Grow Your Own Magazine

hi all

bought some seed potatos today from homebase and was just wondering can i grow them from a large plant pot? and how many is best to put into the planter? the seeds i have bought are called "main crop desiree scottish basic seed potato's"

thanks
lawrence

Yes, it's quite easy to grow them in a pot. Usually smaller varieties are chosen because they have less top growth, but you'll still get a crop with your maincrop.

What size is your biggest pot? Measure it's width across the top and its depth.

Say it is about 25cm across and the same deep - put one potato tuber and no more in this size. Once you get to 40cm across and similar deep you could put in three.

Hmmm, i wasn't going to grow tatties, but maybe i will in a pot. I have some unused new potatoes sprouting in my kitchen. Could i use those with your pot recommendations?

Yes. It's not a good idea to plant eating potatoes in the ground as it's all to easy to spread disease, but they're not going to cause any trouble in a pot.

You know what you have to do, do you?

Put some drainage material at the base of the pot - which must have holes in! - and put in about three inches of compost. Put the tuber or tubers on this layer and cover them with another few inches of compost. With a small pot you might be virtually at the top already, but in larger pots you can earth up in stages.

Wait until the potato stems grow through the first layer of compost. Cover them almost completely with another few inches of compost, let them grow some more and repeat until the container is full. It'll take a few weeks - they grow quickly once the weather is warm.

Water regularly and keep your fingers crossed. About 90-100 days from planting, gently have a feel around in the pot with your hand and see what there is. Leave them a bit longer if the potoes feel small or dig a few out.

I had a great early crop of Maris Peer last year following just the method Cutecumber has described (she told me last year!!). I would just echo make sure they're well watered - I thought I was watering them enough but when I had a feel around, the compost a few inches down was still really dry.

I also did the same thing with some inside out used compost bags (so the black was on the outside, dont know if it made any difference that way!), rolled down to start with and as I earthed up, I rolled up the sides as well!

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Thanks a lot both of you. I may actually go with the compost bag idea. More efficient with space i guess.