Topic: Spuds in Pots

[Moggle]

Well I think my Charlotte spuds have chitted enough and are ready to go in to pots to be grown on the balcony. I don't think frost will be a real problem, as the balcony is under cover.
I have bought 2 pots, approx 40cm (15 inch) square. How many seed spuds should I plant per pot?
Many Thanks
Moggle

[kenkew]

At 15" I'd plant only 2 per pot unless you're aiming for quite small spuds. You're also going to have to keep on eye on the moisture level, especially if it's under cover.

[budgiebreeder]

Do you have some empty compost bags?The large size are best..I grow all of my potatoes this way withvery good results .I put about 5 per bag and earth up as needed dont forget the drainage holes though.your pots sound rather small for potatoes.

[allotment_chick]

...I've put 2 spuds in a 10" pot - I would have thought three or four for a larger one...for me, the plants don't seem to get as big as they do in the soil
AC x

[jammyd]

Hi all, I'd considered planting a few new tatties in a large pot to be harvested on Xmas day for dinner - does anyone know if this would be possible and when I'd need to plant them?

ta,
james  :)

[philcooper]

On the 15" pot question 3 - 4 if you want nice small ones , 2 if you want them large (or one pot of each)

On Christmas new potatoes, August for a pot in an unheated greenhouse or you can try it in a warm spot in the garden and be in and out with the fleece

[aquilegia]

I'm growing mine singly in old grow bags. hope it works, anyway!

[philcooper]

You'll need an awful lot of growbags to produce enough for Sunday lunch for 4 then!!

Unless, of course, you mean 1 bag per individual seed tuber  ;D

[jammyd]

Thanks Phil - a long time till christmas, but I'll let you know if it works :)

j

[The gardener]

Tip for using grobags...........before opening them, hold them in the middle and let the compost trickle either sides of the fold.

Cut along the fold to form effectively two pots, form a few holes in the bottom then grow by the ring culture method.

Roll/fold down the top edges to stiffen up the container.

You should find you get a better root system and you could also top up the bags/pots if necessary later on in the season.

[budgiebreeder]

I've used this method with growbags(cutting them in half and standing them on end ) for tomatoes as well.

[Hugh_Jones]

Moggle, if your pots are indeed square pots, 15inches each way, then you should have no difficulty in planting 3 to each pot - 4 would be a bit of a squeeze.  However, just as important is the depth of the pot. To get decent results you should have at least 12 inches between the top of the potato when it is planted, and the top of the pot, and a greater depth is even better.

Assuming that you have some frost protection for the pot (cold frame, sheet of glass, fleece, or even bubble wrap) set the potatoes on only a few inches of soil or m/p or growbag compost at the bottom of the pot, and cover to a depth of only a couple of inches. Once the shoots appear and start to make leaves dribble in more compost to cover the stem/leaf joints but leave the growing tip exposed, and keep doing this each time another set of leaves starts to form. The idea is to allow as many leaf joints as possible to form up the stems, covering each one in turn, and the size of your crop will depend on this.  If you need any explanation of why then read the postings in `Low rigde` in the Basics board. As ken said, watering is important, and quite a lot will be needed once tuberisation commences, and use a balanced liquid fertilizer regularly.

Growing potatoes in growbags or shallow containers will indeed yield a crop of sorts, but no more than a half, or less, of that which can be obtained from using deep containers, and if you are restricted to container growing then it is worthwhile maximising your returns as much as possible.

[john_miller]

Just to re-inforce Hugh's point (again) I experimented with potatoes in crates (lined with dioxin free cardboard) last year. I know that lack of time meant I earthed them up too impatiently and had a very disappointing yield. Properly done, from what I have read, container plantings should be very productive, more so than soil growing.

[aquilegia]

Thank you Hugh for your very detailed description of potato growing. You have answered many questions I was going to ask soon. Everyone always talks about earthing up, but no one ever says how often or why!

(My growbags are very deep really as I didn't use them as growbags as such. I cut them at one end, so have a, I'd guess, two-foot deep pot!)

[Moggle]

Thanks all for your great suggestions and information. I think I will plant this weekend, and will probably go for about 3 per pot.
I get absolutely no frost settling on my balcony so I will assume that I don't need any fleece or any other frost protection. Happy to be corrected if this is wrong though.
Moggle

[Hugh_Jones]

Moggle, I note what you say about frost - and it is frost which `burns` the exposed potato tops, but sub`zero temperatures without frost precipitation can also cause damage, so I would play safe and use one of the protective measures I have mentioned.  Why spoil the ship for a ha`porth of tar?

[john_miller]

  If you do use mesh or fleece for frost protection then leaving it on for an extended period will be even more beneficial. Side by side trials of uncovered potatoes and those covered for the length of the crop resulted in yields from the covered plants almost twice that of the uncovered plants.

[Moggle]

OK, thanks for the advice on the frost protection.
Finally planted them today, 3 in one pot and 4 in the other. My next question is how much should I water them at this stage? Have just dapened them a little today and I'm aware that later on they will need loads of water, but not sure about the present.
Thanks again, Moggle

[Hugh_Jones]

Just keep the compost damp for the time being.  They won`t use much water until the tops start to grow, but once this happens they will use it more rapidly and you will have to keep a careful eye on them.

I would suggest that if you`re going to grow much stuff in pots it might be a good idea to get a moisture meter (one with a long thin metal probe) which will allow you to check the moisture level down inside the pot rather than just on the surface. Cost should be under £10 unless you buy a combined Moisture and pH meter, when it will be a little bit more.

[tim]

And I'm going to try toms in the up-ended bags this year. Sounds the nearest one can get to Ina's method. = Tim