For the second year I have tried the Potatoes in a trash can as instructed by TOFA.
The yield was not worth all the effort. I was hoping for more than about 10 very small spuds. Oh well...
Anybody else try this with better success?
last year using large nursery pots from tree planting and not following the instructions I got about the same.
I have 2 of the Potato planting bags but after I read how much garden soil I Needed I didn't do it.
Deb
even went and bought a bag of sand... mixed it with compost and dirt...
the problem I find with this method is the heating up of the soil much more than it would in the ground without exposure on all sides to air and/or sun.
and ordinary soil with any old compost i have from old pots. I reckon to get about 8-10 lb from each bag. Just drop the starter spud in the bottom cover with soil, as the shoots appear keep topping up with soil till bag is full, when the helms die down slit the bag and harvest. Cheap and easy.
Sussexman
Rty not to make the easy jobs difficul, you have enough trouble with the difficult ones
... burlap or manmade like plastic-something?
I've seen all those tiny spuds that have disappointed others labeled as "gourmet" ... everybody buys those!
I always have a hard time transitioning from Farmers Markets back to grocery stores *yikes* *terrible*
Good proverb at the end there, it's a keeper. ;)
Here's a good one:
There it was, hidden in alphabetical order.
- Rita Holt
:bigsmile:
I wanted to try it, but I saw on a garden blog where someone did 2 trash cans and only got like what looked to be about 5lb of red potatoes. I didn't think it was worth the effort for so little yield. But heck I spent half the summer trying to kill the vine borers that ruined my pumpkin and gourd plants...not one lived to fruit :( I might have been better off to try the potatoes...after all 5lbs is better than nothing!
I just till a row in the grass. Potatoes grow excellant when you rotate them with plain old grass.
and catfood bags (the large plastic/fabric weave kind) is one material thats great for outdoor garden planters. I just rip the bottom and square it up, sewing with fishing line, poke a few holes with my dibble for drainage. I used my own compost and some garden soil and dropped a eyed potato in each of 7. i have not harvested all of them yet but each bag has/had between 15 and 22 big fist size potatoes. i can drag them to sun. i've been doing this for 5 years. and it's always a different potato...i've only ever planted ones that start sprouting from the pantry..never bought seed potatoes
Your a girl after my own heart. I use whatever is at hand and cheap. My bags are plastic and I lay the bag on the ground empty and stab it with a fork a few times for drainage. As for drying out Drew, you are allowed to water you know. Also if you grow the bags togeter in a bunch that will reduce heat loss.
