Potatoes

[the flowerpot man]

This year i grow potatoes in bags! but had a very poor crop! why ?
i put 3 potatoes in each bag! maybe that was 2 many ?
hope someone can help x

[zazen999]

Was there any soil in the bag? If so, what type? Did you feed and water it? When did they go in? Were they in the sun? Did you move the bag at all? What variety were they?

[the flowerpot man]

Hi yes i put compost in the bags! i was given the potatoes so not sure on the variety
yes in the sun and yes had water but no feed planted sometime in march

[northepaul]

March is quite early...... but then again we have had a funny year this year. The weather has been all over the place and many plants dont know if they're supposed to be alive or not....

Did the potatoes in bags actually develop into plants or just didnt grow at all?

[the flowerpot man]

Hi i was told march was a little early after i planted them! to late then
yes we did have a crop but was hoping for a bit more
out of about 6 bags with 3 spuds in each we had about 10 per bag!

[the flowerpot man]

Thank you all for your help! next year i will put a little more time into my veg growing
Thanks again Ali.

[rustylady]

Do you have any open ground you could plant your potatoes in. They do much better than in sacks.

[the flowerpot man]

Hi rustylady yes i do! well a little patch lol thats where they will go next year

[Aberdeenplotter]

Hold up a bit here. Spuds will grow brilliantly in bags with the right growing medium provided there is sufficient of that medium for the number of spuds grown in that bag. So how big were the bags to start with and how much compost was in the bags i.e. were they full? In a 17ltre bag and growing for exhibition, that gets 4ozs of calcified seaweed + 4 ounces of Vitax Q4. i.e that is a lot of feed. In addition, the spuds will get at least ac ouple of foliar feeds with liquid seaweed.

Conclusion, spuds will grow equally as well in bags as they do in the ground, but to get a decent crop, you will only get out of the bag what you put in.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Whoopsie, missed a bit, that is one spud per 17 ltre bag and noted you had three per bag whatever size they were

[the flowerpot man]

Hi Aberdeenplotter! not sure off hand the size of the bags! but i get wot your saying will sort it out next year thank you so much

[scarletrunner]

Do you have any open ground you could plant your potatoes in. They do much better than in sacks.

.Mine are better in sacks,one seed potato in a general purpose compost,with added fertiliser,plenty of watering with half strength tomato feed,(ensure adequate drainage),leave until tops start to die off.This gives me aprox 8 lbs.of spuds off one seed potato,with no fear of much slug damage etc.

[the flowerpot man]

Hi Scarletrunner! thanks for that info will take it on board and give it ago next year

[Potstubsdustbins]

I put four seeds in each of my 80 ltr dustbins for main crop. I find like the others that bad results are usually caused by lack of water or feed. When the plant first starts to grow it gets Miracle Grow for green growth changing to Tomorite as the tubers start to form. During the height of summer (HA HA) each bin will get a two gallon bucket of water every two days as a minimum. This year I ended up with about 120lb in store.

Hope this helps Colin

[Newton]

How many bins Colin?