Potatoes in a bucket?

Last year I lost 9 rows of potatoes through black rot, worms and blight, so this year I am going to grow in containers. Does anyone have experience growing potatoes in pots and buckets ?

 

I grow some early First earlies in that way. I use both potato bags and pots (which are larger diameter than the bags)

3 seed potatoes in the bags, 4 in the (larger) pots.

Yield is nothing like as good as those grown in the soil IME. Hence I only do it or extra-early harvest.

 

I don't have space for growing in the garden and always grow a few potatoes in large pots - about 12" diam. Only First or Second earlies and of course never get a large crop, but it's fun and the potatoes come out clean and unblemished !!

 

I'm sure you know this, so just clarifying that growing in Bags won't stop you getting blight, sadly.

Having them indoors (greenhouse / conservatory) will help - same as with Tomatoes where greenhouse-grown are less prone to blight, and if they are in bags they may be under cover - particularly First Early spuds (although the main Blight spores won't be about that early in the season anyway, so shouldn't be a problem with First Early spuds anyway)

Two reasons why indoor helps reduce the risk:

Airborne blight spores might not travel in through vents / door (depending on the way the wind is blowing)

Foliage can be kept dry by carefully watering the ground without splashing the leaves as Blight needs damp conditions to "hatch" on the leaves of Tomatoes / Potatoes

Flip side: greenhouse will probably be too hot for spuds from around June onwards.

 

Thanks everyone for replies. I will grow some potatoes in pots in and out of the polytunnel. Like experimenting so will keep you all informed.

 

Good luck. I had terrible blight last year.
However, I have around 90-100 seed potatoes this year plus a polytunnel soon and so hoping for better luck this time round!

 

Missed this one.....my first and seconds are going in pots this year....haven't got the space for them to go in the ground....one advantage of them being in pots is they're easy to harvest....just tip them out and have a good rummage.....disadvantage....keeping ontop of the watering....

 

But watering does keep the pounds off, especially if filling from a wster butt.

 

I got some potato sack from a garden centre that was closing down the other week BOGOF so I have 4 of them. We really like new/ salad spuds. Any suggestions of what to go for?

Rusty

 

So would not growing any potatoes to eat

I'll get my coat

 

I grow three seed potatoes in a bag (whereas I grow 4 in a, larger, tub)

I am growing one container of Rocket, for the earliest of the early. Will be planting those this week.

Then one or two containers of Aran Pilot which are pretty early.

Then three or four of Charlotte, which we particularly like the flavour of. Thereafter the outdoor spuds will be coming on, so I won't grow any more than that.

Suggest you buy the number you need, loose, at your local garden centre. They may not have all the varieties you want to try, but my suggestion would be to stick to First and Second earlies. You don't get a lot of yield from bag-growing, so best to grow for early season when the price is still high in the Supermarket.

If you will need to have them outside you need to keep the frost off them, once they are up and through the soil. You can bring them in at night, of course.

 

Thanks Kristen
Could I put fleece over them to protect from frost? No where to put them at the moment the green house build has been interrupted due to work and weather.

Rusty

 

You probably could, but I wouldn't as I would want to keep them actively growing, rather than checked by chilly nights.

Frost free garage / shed / somesuch available? Putting them in there would be better ... but if you are trying to get really early ones then I think Greenhouse is needed for good results. Otherwise perhaps best to plant them up a bit later.