Growing potatoes

[David1949]

Everyone you talk to says growing your own potatoes in bags is easy. Well i have been doing it for two years now and i have had no luck with then i never get a full crop
Looked at all the you tube videos read all about it on this forum been there done that and still nothing . This is my second year at trying to grow potatoes in bags and for all i get out of it it,s not worth the hassle. I have now planted my christmas crop so we will see how they turn out. Used good compost some growmore as they come up in the bag i cover then over again with compost they just don't produce the yield they should. I was talking to a neighbour down the street and he only uses garden soil in his bags it would take three of my bags to fill one of his but he had them in the greenhouse till the end of May.So on his advice i am using garden soil this time also he tell me not to cover then over as they grow but build the soil round them leaving the leaves visible he says that is why i am not getting a good crop so one more try and lets hope it works out

[veggiechicken]

Wait til Potty comes along and tells you his technique for growing in dustbins

[David1949]

I a wait with Patience for some more help and advice veggiechicken

[rustylady]

Do you mean you have kept all the leaves covered David? If this is the case then you certainly won't get a good crop.

[David1949]

As the potatoes grow in the bag i cover them over with a layer of compost and once they come through that layer i cover them again and so on till i get to the top of the bag. They grow ok but the crop is small i only branded seed potatoes like T/ Morgan.

[veggiechicken]

They need some leaves exposed to the light to develop the spuds. So you earth up the stems but not over the leaves! Imagine you're trying to make the stems stretch up to the light and as they stretch, they produce more spuds along the stem.

[David1949]

So its like my neighbour says just put soil round the stems not over the leaves ok ill try that what do you think of growing them in bags with soil with a little growmore like my neighbour instead of using compost to grow them in.

[veggiechicken]

Depends how good your soil is David!! I usually go half and half as using all compost is too expensive!

[David1949]

Ok thanks veggiechicken as i said i have my christmas potatoes in now and i am going to try and grow them in soil with a little growmore.
If you go to the T/Morgan web site the way they do it now is compost in bottom of bag 4 potatoes on top a good layer of compost 3 more potatoes on top of that and then fill the bag right to the top this is the new way now but i am not one for change.

[Guykp57]

I've grown 3lots of spuds in compost bags over this summer and have a 4th lot on the go as I type this reply, getting about 2 meals for 3people out of each bag..that's 3 adults(son home from uni) as VC says don't cover leaves just earth up to beneath where they start.

[Two_Sheds]

i cover them over with a layer of compost and once they come through that layer i cover them again

So basically you aren't growing potatoes, you're burying them.

Plants need light.
They need to photosynthesise.

The earthing up isn't strictly necessary: if you don't do it at all, you'll still get a bigger crop than you will if you bury the plants.

[David1949]

They look good Guyp57 right and tall to you have them tied up i wish my one were the same do you use compost only or soil and compost and do you use growmore

[dim]

I've seen potatoes grown in car tyres in South Africa

they take 4 car tyres .... fill with soil and plant the potato .... when the stem grows, they stack another tyre ontop, and cover with soil (leaving a few leaves exposed to light

they continue stacking the tyres until the plant yellows and it's time to harvest

I was amazed at the amount op potatoes harvested from a stack of tyres

[Two_Sheds]

^ yeah, it's often tried here in the UK. I didn't like it, myself. Plus there's a possible contamination issue from used tires

[WendyC]

I've tried potatoes in pots but don't get a good crop as I know I don't give them enough water. The pots are at the end of the garden and the incentive to wander that way wasn't there so I just grow them at the plot now. My friend has his by the back door, they get loads of water and he always has a good crop.