Potatoes in bins

Last year I grew some spuds in a potatoe barrel but what I got was alot of top growth and not a lot of spuds. can any one please help before I try again this year

Bishughie

 

Hi Bighughie and welcome.
Did you keep adding compost to the barrel when the growth came through? The usual way with pots in containers is to fill the barrel to about a third with compost, and then top it up when growth is about 6 inches, and then continue topping up every week or so as the stems grow until it is full up. The pots form on the stems so the more stem is buried under the compost the more pots will be formed. also, if light gets to the spuds they will turn green and poisonous.
Do try again and good luck

 

Hi BH,and welcome to GC.Last year wasn't a very good year for spuds on our allotment because of the heat.The spuds we did dig up were quite small due to the lack of moisture.Perhaps that was the problem with yours.
What you need to do is make sure that the roots are kept well watered and fed through good compost and feeding at watering times occassionaly.You will find also that if you grow a crop of new potatoes,then they won't have has big a yield as a late crop would.

Also you need to posistion the barrel where it can get some sunlight to help the haulm grow,but not to place it where it will dry out too quick.

Please do try again as Blackthorn says and good luck with it...Let us know how it goes