How to grow potatoes in a container
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How to grow potatoes in a container
Potatoes in a pot suit anyone short on space or short on enthusiasm for digging, and the harvest is the best part of the whole method, because you tip the container out onto a tarp and pick the spuds out of the pile instead of spearing half of them with a fork. It also means you're growing in soil you chose, which matters with potatoes more than most crops, since they pick up soil-borne disease and a fresh mix each year sidesteps most of it.
The container
Anything from about 40 litres up will do, whether that's a large pot, a half drum or an old bin, as long as it has drainage holes in the bottom and plenty of them. Three or four seed potatoes is right for a 40 to 50 litre container, and cramming in more gives you a lot of small spuds rather than a bigger harvest.
Depth matters more than width, because the tubers form above the seed potato rather than below it, and that's the whole reason the hilling step works.
Use certified seed potatoes
Buy seed potatoes rather than planting something out of the kitchen. Supermarket potatoes are usually treated to stop them sprouting, and the ones that do sprout can carry virus and fungal disease straight into your pot. Certified seed potatoes are sold specifically for planting and they're checked for exactly that.
Sit them somewhere cool and bright for a couple of weeks first so they throw short green shoots, which is called chitting and it gets them away faster once they're in. Leave the shoots short and stubby rather than long and pale, because long white shoots snap off the moment you plant them.
When to plant
Plant from August through to December in this district, once the worst of the frost risk has passed, because frost will take the tops off and set the plant right back. A pot has one real advantage here, which is that you can shift it under cover on a cold night, and that's worth knowing if you're planting at the early end.
Planting and hilling
- Put 100 to 150mm of good potting mix in the bottom of the container.
- Sit the seed potatoes on top with the shoots pointing up, and cover them with another 100mm of mix.
- Water it in and keep it damp rather than wet, because a soggy pot rots seed potatoes before they ever get going.
- When the shoots are about 200mm tall, tip more mix in around them and leave the top third of the foliage showing. This is hilling, and it's what gives you more spuds instead of more leaves.
- Keep doing that every few weeks until the container is full, then let the plant grow away on top.
Keep them covered, and this one matters
Any tuber that gets light turns green, and green potato skin means solanine, which will make you ill and does not cook out. So keep them covered as the container fills, and if you tip out a few green ones at harvest, they go in the bin rather than on the plate. That's the single most important thing in this whole post and almost nobody mentions it.
Looking after them
Potatoes want six hours of sun and steady moisture, and a pot dries out much faster than a bed, so check it every couple of days through the warm months rather than on a schedule. A liquid feed every fortnight once the tops are up keeps them going, and you want something balanced rather than high nitrogen, because heavy nitrogen gives you a magnificent bush and disappointing spuds underneath it.
Harvesting
Small new potatoes can be pulled from about ten weeks, and if you want them for storing, wait until the tops yellow and die back, then leave the pot alone for another fortnight so the skins toughen up. Tip the lot out onto a tarp, let them dry in the shade for a few hours rather than in the sun, and store them somewhere cool and dark in a hessian sack or a cardboard box. Anywhere with light in it turns them green again and you're back to the bin.
Shop related products
- Naturally Good Garden Soil, 50L. Bulks out a big container without costing a fortune.
- Brunnings Ultimate Dig It In Compost 30L. Mix it through so the pot holds moisture.
- Go Go Juice 1 Litre. Easy fortnightly liquid feed once the tops are up.
- Easy Wetta Garden Mulch, 50L. A layer on top slows a pot drying out in the heat.
Did you know we also keep potting mix, pots, watering cans and garden forks in the shop, and the potting mix isn't on the website at all, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf. We don't carry seed potatoes, so that's one to get from a seed supplier.
The bagged range is in our garden centre, and if you're trying to work out how much mix a drum that size will swallow, bring the measurements in and we'll do the sums with you.
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Tipping the pot out is still the best twenty seconds of my gardening year.
Cheers,
Candeece
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