32 replies to this topic

[LindaLou]

I have been researching growing potatoes in containers on the Internet. I am looking for some feedback from anyone who has done it. I have ordered potato set but they will not come until Spring. I thought that here in Arizona I might be able to grow potatoes year round. I am looking for container suggestions, soil suggestions, how to get potato set without ordering them (how do I let my potato eye develop or whatever). As you can see I am a potato neophyte. All imput is welcome. Oh, and I did order blue potato sets because they truly intrigue me.

[Safety Lady 2]

I have grown them in containers before. I have used plastic bins with drainage holes poked in them, bags of soil, bales of straw and in ground. They all work pretty much the same. My favorite- in bags of soil, just slit the top, put four or five eyes in the bag and water. Soon plants appear.

[westbrook]

LindaLou, because your heat is hotter then most, I would recommend looking into planting in bales of straw or creating a raised planter out of straw bales.

container planting is a problem when it gets hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk because as you water the soil and it is moist, the heat creates a nice cooked soil.

the easiest way to keep your plants roots cool would be straw bale gardening. It is nice because you can use the bales to sit on.

[-6]

My daughter lives just adjacent to Phoenix. In the heat I wonder if one could use camo netting to soften the sun a bit. We use the "lazy man" way for Irish potatoes. We fertilize(manure)the ground, till it in, place "eyes" about one foot apart(sometimes 8") directly onto the soil, and cover with 6-8" of straw. The potatoes will grow on top of the soil and when ready you just pull the straw to the side(next years mulch)and pick up the spuds. No digging required, no weeding, and the straw retains lots of moisture in the ground. wc
ETA, we use plain whites now but reds do just as well. We are going to use raised bed "lazy bed"s this year. Every where we have a wet spot we are going to garden. Moma 6 is probably going to whip me(yahoo) for spotting up the lawns but at year's end we will have plenty to eat---and avoid having to cut that section of grass. wc

[Cuntrylady]

I have a friend that has grown potatoes in garbage cans and was successful you might try that. I always take the eyes and soak them in warm water over night and then plant them. Im not to sure how to do with seeds. Hope this helps...

[Ambergris]

I have had awful luck with potatoes. When I've planted them in the ground they've rotted and when I've planted them in containers they grew up to about a foot tall, died out in mid-summer, and left no tubers. You can't get straw bales for love nor money hereabouts now. At least not for the kind of love nor money I'm willing to put out.

[Fritz_Monroe]

I've never done it, but I've seen it mentioned about growing them above ground in a cage of sorts. Here's a YouTube video on planting potatoes above ground.

[Jules]

f_m I watched the video, I think I could do that. I can't understand what the second item is he is using in his container.
He said 'compost', '___________', and 'manure'. What the heck is it?? It kinda looks like unbaled straw in a bag... I have no idea what it is.

[Evergreen]

There is an article about growing them in a stack of old tires in this months Backwoods Home mag-

also I mentioned this in a post this morning HERE on the SO Wadda You Think forum- and KellieKat replied that she had experience with it and it worked great.

[westbrook]

I didn't like tires because once filled with soil, watered down and compacted I had a hard time moving the tires!

the same with the trash can but I could get if knocked over with a little crow bar slipped under it!

I like using cement block. I stack them up like you saw in the video but what I am doing now is....

wire on the ground to stop gophers! then, 2 rows of block and compost and plant, cover in compost. When the green starts to come up....2 more rows of block, more compost and more spudz an dcover again. When the green comes up.. more blocks, more compost, more spudz and cover. you can make it as tall or wide or as you want.

when I want to harvest... I take down the block. I am able to reuse the compost by amending it with fresh compost.

alternate the block so you will have half blocks sticking out.

these can go against a wall, in the middle of the yard.. and look like pillars into a garden. Set every so many feet and plants between. Wrapped between pillars with fencing, grow tomatoes or green beans or peas up the fence.

[Jules]

Quickie tater question:
I have a little sack of taters (russets) downstairs in my basement in the cool dark and the little devils are sprouting. Can I plant them???

[westbrook]

yes!!!

[Amishway Homesteaders]

Did you grow them or buy in a store?
most grow farms spray a growth stop on taters before sending to market. You may have some sprouts but not big taters that way?
~US~

[Jules]

It's a five pound bag from Idaho. I didn't wash them or anything, and I am sure it doesn't get over 55-60 degrees down there. In fact it stays quite cool. Definately sprouting. HOw come the taters I ignore and they sprout but the seeds I love on and they don't do diddly... it's enough to give me a complex I tell ya. I'll give it a whirl and see what happens. TY!

[Cat]

I didn't like tires because once filled with soil, watered down and compacted I had a hard time moving the tires!

This is why the straw works better as you raise more tires on it.

[Granny]

Drive by potatoes. Planted in plastic trash bags.

http://www.frugalsqu...ad.php?t=218519

[nmchick]

Granny, you've got to register to read that link. Could you cut and paste please?

BTW, I grew mine potatoes in trash bags filled with rotted horse manure last year. I put fence around each one to keep the bunnies out. The kids and I had great time harvesting. We tipped some bags and just ripped others.

[Granny]

Hmmmm… Was thinking could read even as guest same as here. Will paraphrase to illustrate idea. And see if couple of general pics work (no faces so should be o.k.). That was what made it so awesome to me, part of teaching project for children, adult pre-planted and left at various areas of campsite for discovery. The pic with all the little hands digging in dirt was so precious.

- Several black trash bags filled with nice planting soil mixture, set around various areas of campsite.

-Youth watch them grow all summer and identifies as potatoes. In the fall the plants have died back indicating could harvest them any time.

- Gather kids who want to see what was in the bags and let them have fun discovering what can grow in a garbage bag.

-There were questions about watering. I wondered same but no clear answer. Perhaps the surrounding foliage helped maintain and depended on rain water, unsure of climate of area.

- Others mentioned can be done in 5 gallon bucket, poke holes in bottom. Need to poke few holes in bottom of the black trash bags also for drainage.

Oh! and remember not to wash your taters until ready to cook!! They store longer that way.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

too cute and I bet they had fun eating them as well.

[Mandomom]

We just got some tires we hope to grow potatoes in. I'm trying to figure out if painting them white would help make sure the soil doesn't overheat. May make them look nicer too. What do you think?

Assuming this even works, I'm also trying to figure out how to do crop rotation with them since you shouldn't plant potatoes in the same dirt 2 years in a row. I'll need to decide if I should just swap the dirt out with dirt from other parts of the garden, or grow something else in the tires next year. What else would grow well in something like that?