Grow Your Own Magazine

I am going to try the offer in Dec GYO for Potato growing bags.
Has anyone grown in potato bags ?
and was it a good crop?
any tips?
Thanks
Michael01

anyone ?????

I haven't. I prefer to grow mine on the allotment.

Dont know if this will help you much but I once grew some tubers in black bin liners. Literally just put some compost in the bottom, planted tubers and topped up with compost as they grew, which gradually filled up and expanded the bin liner.

The main problem i had was judging how much water to give them. I did add some drainage holes but it always seemed to drain very quickly. Harvest was reasonable and tubers were 'clean', in that no soil was stuck to them and they were free from pest damage.

Bin bags are not robust enough, did not keep shape well enough but principle is fine.

If you do try growing in special potato bags I am sure we would appreciate updates as to how you get on.

__________________
Geordie

Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure

The last allotment I was on, potato bags were a common practise and many swore by them. Because of their size you only need to put two tubers in, you do, as Geordie pointed out, have to watch the watering with them, give them a good drenching but don't let them get water logged (they shouldn't do as the bags drain well). Growers on the plot use to make a small fence around them with bamboo to stop the foliage from flopping over in the wind and taking the bag. They always got good results and it was less back breaking and you didn't miss potatoes which stayed in the ground to give you a surprise crop next year!

I would also suggest bins, plastic, with good drainage holes. Cara grows well in bins. I know kestrel did well in bags but some potatoes can bit hit and miss in potato bags.

Andrewo

If bin bags are too thin, what about compost bags? They are usually of fairly thick plastic and its some good free recycling in the process. I use environmentally friendly biodegradable black bin bags and im guessing that they wouldnt do to well outside for a long period of time. However, having never grown potatoes im only guessing at all of this. Good luck, let us know how the bags go.

Being my first year I didn't want to waste anything, so when I found I have 10 or so seed potatoes extra after planting, I just popped some top soil in the bottom of some empty compost bags and put them in, one per bag. Covered them over and gave them a quick watering. I put them at the back of the compost heaps and apart from watering them a handful of times over the summer (they did get forgotten about I must admit) they got very little attention.

They were the last to be "dug up" and only then by one bag at a time. Each bag provided a few meals so I was happy, especially with the lack of care that they got. I've kept the compost bags as the plastic is quite strong and may come in handy. I could even give them a good clean out and do the same next year, as I'd like to grow more varieties of tatties and I'm bound to have some left over.

You could even keep the left over seed potatoes cool and plant them late on to get new potatoes towards Xmas. I only get space in a polytunnel at the start and end of the season so might try this as they are quite portable in the bags.

The more care you give the veg the better they will probably be, but like weeds , they can often fend quite well for themselves !

Hi Michael,

Most Veg show people grow potatoes in bags for the reason Geordie said, they are clean. I've grown earlies in black plastic flower buckets before and they were a great success, so much so my two kids now eat new potatoes! I think it's because they don't have to peel them so I'm having to grow 2 rows on the lottie and the extra earlies in pots.

I have just read an article about a man who grows over 600 different varieties of potatoes. 500 varieties in his back garden and two friends grow the rest. He can't grow them in the soil because he grows in the same place each year so he uses black bags. Harvesting is simple just empty out a bag and you have potatoes with none being stabbed by the fork. It sounds a good way to grow them.

I read that as well, mind you, he's sadder than the rest of us

How does he manage to eat all those potatoes?

I planted some Charlotte potatoes in compost bags in autumn, hoping for a small Christmas crop. They grew away quickly and produced good haulms. Sadly I then forgot about them! So the haulms died off. I presume I should have taken them under cover when it got cold?

I did still leave them until Christmas and managed to get about 10 small new potatoes! Not enough for Christmas dinner, but I will be using them as seed to try the compost bag experiment again, this time for extra earlies rather than extra lates - maybe spending the cooler months in the greenhouse this time!

sounds interesting this bag business do you have to fill bag up with muck while they are growing or just use bag as same principle what sort do best your best advice please? what sort of compost al purpose do or out of compost bin do they need some grow more mixed in?

Cheers pk

I grow my potatos in big pots (6ocm high x 50cm a cross), very cheap from Asda (£2-£3). The potatos were amazing very heavy yield everyone was perfect, you just keep adding more compost till the pots full!! the best part though has to be harvesting them because I just tip the pot upside down and there they all are!! Plus they made a lovely hedge at the end of my patio

I would definately recommed it!!

NSBL. Put three inches of compost in the bottom of the bag then put two inches of manure or rich rotted home compost in. Next add two inches of garden soil. On top of this seven inches of layers you place two or three potatoes depending on how big the bag is. Put four inches of soil/compost mix on top of the potatoes. Water well.
When the stalks and leaves of the potato start to stand a few inches proud of the soil in the bag, top up the bag with a few more inches of soil/compost and keep repeating this every time the stalks and leaves grow taller. Soon the bag will be full to the top and then you just wait for your potatoes to grow to harvest.
Jax

sound advice great my faith in human nature restored

I use big plastic bins, I have two varieties, one with no bottoms so that they are a long tube and normal bins (also buckets for pink fur/anya). I use a mixture of compost and pellet manure, along with a feed of comfrey and they do me well. My cara last year was magnific!!! Also, I know when I've watered them enough as the water comes out the bottom! Bags are great but if you have a small garden they take up alot of room, bins take up less and have a greater depth (even buckets I have found have given me a greater yield than grow bags - even compost bags have been better).

My maxim is if its free use that first and see if it works.

Andrewo

I believe that most people would not want to grow potatoes in bag's anyway but for someone with limited space im sure it would be ideal.

I have very limited soil space but love my potatoes so think i will have to give this a go, like the idea of pots but the bags realy do seem worth a try. Any variety that would work best in these conditions or are they all wirth a go?

I have discovered that Nadine hate bags and barrels but Anya, Pink Fur and Cara love them. I planted only two of Cara in one barrel last year and harvested them around Sept and we are still eating them now!

Andrewo

I've grown Winston (1st early) in bags and they say that Swift (1st early) is good as it's a short grower.

This year I shall mostly be trying Winston & Rocket in bags and Picasso & Maxine in tubs

I've got some Nadine Andrew and was going to try them, but maybe I won't now.

ntg

Nick,
I gave them all the same amount of water, same pots etc. I grew Cara, Nadine, Maris Peer and Pink Fur. Nadine was a terrible crop - shame as I grew them in the ground last year and they did well - I didn't even get 1/4 of a bucket from a barrel.

Andrewo

Hope this isn't a silly question, but how deep do the bags need to be?

Deep as you like Jennie,

A lot of folk use the old compost bags and put some soil or compost in the bottom, spuds then cover with a bit more. When the shoots grow thru, just un roll a bit more bag and keelk topping them up.

I know someone who uses the black florist buckets for his and says they work well

ntg

I have only ever used compost bags - nice to recycle them and just rolled them up as I topped them u