What am I doing wrong with potatoes?

[LikeTiffany]

My potatoes all died earlier than expected, and the entire green withered and disappeared. My soil quality was poor and I did no pest control. I could see bite marks but never saw the actual pests... I also did wrong by overwatering before I realized it but once I stopped that they continued to die like this. I thought potatoes were easy but is this just a result of my poor gardening? lol

 

[Meadowlark]

From the looks of that remaining tiny sprig, you likely had very severe pest problems. That looks like flea beetles damage to me, but it could also have been any number of other pests including the Colorado potato beetle which is very common pest to potatoes. Hard to say for certain.

Looking at the debris in the pot the sprigs did not reach any size to produce new potatoes and the combination of overwatering and pests probably led to their premature death.

 

[Sluggy]

If you are growing potatoes in a container it is very difficult to water down to the bottom so I used a plastic pipe (found as waste near a building site) with holes drilled in and push it to the bottom then water the top of the container and pour water down the tube. It worked for me. If worried about overwatering make sure there are drainage holes. Water logging causes the tubers to rot,

 

[Xraycer]

Curious to know what you're using for soil. There seems to be an awful lot of wood chips and pebbles. Are you even using potting soil?

 

[LikeTiffany]

Curious to know what you're using for soil. There seems to be an awful lot of wood chips and pebbles. Are you even using potting soil?

We had garden soil delivered from a local place, but the quality of it wound up being pretty poor. It will need a decent amount of amendment for the plants to be happy I think

 

[LikeTiffany]

Curious to know what you're using for soil. There seems to be an awful lot of wood chips and pebbles. Are you even using potting soil?

The debris on top is just from the trees right next to the planters

 

[Oliver Buckle]

My experience with stuff called 'top soil' is that it is poor. As I understand it is usually the soil skimmed off before construction of new buildings starts.
My other tip for growing potatoes in containers is that although the tops love sunshine the roots like it cool and damp, so it is well worth putting something in front that keeps the sun off, I also use light coloured bags if I can find them.

 

[Xraycer]

We had garden soil delivered from a local place, but the quality of it wound up being pretty poor. It will need a decent amount of amendment for the plants to be happy I think

Sounds like this may be the issue. From what I'm learning, commercial "garden soil" doesn't drain well, so aren't meant to be used in containers. So, likely your potatoe roots didn't get enough oxygen and/or just drowned.
I believe heavy amendment with coco coir and a good amount of perlite should resolve the issue.
I tried growing potato this summer. Just stuck a store bought yellow potato, that was starting to root, into a container and see what would happen. 3 months later, here's what it yielded. Not a huge yield, but I would call it a success.

 

[Sluggy]

In a TV gardening program in the U.K. years ago they planted a few seed potatoes in soil in lorry tyres and as they sprouted more tyres and soil were added. When the time came the tyres were removed and the presenters burst out laughing they had only one very large potato. So even professional gardeners have trouble growing potatoes in containers.

 

[LikeTiffany]

In a TV gardening program in the U.K. years ago they planted a few seed potatoes in soil in lorry tyres and as they sprouted more tyres and soil were added. When the time came the tyres were removed and the presenters burst out laughing they had only one very large potato. So even professional gardeners have trouble growing potatoes in containers.

We actually got quite a lot of potatoes despite the greens dying early. The potatoes were all very small as a result is all. I am surprised- I always heard potatoes were so easy!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

In a TV gardening program in the U.K. years ago they planted a few seed potatoes in soil in lorry tyres and as they sprouted more tyres and soil were added. When the time came the tyres were removed and the presenters burst out laughing they had only one very large potato. So even professional gardeners have trouble growing potatoes in containers.

My guess would be that because tyres are black they warmed up a fair bit, potatoes like their roots cool, I always pck light coloured bags and shade them.