Growing Potatoes In Containers: Everything You Need To Know
Who said you need a garden to grow your own crops? There are a ton of fruits and veggies that grow well in containers, as long as you give them the proper care. And one plant that grows surprisingly well in a pot is the potato. Potatoes have no problems growing on your balcony or the patio. Plus, there are a lot of advantages to growing your taters this way. Not only is it a great alternative if you don’t have a garden, but it’s also much easier to protect them from harmful pests. Growing potatoes in containers is a super rewarding experience, as the plants grow fast and produce quite the good yield for the space they have. So, if you want to reap the delicious rewards of growing your own container potatoes, read on to learn everything you need to know about the process.
Potatoes have no problems growing on your balcony or the patio
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Growing Potatoes In Containers: A Guide
Potatoes are one of the best vegetables out there. They are super versatile and taste delicious! So, growing your own is definitely worth it. It’s a fun project and is actually pretty simple, as long as you know all the gardening secrets you need. And that’s exactly what we will share with you today. We will go through each step of the process to ensure your potatoes grow healthy and have a bountiful produce.
Potatoes are one of the best vegetables out there
@The Spruce
#Prepare your soil and container
The first step in growing your potatoes is to get the right containers and soil. You will need to use high-quality potting soil or an organic soil that drains well (especially if you are using a plastic container). You can also do half potting soil, half compost. When it comes to containers you should generally look for big pots. Get containers that are two to three feet tall and have a ten to fifteen gallon capacity. More is a good thing here. The smaller the space and the more crowded it is the smaller the harvest and the potatoes will be.
You will need to use high-quality potting soil or an organic soil that drains well
#Add fertilizer
A good fertilizer will give your potatoes the needed nutrients to grow big and healthy. Since they can’t get what they need from the surrounding ground as they would when planted directly in the garden, so a good fertilizer is a must. You can directly mix an organic, slow-release fertilizer into the soil for a good jump start. After that it is also recommended to get a liquid fertilizer, dilute it according to the instructions and “feed” it to your potatoes every couple of weeks.
A good fertilizer will give your potatoes the needed nutrients to grow big and healthy
#Pick the potato variety
Okay, now that everything is ready for your future taters, you need to make sure you get the right variety. There are a lot of potato varieties and that can be very overwhelming to choose one. So, there are two main things to focus on: harvest time and culinary uses. Consider how to long you want to tend to them and what you want to use them for. If you have multiple containers, you can use multiple varieties, and harvest them at different times so you can have a continue harvest of fresh potatoes.
There are a lot of potato varieties and that can be very overwhelming to choose one
#Plant the potatoes
You can plant sprouted potatoes whole or plant seeds, or cut the seed potatoes into pieces and plant them like that. Whatever way you choose is up to you. Just fill up the containers with around six inches of the soil mixture and then place your potato pieces into the mix with the eye buds facing up. It’s recommended to place them around ten inches apart as they need space to grow. For example, if you have a container that is fourteen inches in diameter, you will have room for three starters. After you have positioned the seed potatoes, just cover them with a few more inches of the soil mixture. Don’t add more than four inches. In general, if you live in a cooler climate, you need less soil.
Just fill up the containers with around six inches of the soil mixture and then place your potato pieces
@The Spruce
#Create the right conditions
Now that the taters are planted, you need to make sure they have the right conditions. The containers need full-sun and newly planted potatoes will require regular watering. Your soil needs to be moist, but not drowned in order for the potatoes to grow. If your soil feels dry, water it. Water them deeply until the excess water runs out of the bottom of the container.
The containers need full-sun and newly planted potatoes will require regular watering
#Hill your potatoes
Hilling is a process that needs to be done once your potato plants have grown around six inches. All you need to do is add a couple of inches of soil around the plants, making sure you cover the growing stems at the bottom. Just be very careful to not break the plant. In general, you need to bury a third of the plant, so that the lower leaves need to be well covered in soil. This process is done to encourage the buried stems to produce more potatoes. Make sure to repeat this process as your plants grows up until the soil reaches the top of the container.
You need to bury a third of the plant, so that the lower leaves need to be well covered in soil
#Harvest time
This is the best time! In general, you can start harvesting potatoes at anytime after your plants have flowered. Reach into the container carefully and pull out some potatoes. A little at a time. Once the plant turns yellow and starts to die back, you can harvest all the potatoes that are left all at once.
Reach into the container carefully and pull out some potatoes
This was everything you need to know on growing potatoes in containers. We hope you found this article useful. Now you can start growing your very own tasty tots even without having a big garden.
This was everything you need to know on growing potatoes in containers
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