Author Topic: Growing Potatoes in Containers - photos included (Read 73085 times)

Chris Graham · « **Reply #60 on:** March 24, 2009, 13:33:52 »

Hi everyone,

I have been growing potatoes in pots for around 3 years now and always had a great harvest.

The free black buckets you get from superstore (ones left over from flower displays) are excellent for earlies, ie Swift and Rocket. These can be started off very early if you have a greenhouse to store them in.

I have around 20 black buckets with Swift. One seed potato per bucket.

For main crops I use the large pots you can buy at Poundstrechers, they only cost £3.99 and hold, i think 75L of compost. Usually plant 4 seed potatoes per pot.

Most of my main crop potatoes are planted in the veg garden but pots are great and I find work very very well.

Heres a picture from last year...

You can see in this picture from last year the larger pots

There were 6 seed potatoes in this pot (recycle pot from the council)

BTW the above image was the harvest from the recycle box not one black bucket.

Well hope this helps, get planting NOW!

;)

meg_gordon · « **Reply #61 on:** March 24, 2009, 18:23:31 »

This is the fourth year I have grown potatoes in pots and have had mixed success. Last year I got blight in the main crop I was growing, so had to harvest earlier than I would have like to - but apart from that I have tried :

Epicures - great result - roughly 5 pounds per seed potato
Anya - good result - again about 4 or 5 pounds per seed potato
Wilja - best result out of all the potatoes I have grown - 6 pounds per seed potato
King Edwards - this was last year and I had to harvest early because of blight but got a couple of pounds per seed

This year I am growing Epicures again (these grow all up the Ayrshire coast and are called Ayrshire Potatoes locally - they are our "taste of summer")
Golden Wonders - my favourite main crop potatoes - first time growing these so will keep you posted - but know they will need a lot of feeding.
Pink Fir - no idea how these will do - but love the flavour.
Anya - loved the results I got last time

I will plant mine on the traditional Good Friday - they are chitting at the moment.

Hopefully this year wont be as bad to us as last year was - you could almost chart the blight marching it's way north!

Meg

Teej · « **Reply #62 on:** March 24, 2009, 19:49:00 »

I have grown in buckets, tubs, bags & anything I can get really! Always really pleased with the harvests & there is nothing better than bucket to pan in the space of 5 mins!
Got Rocket (as usual), this year & I'm trying Pentland Javelin & Pink Fir Apple for the first time. meg-gordon, will be interesting to see how we get on with the PFA in tubs.

Bjerreby · « **Reply #63 on:** March 25, 2009, 06:52:17 »

Bob Flowerdew on Gardener's Question Time last week said that adding layer upon layer of soil / compost to main crop potatoes in tubs increases the yield considerably. He also said that a bit of earthing up of early potatoes is needed to stop the spuds going green, but does not increase the yield.

Any thoughts?

Teej · « **Reply #64 on:** March 25, 2009, 08:22:58 »

Before this year I've only ever grown earlies - usually just dump more compost etc on them 3 or 4 times until the tub's full but have just planted them in full tubs as well & never seen a huge difference in yield.
Will carry on with the earthing up method this year as it just seems "right", if you know what I mean!
However, as I'm growing Pink Fir Apple too this year I'll try both methods & see what happens.
On a slightly different point, can the PFA be stored easily? Although they're listed as a maincrop they are a salad potato so wasn't sure if that makes a difference.
Cheers.

