Growing potatoes in 5 gal buckets...

[Jenn_M]

Has anyone done this? I don't really have the space to give up in my main garden but I wanted potatoes this year so I planted some in buckets. If you've done it, did they grow well? Any tips?

[kriket]

subbing,
I started to one year, and then couldn't find seed potatoes

I am trying straw this year, I just have to find a place that will sell me straw!

[Erinz]

I posted this in a different thread a few weeks ago:

Planting potatoes in burlap coffee bags:
http://www.sustainableeats.com/2010/...n-coffee-bags/

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by Erinz

I posted this in a different thread a few weeks ago:

Planting potatoes in burlap coffee bags:
http://www.sustainableeats.com/2010/...n-coffee-bags/

Thanks for posting that! I'm in Seattle, and had never heard of the company she links to (for the burlap sacks). Really excited to try it out!!

[Indigo73]

I think 5 gallon buckets are too small. (And I've grown just about everything in 5 gallon buckets )

I've done 30 gallon garbage cans, but want to try potato bags this year.

[nmelanson]

I will hopefully be getting plastic food-grade barrels this year to try this out. I'm excited and I don't want to waste garden space for potatoes. We have a small market garden, so I have to optimize. I don't generally grow things that are cheap to buy, but potatoes from your own garden are so yummy!
I'm planting banana fingerlings and russian blues. i will start with soil in the bottom and just keep adding straw as the plants grow up - the plant will just keep reaching for the sun and planting nice, clean potatoes. Or... at least I've heard about it.

cross our fingers! So exciting!

[Arduinna]

Anyone know the ratio of pounds planted to pounds harvested? I want to plant some fingerlings and some yukon golds.

[cschick]

I had organic red potatoes from Trader Joe's that sprouted profusely in my pantry, so I tossed them into the bottom of ~10 gallon pots (they are definitely larger than 5 gallon buckets, I have those too).

Don't know what they're going to do re: potatoes, but the plants are now two feet taller than the tops of the pots (I started them with about 3 inches of dirt and kept adding until I reached the top) and have beautiful purple flowers.