we get, hopefully they will be ok.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I have never grown in bags but all my spuds are in containers of one sort or another. At this time of year I aim to keep my compost moist but when the spuds start to form its a different ball game. Spuds are mostly water and I have to water every other day to gain the maximum crop, I also start to use a high potash feed such as tomorite.

To ensure good drainage my dustbins have 4 1" holes in the bottom covered with lumps of polystyrene this means that excess water can drainaway easily. During dry spells in the main part of the growing season I will use a 2 gallon bucket per dustbin every other day.

Colin

[VirginVegGrower]

Last year I grew in bags and on hot days I had to dump a bucketful in each container, depending on how many plants you put in each containers they drink like fish.

Same here too - I have to give a good half watering can every day to mine especially at the moment. Did the same last year and got good yield.

[salilah]

I can only water at weekends :-(
Last year they got very very dry - I put upside down tonic bottles into the bags to try to get some water into the middle of the bags, but to be honest it didn't work too well, everything was very dry
Tattieman I think said try to get the bags on top of trays so they could soak up water - but I've 30+ bags so no chance on this!
Good luck and keep trying - I still got potatoes last year, but a low yield I reckon
cheers
S