Growing potatoes in containers can be done in a simple 18″ or 45cm wide vessel made of plastic, wood, metal or any other befitting material. Fill the container with some suitable soil and plant your potatoes whole or in chunks, water thoroughly and you can look forward to a good harvest in 80 to 90 days.
Container potato growing is particularly attractive because it does not demand big amounts of space. Individuals living in small spaces such as urban apartments can easily become successful balcony potato growers using simple bags or other such containers.
Furthermore, one of the key requirements of growing potatoes in the ground is crop rotation to help better control diseases. Growing potatoes in containers removes this requirement. All that would be required is to dispose of the container after a season or two or clean it up thoroughly before reuse. This is a very significant advantage of containers over ground planting of potatoes.
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What to consider when growing potatoes in containers
Potato variety
There are over 200 potato varieties available to grow. Each of these varieties have their own advantages and disadvantages. These pros and cons primarily relate to growing conditions, disease resistance as well as culinary application in recipes. For detailed insight, here is a helpful guide explaining the different potato types.
For container growing, potato varieties that are small to medium size when mature are desirable taking into account the container size to be used. Furthermore, the time it takes for the desired variety to reach maturity may not be ignored. Generally, potatoes require 3 months to be ready for harvest. However, some varieties may take longer.
Timing
Timing is also a worthy factor to be considered. Potatoes thrive in cool climates and have a much lower tolerance for frost. If the plan is to locate the containers outside, this cannot be in winter. Potatoes demand plenty of sun.
In addition, the potato growing season is divided into three. There are the first earlies, second earlies and maincrop growing windows in the season. These windows simply refer to how long it will take between planting and harvesting of the potatoes.
First earlies potatoes are planted early on in the season and take 10 weeks to mature. Second earlies take 13 to 15 weeks while the maincrop takes up to 20 weeks to mature. These times are brought about by changing weather conditions during the season.
Container type
Yet another consideration is container type. By container, we really mean any suitable vessel that can hold soil and grow things in it. In our experience, virtually any container type will work to grow potatoes from buckets to sacks. The popularity of growing potatoes in containers has resulted in commercially available and professionally made growing pots. Below is an example as available on Amazon.
Keep in mind that, while desirable, these are just options. Without these, the show would not stop. All that is needed is a repurposed 18″ or 45cm wide pot or container and the show continues.
Soil
Finally, the growing medium of the potatoes should also be considered. As a matter of fact, potatoes can grow in just about any type of soil. That said, the ideal soil to put in pots or containers for potatoes would be well-drained, loamy soils that are not too heavy. This is one of the reasons why clay is bad for growing potatoes in the ground or in containers. Where there is too much clay, this can be mixed with sand to achieve suitable soil.
As an alternative, in the absence of suitable naturally occurring soils, commercially available potting mixes can be used to grow potatoes in containers. Here is a good range available online. These types of mixes are designed to retain good enough water and nutrients for the potatoes to thrive
How to practically grow potatoes in pots or containers
To complete the picture, using a few illustrations, we now turn to the actual steps to take when growing potatoes in containers.
Prepare potato “seed”
It has been asked – Can I grow potatoes from store bought potatoes? The answer to this question is a big YES. Potatoes basically grow from other potatoes. That is the potato “seed”. This can be purchased specifically for this purpose or simply gathered from existing potatoes bought from the store.
What is important, however, is that the chosen potato variety should have eyes which start “sprouting” as shown here. Some store bought potatoes are chemically treated to discourage the sprouting. This is done for longer shelf life. The potatoes will not sprout. To avoid this, purchase organic potatoes or those that have not been chemically treated.
Sit the seed potatoes in a dry place with light. For the individual small scale home grower, this can be as simple as sitting them on the kitchen window seal for a period of time. Once they start shooting as shown here, cut off chunks for planting.
Prepare the growing container
The next step is to prepare the growing container. This is a regular 20 liter or 5 gallon bucket. The alternative is to use these ready made potato pots. Whichever route taken, the same result will be achieved. The handle on this particular container is handy when moving the pot around, say when following the sun or something of that sort.
Any container used for growing potatoes must have good enough drainage. If the container does not have drainage already, invert it and drill 10-12mm holes as shown here. These holes are important for removing excess water so the potatoes are not water-logged.
Fill growing container with suitable soil
Once the pot is ready with drainage holes, the next step is to fill it with loose debris which is porous. This prevents the soil from directly making contact with the holes which could clog them. Charcoal could also be used in place of some kind of debris or small stones.
The next step in preparing the potato growing container is to put a layer of soil on top of the loose debris. The goal is to fill up to 3/4 of the container with the soil. This can be a potting mix depending on the medium chosen. The picture above shows how the filled container would finally look.
The next stage is to dig a shallow hole in the middle of the container and placing the potato “seed” which are the sprouted chunks.
Cover with soil and proceed to generously water the pot. Watering should continue until some water starts draining through the bottom of the container.
Two weeks after planting potatoes in the container
This is how the container looks some two weeks after planting the potatoes. The potatoes are making very good progress at this stage. Everything is right. The season is right, the soil is right, the sunlight is right and the watering is just right done at every other day. Watering frequency may be increased if the outside conditions such as increased heat which dries the pot call for this.
Four weeks after planting potatoes in the container
This is how the potato container looks like 4 weeks later. At this stage, the potatoes have another 8 weeks to full maturity. More soil can be added to the container especially when the potato plant starts growing over the top of the pot.
Six weeks after planting potatoes in the container
This is how the potato plant growing in the container would look at about six weeks since planting. The plant looks very healthy and is thriving. From this point on, continue watering the pot, monitoring and weeding the pot as needed.
Growing potatoes in containers has the extra advantage of easy weeding. It is manageable and highly targeted as compared to a big garden in the ground.
When to harvest potatoes grown in containers
Another commonly asked question is – How long do potatoes take to grow in containers? As mentioned earlier, potatoes take 80 to 90 days to reach maturity. The first and foremost sign that there are tubers in the ground are the flowers.
However, flowers alone are not the answer to when to harvest container grown potatoes. It is highly likely that harvesting potatoes at the first sight of flowers will reveal very small tubers, with tender skin. The right way to harvest potatoes in containers or grown in the ground is to wait for the flowers to die and for the potato plant itself to look as good as dead. The leaves turn yellow and then brown while at the same time the plant is looking weak and lousy.
This is understandably counterintuitive but in fact produces the best results. After the potato plant is as good as dead, the tubers would have absorbed all the energy and grown in size and fully become mature. This is the time to harvest.
Unless one is deliberately looking to harvest baby potatoes, the ideal time to harvest container grown potatoes and ground grown potatoes alike is two weeks to a month after the appearance of flowers. Here is an insightful article we prepared on harvesting potatoes.
Conclusion
As demonstrated, growing potatoes in containers is fairly simple and straight-forward. It can be successfully done even by a greenhorn grower who has never grown anything before. Take note of all the considerations discussed, the practical steps presented and when to harvest the potatoes. Enjoy the process!
