Allotments 4 All

hi guys,

I had planned on building 2 4x4 boxes for growing spuds in. But i was thinking that using 2 steaked (1 ton) builders bags steakee might work?

Anyone tried that?

How many spuds u recon i can fit?

cambourne7

I grow spuds in rubble sacks and compost bags. In fact a lot of show growers use this method but obviously with a specail mix. The problem is the bags dry out quickly so plenty of water is required. Alternatively you trench your bag in so the base is always in the moist soil. Don't expect the results you would get out of the ground but they are a lot cleaner

Ah, My problem tends to be the digging. I have a 4ft by 4ft bed thats free i was going to put it on that so i guess that would resolve the damp issue. And i was going to put some clay at the bottom.

We used four builders bags last year.  We just put them on handy bits of level ground, and used a mixture of cheap compost and mushroom compost.  We put a layer in the bottom, planted about 20 spuds in each, then added more compost as the plants grew. 

We folded down the sides of the bags, since they were much too high, and kept them well watered.

One problem was that the compost in the bags bags became too warm in the sunshine, so you might want to protect them a little.

We got a decent crop of very nice looking potatoes.  But the cost in compost was the equivalent of buying them wrapped in gold leaf at Harrods!

Ah, I am hoping to pick up to soil for free :)