Bag Potatoes

[big rockpile]

I haven’t had much luck with Bag Potatoes. I was going to try again this year followed by Carrots and Beets.

My wife said she don’t think my Bags are big enough. They are 10 gallon fiber bags.

She is saying plant them in Self Watering Raised Beds.

Still follow with Carrots and Beets.

big rockpile

 

[Meadowlark]

So, how many "eyes" do you place in one of those 10-gallon bags?

I typically put one cut seed "eye" in an HK tub of about 25 gallons.

 

[gary350]

I planted Carrots today you probably could too. My carrots freeze & die in pots & bags, we have mild winter weather compared to MO.

What type potatoes are you trying to grow?

Red and purple potatoes are extremely easy to grow they out grow white color potatoes about 2;1 and 4;1. We don't eat these but my son loves them. These are a 90 day crop.

I can't grow, Russet or Yellow potatoes in TN. Russets might grow well in sand if you have Idaho weather. I can't grow yellow potatoes TN soil is too wet.

I have excellent luck with Kennebec potatoes in TN. Plants love rain every day but soft soil needs to be well drained & no mud. Kennebec grown in 5 or 10 gallon pots or bags start out good but new potatoes freeze and rot in cold wet weather. Pots & bags are too dry in hot weather soil needs to stay wet but no mud. This are a 90 day crop.

I have been growing potatoes for 48 years in TN. When I lived in IL potatoes were very easy to grow but after moving to TN I had to learn why I have such a terrible potato crop. There are lots of rumors best way to grow potatoes. I use to do 6 potato growing experiments very summer to learn best way to grow potatoes in TN.

Most white seed potatoes grow 1 lb. of new potatoes from each eye. A seed potato with 5 eyes will grow 5 lbs. of new potatoes. A seed potato with 8 eyes will grow 8 lbs. of new potatoes. 10 eyes will grow 10 lbs. of potatoes. If someone tells me that will work or not work I grow it to learn what happens.

I like to plant 2" to 2½" seed potatoes with 5 eyes on each seed potatoes see photo below. I learn to never cut seed potatoes to make smaller seed potatoes. I plant seed potatoes 6" apart. If a 8 eye or 11 eye potatoes gets in with the 5 eye seed potatoes so what plant it any way.

I get free mulch at the recycle center to till 4" into each if the 3 potato rows. I place seed potatoes on soil surface, 3 rows, 32" between rows. I push seed potatoes down 1" then cover with 6" of soil. After adding mulch and tilling soil is like a hill already a few inched above the rest of the garden soil this help day rain water away. When green plants are 6" tall I hill up soil another 2". When plants are 6" tall again I hill soil up another 2" for a total of 10". Every day rain washes the hills down I hope hills are 6" tall 90 days later = harvest day.

Potatoes should stay in soil for a while 3 or 4 weeks but we have lots of moles they eat lots of potatoes so I dig new potatoes up soon as plants start looking dead. If I plant a small crop of potatoes moles eat most of them.

 

[big rockpile]

Think I’ll just plant them in regular garden.

big rockpile

 

[GFTL]

I have 9 -3 gallon pots and 3 -10 gallon grow bags of potatoes growing in my greenhouse until the weather gets too cold. started them outside about 2 months ago. My goal is to harvest them as needed through Christmas. Usually get at least 1 meal per pot.

 

[Meadowlark]

Think I’ll just plant them in regular garden.

Over the years, I've done a good bit of experimenting on this topic: container vs in ground potatoes. Across 13 different varieties of potatoes, I found that potatoes grown in containers produce on average 80% of those grown in ground.

I no longer use containers since I grow 100% of the potatoes my family consumes...just too large a penalty for container grown.

However, if it was my only choice, I would grow them in containers before store bought.

 

[gary350]

50 years ago when I had no clue what I was doing I grew a good crop of potatoes in stacks of 3 old car tires. Put 1 tire on soft soil then put 6 seed potatoes on soil surface inside the 1st tire, then cover with soil. When green plants are 8" tall put 1 more tire in the stack and fill with 6" of soil. When plants are 6" above the 2nd tire add 1 more tire but no more soil. Once a week pour 5 gallons of water into the tires with a 5 gallon bucket. Tires hold the water and plants stay wet. The top tire forces the plants to grow straight up, plants can not fall over until they become taller. Seed potatoes with 5 eyes each is 30 plants = 30 lbs. of new potatoes. Year after year I never had the same good results and never knew why.

Down side to this is, tires are too much work. It was a pain in the @#$% to deal with a dozen tires that always seemed to be in the wrong location and needed to be moved. Old tires made me dirty as a coal miner wife would no let me in the house.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Old tires made me dirty as a coal miner wife would no let me in the house.

I have free access to old horse manure. A couple of weeks ago my missus presented me with a set of overalls, "You can wear these when you go for manure, I'm tired of washing shit covered jeans."

 

[big rockpile]

I say regular garden but I’ve decided on No Till.

big rockpile

 

[GFTL]

I choose bags and pots for ease of harvest and not missing any in the soil to return next year. I'm not a market gardener or farmer so a small reduction in production can be solved with a few more plants. Plus they can stay fresher longer if I don't harvest until needed. We have a 5 month growing season so I can stagger plant times in pots as I can start them inside and move them out when weather permits as well as move them inside in the fall.

 

[Meadowlark]

...move them out when weather permits as well as move them inside in the fall.

That's a huge advantage. Here I have two crops...a spring and a fall. I use leftover/small spuds as seed for the next crop. I have found I can store potatoes just long enough to make do until the next crop making my supply continuous. Usually grow at least 200 pounds in spring and maybe a little less in fall.

My fall crop is about ready to dig right now.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The biggest drawback to bag potatoes I have seen is sunshine on the bags making them hot, potatoes like their roots cool. It's easy enough to rig up something to shade them, last year I used empty bags with bamboos pushed through the corners from the inside and the other end stuck in the ground, just the right hight to shade the bag and not the plant.

 

[GFTL]

The biggest drawback for me is bags require more water than pots.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The biggest drawback for me is bags require more water than pots.

I put wood in the bottom. that helps, holds a bit of waterso you don't have to do it so often.

 

[gary350]

I just finished watching another commercial potato grower on YouTube that said, the #1 most important thing a potato crop needs is soil that will not compact. Squeeze moist soil tight in your hand then open your hand, if soil falls apart you have good potato soil. His definition of good soil means, MY soil is not good enough for potatoes.

One thing we all need to remember is, what works for me might not work for you. What works for you might not work for someone else. We all live in a different geographical location with different soil and different weather. Learn what each plant likes best in your garden.