Potatoes in a Bag

Manda_Rae

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So this is my first year trying to grow potatoes. I did a layer let them grow added more dirt and now they look like this should i add more dirt?
I have a ton more potato seeds that were gifted to us and I want to get it right LOL
 

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heirloomgal

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Plants are looking great! I would keep adding dirt, until you are no longer able to but can still water them well and without difficulty. I would be careful to not allow them to dry out too much in a grow bag or pot since potatoes that get dry and then get a lot of water will develop black heart.
 

Manda_Rae

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Plants are looking great! I would keep adding dirt, until you are no longer able to but can still water them well and without difficulty. I would be careful to not allow them to dry out too much in a grow bag or pot since potatoes that get dry and then get a lot of water will develop black heart.
Thank you! I'll keep an eye on that!
 

ducks4you

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Covering your potatoes will keep them from turning green. They SAY that green potatoes are toxic, certainly not healthy, but I understand many gardeners love growing potatoes in bags.
May become a habit for you. :)
Btw, your bags are designed to last for years, but in a pinch, if you have a damaged or stained cloth reusable shopping bag, you can use them to plant potatoes/other stuff in.
They will last at least One season. Just FYI.
 

Manda_Rae

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Covering your potatoes will keep them from turning green. They SAY that green potatoes are toxic, certainly not healthy, but I understand many gardeners love growing potatoes in bags.
May become a habit for you. :)
Btw, your bags are designed to last for years, but in a pinch, if you have a damaged or stained cloth reusable shopping bag, you can use them to plant potatoes/other stuff in.
They will last at least One season. Just FYI.
I also saw a video where someone used old Chicken Feed bags.
These weren't terribly expensive and they have a little side hatch to harvest potatoes without pulling the whole plant.
The 5 gallon bucket was a last minute tester since I only had 2 little seed potatoes left and wanted to test both out.
 

Dahlia

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So this is my first year trying to grow potatoes. I did a layer let them grow added more dirt and now they look like this should i add more dirt?
I have a ton more potato seeds that were gifted to us and I want to get it right LOL
Looks great! I learned a super easy potato growing method this week. It's a no dig, no water method.
You basically put old straw down on the ground in the fall - even on top of grass. Then you wait for spring and scatter your seed potatoes on top of the straw you put down. Cover with more old straw, then sit back and make up potato recipes! 😊 You can add more straw as your potatoes get taller. This method came from a woman who lives in Canada. I imagine it would work anywhere that got lots of rain.
 

flowerbug

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i can't imagine just plain straw having enough nutrients of itself so there must be some kind of other compost or garden dirt being available to those potato plant roots. i do know it is possible to do this but i've not done it myself.

@AMKuska do you think they got too hot or too dried out? i think with further south growing you'd have to be careful to have enough thermal mass or perhaps shade on the bag somehow for it to be stable enough or to prevent cooking the plants.
 

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