Hey everybody!

[ninnymary]

Welcome Micah! I have a small city yard and grow potatoes in the black nursery containers that trees come in. I admit they don't produce tons but they are mainly for my preschoolers to see where potatoes come from. They are easy to grow and harvest. The kids love digging gently in them to look for the treasure. I mulch mine with rice straw. I've never had a problem with watering or draining since they have holes at the bottom. I used to think that the black plastic would "cook" the roots but that doesn't happen. Could be that our weather is on the cool side.

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Hi Micah, welcome to TEG!
I grow spuds in the ground, but have occasionally grown them in nursery tree pots like Mary.

Are you talking about those huge totes that you get grain in, that you have to move with a tractor?
I would think that would be more of a pain then it's worth.
Too much soil for one thing, even though it sounds like that's not a problem for you.
Potatoes don't need to be deep, as Ridge said. You want to plant them below ground, then hill up around the stems as they grow.

As long as I'm being opinionated I'll share that the tire thing
kind of gives me the willys. There are certain toxic substances in tires that makes me want to keep my food away from them. But maybe it's only a problem when they're shredded...I can't remember right off the top of my head.
I would research that if it was something I was thinking about doing though.

But for sure grow some potatoes this year, whichever way you decide to do it! Potatoes are my favorite crop, I anticipate the harvest all season.

 

[Jesus Freak]

Thanks Mary!

@thistlebloom Not sure...I get grain in bags. I'll include a pic

I read what @Ridgerunner said but just re-read it and I think I understand now...They don't grow very deep and grow more sideways from where the seed potato is? If so then it would be best to use shorter, wider pan-like containers...

I see your point on the tires...I probably won't go with that method as I don't have many tires laying around but I thought it was a cool idea!

So, I am a crazy thinker and always come up with new ideas many of which would definitely NOT work XD (gardening, animals, all kinds of things) Anyway, I just had a new idea and wanted to know what y'all thought; How about if I had manure (easy to come by for me with chickens, RABBITS, turkeys, quail, ducks, and cows) in the container! I know it's good to fertilize out in the open but what about if you used it in a container? Would it be too strong and kill the plant and/or make the taters taste funny or would they flourish and I'd have WAY more potatoes in the same amount of space?


Thanks again everybody!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Potatoes grow above the seed potato more than beside it. You need to go up some.

Manure can cause scab on potatoes. I use compost but not manure.

 

[Carol Dee]

@Jesus Freak from eastern Iowa where the Mississippi runs east to west.

 

[Smart Red]

Welcome to the gang! Glad to have you growing with us.

I am with Ridgerunner when I plant potatoes (and tomatoes) here in South-est, central-est Wisconsin. After prepping the soil, I cover the bed with brown grocery bags, cut X shaped slits in them and poke a spud (or tomato plant) into the holes. Then I cover the whole bed with straw to keep the paper bags from flying away.

This keeps the weeds down and the moisture levels high. I find seldom need to add additional water to our normal rainfalls with this method. It also means there's no reason to hill the plants -- no sun gets to the spuds to green them up.

Eager to exchange gardening techniques and ideas with you.

 

[Smart Red]

Manure is a magical, wonderful thing, but too much manure can ruin your garden faster than no manure. A container of only or mostly manure would cause scab on potatoes, and probably weaken your potato vines rather than strengthen them. As with too much manure and many veggies, there is a tendency for the plant to either burn and stunt or go flush with lush leaf growth and produce no fruit or tubers.

 

[ducks4you]

from Illinois!!
Potatoes are fun to grow and not really difficult.

 

[aftermidnight]

From Vancouver Island a great big ,

Annette

 

[valley ranch]

Greetings, Any friend of Husus BaBa is a friend. Sure, come on in, haven't been here that long myself. I'll be watching for you.

Potatoes, I took the door off an old refrigerator, laid it on its back, filled it with soil, after drilling holes in the back and sides, just a few inches of soil on the bottom, as the plants grew I put more soil covering all but the top few leaves. Repeated until just below the top edge. Use soft mulchy soil and you can pull the plants out and tip it over when harvesting if you want.

Any who, we'll talk more.

Richard