So you want to plant or grow potatoes in your house or garden but you don’t have space. Here are some of the ways you can plant potatoes in containers:
Best Season to Plant Potatoes in Containers
You can plant potatoes in spring in all areas, and again in fall in mild as they have the best climate to grow potatoes. But never plant potatoes in the cold season as potatoes tend to love warm soil to sprout and if the soil is too cold they can rot and give go plants.
A garden expert who is also the co-creator of Park Seed’s From Seed to Spoon app also said “Plant potatoes for a fall harvest in mid to late summer, about two to three months before the first frost date”.
Type of Container to Use When Growing Potatoes in Them
So you want to plant potatoes and you are searching for the containers to plant them. Select a container that is 2 to 3 feet deep and has a capacity of 10 to 15 gallons.
Why, 10 to 15 gallons capacity because if the potatoes are grown too close they can affect each other’s growth and they can even yield. Also, make sure that the container is made up of food-safe materials.
Don’t use items like old tires cause they have a lot of hazardous chemicals in them instead, you can choose barrels, garbage bins, plastic storage tubs, and fabric potato grow bags which are chemical-free and are suitable to plant potatoes as they are safe containers.
Best Potato Varieties to Grow in Containers
Here are some of the varieties of potatoes that are best grown in containers:
- Red potatoes
- Yukon Gold potatoes
- Fingerling potatoes
- Purple potatoes
- Ratte potatoes
How You Can Plant Potatoes in Containers
Planting potatoes in containers is hard but if you follow all these steps you can plant potatoes in one of the easiest ways:
1. First of all cut the potatoes into pieces just make sure each cut piece has at least one or two eyes.
2. Now just let the cut pieces dry in the air for a day before planting those potatoes in containers.
3. Take a container where you want to plant potatoes and fill it with nutrient-rich, well-draining potting soil and leave top to hill the potatoes later.
4. After that plant those cut potatoes with eyes facing up and about 10 to 20 inches apart.
5. Then cover the planted potatoes with 3 to 4 inches of nutrient-rich, well-draining potting soil.
6. Keep the soil moist and water it constantly throughout the growing season and place the container in a sunny location.
7. After the potatoes steam will grow about 6 to 8 inches tall again hill the soil by placing new soil around the steam.
8. Now all you have left is to process the same process two to three times through the growing season.
How to Care for Potatoes in Containers
So you planted potatoes in containers and now all you have to do is care for those potatoes till they are ready to be harvested. So here are some of the ways you can care for your potatoes that are planted in containers:
- Keep the potatoes in the sunlight for at least six to eight hours to grow them properly.
- As we have said use well-draining soil but you can mix it with organic matter check the spill pH and maintain it around 5.2 to 6.0.
- Water potatoes about 1 to 2 inches per week for root development and proper growth.
- Temperature is important as the potato soil needs to be 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If it gets too cold they can rot.
How and When to Harvest Potatoes in Containers
Once the potato produces or blooms flowers and their leaves turn yellow and die back then the potatoes are ready to be harvested. All you have to do is gently dig around the potato plant and then remove the potatoes growing inside the soil and the plant roots.
After that, you have to place them in the sun for several hours after you harvest them to cure them. Then place the potatoes in a dark and cool spot for a few days and it is fully cured and ready to be consumed.
FAQs
Q. How long does it take to grow potatoes in a container?
Most of the potatoes mature from 70 to 120 days after planting but depending on variety they may be harvestable some from 60 days with some up to 140 days and more.
Q. Can I grow potatoes from store-bought potatoes?
Yes, you can grow potatoes from store-bought potatoes just make sure to choose the right variety of potatoes and follow the steps properly.
Q. How many potatoes do you get from one plant?
A single-planted potatoes can generate to produce 5 to 10 potatoes but it can depend on the growing conditions and variety of potatoes.
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