Bjerreby · « **Reply #65 on:** March 25, 2009, 08:34:29 »

It seems pink fir apple is one of the latest maturing potatoes. I assume its culinary use makes no difference to its storage characteristics.

http://www.europotato.org/display_description.php?variety_name=Pink%20Fir%20Apple

1066 · « **Reply #66 on:** March 25, 2009, 08:40:55 »

Teej, I have friends who have grown Pink Fir in sacks for several years and are always happy with the results. Not sure the yield is great but they are very tasty. I grew them in the ground last year, and to be honest didn't really store them very well (didn't have a proper space sorted last year) but to be honest they didn't last too long due to the fact we ate them really quickly and gave some away :D

cornykev · « **Reply #67 on:** March 25, 2009, 16:13:59 »

No problem with storing PFA's, they stay in the ground late and if stored correctly they last for ages. ;D ;D ;D

Teej · « **Reply #68 on:** March 25, 2009, 19:18:40 »

Brilliant news on the PFA! Thanks folks.
Bjerreby, that site is great!

phoenix_co2 · « **Reply #69 on:** March 29, 2009, 15:52:11 »

My first year growing potatoes, so far have some colleen and Anya in bags, watered well when planted, how often should i water them before they actually show leaves and flowers

kingston boy · « **Reply #70 on:** March 29, 2009, 18:26:40 »

I have an extra cardboard recycling bag that i am now going to have a go at container growing.Apparently it the same size as the one sold by a major seller.
This is mostly brought on by the fact ive run out of space for taters and the extra spuds i have are Charlotte. Five 6 Meter rows of them alone.Anyone know if they will last long enough for Christmas time.
I'm yer old time gardener and all this new fangled stuff is turning out to be loadsafun.
This in no way affects my recycling of cardboard.

Georgie · « **Reply #71 on:** March 29, 2009, 20:01:23 »

Quote from: phoenix_co2 on March 29, 2009, 15:52:11

My first year growing potatoes, so far have some colleen and Anya in bags, watered well when planted, how often should i water them before they actually show leaves and flowers

I'm sorry but the answer has got to be 'it depends'. Just keep an eye on them and only water if it looks like the soil is drying out. Mine have been watered once since I planted them a couple of weeks ago.

G x

phoenix_co2 · « **Reply #72 on:** March 29, 2009, 21:25:53 »

Thanks Georgie, will just keep monitoring

ladyice · « **Reply #73 on:** April 01, 2009, 10:49:14 »

Quote from: Georgie on March 14, 2009, 18:11:08

I made lots of holes in the bottom and around the sides towards the bottom and added a good layer of broken crocks.

thanks for this i was wondering if i should put something in the bottom of the bin liners im going to use

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #74 on:** April 01, 2009, 18:01:35 »

I came to the conclusion many years ago that crocks were a waste of space. They have no nutritional value, and only drain the container if the compost lets the water through. If it drains as far as the crocks, it'll drain all the way to the hole at the bottom, so you might as well give the plant the benefit of a container filled right up with compost.

Sexki11en · « **Reply #75 on:** April 02, 2009, 19:21:30 »

I grew in pots for the first time last year (first time full stop) Does anyone know why they were only pebble sized? Could it be that I put far too many seeds in the one pot or did I do something else wrong? I had lots, they were just small and hard lol.

I'd like to try again this year.

SK x

manicscousers · « **Reply #76 on:** April 02, 2009, 19:25:34 »

hiya, sk..how big was the pot and how many did you put in ?

Sexki11en · « **Reply #77 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:11:37 »

Quote from: manicscousers on April 02, 2009, 19:25:34

hiya, sk..how big was the pot and how many did you put in ?

Hi Manicscousers

Hmmmmm - the pots are about 16" but I *think* I may have put about 5 (or more) seed pot's in each one :embarrased:

SK x

cornykev · « **Reply #78 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:55:19 »

Hi sex, you only need to put two in, try them in grow bags or big builders bags there a bit bigger than your pots. ;D ;D ;D

manicscousers · « **Reply #79 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:58:35 »

wouldn't be embarassed, we've all done similar ;D
we put 3 in a container , covered with about 6" of soil, then topped up as the leaves grow through, I think ours are about 2'6" when full, about 2' across, if that makes sense ;D
Hyacinth's famous free black buckits get 1 per pot, they're about 10" tall, I think..the worst thing is making sure they don't dry out and remembering to feed them ;D
we crossed in the posting, ck ;D

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Author Topic: Growing Potatoes in Containers - photos included (Read 73085 times)