Growing Potatoes In Containers & Pots (2024)

FAQs

How many potatoes can I plant in a container? ›

Plant: Plant one seed potato for each 3 gallons of Smart Pot container. For the #15 container, for example, plant 5 seed potatoes. For the #10 container, plant 3 or 4 seed potatoes.

Potatoes, usually spaced 10 inches apart, can be crowded a bit (but only a bit) when planted in containers. A pot with a 14-inch diameter at the bottom will have plenty of room for three starts. The deeper the pot, the better, but it should be at least 15 inches deep.

Potatoes grow surprisingly well in a pot. It's the ideal way of growing them if you're short on space – you can even grow them on a patio or balcony. Growing potatoes in pots is especially suited to first early and second early potatoes, which grow fast and are at a premium in the shops.

Potato Container Garden

The potatoes should mature in 70 to 90 days. You can also choose a variety from the supermarket that you enjoy. Be aware that some potatoes take 120 days until harvest, so you need a long growing season for these types of potatoes.

You can plant five seed potatoes into a 10-gallon bucket and about three into a 7-gallon. If you've only got 5-gallon buckets, plan on using only two potatoes.

How often do you water potatoes in a bucket or a bag? Do not let the soil dry out when growing potatoes. During hot and dry summer days, potato plants should be watered once every 2 to 3 days. During cooler days with rainfall, potatoes may not need watering at all.

They thrive in full sun, but care should be taken not to allow crops of potatoes to overheat with too much direct sunlight when planted in containers. Adding mulch to your garden or container at the end of the hilling process can help the soil retain moisture.

Potatoes grown directly into the ground will provide a better yield by weight than those grown in containers.

General Advice. Potatoes always do best in full sun. They are aggressively rooting plants, and we find that they will produce the best crop when planted in a light, loose, well-drained soil. Potatoes prefer a slightly acid soil with a PH of 5.0 to 7.0.

Place the container in full sun. Fill the container with about 4 to 6 inches of potting soil that has been blended with compost and fertilizer. Place the prepared seed potato pieces onto the potting mix with the eye buds facing up. The plants will grow fairly large, so make sure to give them some breathing room.

What to feed potatoes in containers? ›

Every two weeks, starting from the first week in May to the first week in September, feed your potato plants with tomato feed according to the pack instructions. If you use general purpose feed it will encourage too much foliage growth; tomato feed however will encourage potato tuber growth.

Types of Potatoes Ideal for Growing in Containers

Some early potato varieties include Chieftain, Dark Red Norland, Irish Cobbler, Sangre, Red Gold, and Yukon Gold. Fingerling potatoes varieties are also suitable for growing in containers.

When to Plant Potatoes. Potatoes grow best during cooler weather. Plant potatoes 2-4 weeks before the last frost in the spring, when the soil temperature is at least 40 degrees F. In warm climates, potatoes are planted from January to March and harvested between March and June.

One pound of seed potatoes yields about 8 to 10 seed pieces for planting. That's enough for a 10 foot long row if the pieces are spaced 12 inches apart.

When the potatoes have sprouted and grown foliage about 8” tall, you should begin “hilling” the plants by mounding the fluffy soil on either side of the trenches up around the stems of the plants. As long as there is some foliage sticking out they'll keep growing, and the more you hill, the more potatoes you'll get.

Potato plants should be “hilled” when the plants are 8 to 12 inches tall (Figure 7). Figure 7: When the plants are 8-12 inches tall they should be hilled to keep tubers covered and prevent greening. Mound the soil to a height of 3 to 6 inches and approximately 12 to 15 inches from the base of the plant.

Generally, potatoes need between 1-2 inches of water per week; this could be provided by rain events or you to make up the difference.

Fertilizing Potatoes - Do They Need It?? Yes, fertilizing potatoes 2 weeks after planting them in your garden is generally a good idea. It gives them the energy they need to grow large, well developed spuds. Choose a fertilizer with potassium and phosphate levels that are higher than nitrogen levels.

Most early potato varieties will produce flowers in June, quite pretty ones too. Many are white, but they come in purple and pink too. Once the flowers start to go over, or the unopened flower buds drop, you know that the potatoes are ready to harvest. This will take anywhere from eight to twelve weeks after planting.

A single plant will produce, at a minimum, three or four pounds of potatoes, and a single seed potato will produce four or five plants.

What do I add to soil when planting potatoes? ›

Prepare the soil by adding compost or well-rotted cow manure. Potatoes like a rich, but well-drained soil, so do not plant below ground level or where water gathers in winter. Plant your potatoes about 10cm deep and 30cm apart. Leave about 80cm between each row.

Potatoes are members of the nightshade family, so avoid planting potatoes near any other nightshade family members such as peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, and okra. And, avoid planting potatoes is the same location where nightshade plants have recently been grown.

Plant your potato sprouts.

Potato sprouts should be planted cut-side down, sprout-side facing up. You'll want to plant each sprout 3-4″ below the surface of the soil. Plants should be spaced out at least 12″ apart so the plants have room to grow both below and above ground.

All potato varieties can be harvested as new potatoes — dug up before the plant reaches maturity, while its tubers are still small. By the time that the plants have begun to flower, most of them will have developed at least some immature tubers ready for harvest.

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an herbaceous annual that grows up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall. As the potato plant grows, its compound leaves manufacture starch that is transferred to the ends of its underground stems (or stolons). The stems thicken to form a few or as many as 20 tubers close to the soil surface.

Potatoes grow best in well-drained, sandy soil. A poorly drained soil is more likely to produce diseased tubers.

First / second earlies which we recommend for boiling as new potatoes include Arran Pilot, Jazzy, Nicola, Charlotte, Lady Christl, Vitabella and Anya.

You can plant between 5 and 7 potato seeds in a 20-gallon bag. Each seed can yield you from 3 to 6 potatoes depending on how many eyes it has to sprout from.

Cover each potato with about three inches of soil. After a few weeks, the potato plants will begin to sprout. Then you can gently fill the trench with another few inches of soil, leaving the top of the plant exposed. This is called “hilling” and it protects the potatoes from the sun, as well as supports the plant.

Potatoes need 1 to 2 inches of water a week. Too much water right after planting and not enough as the potatoes begin to form can cause them to become misshapen. Stop watering when the foliage begins to turn yellow and die off.

How long does it take for a potato to grow to full size? ›

Now reach into the soil with your hands and pull the tubers up. How long do potatoes take to grow? Small new potatoes can be ready as early as ten weeks. However, full sized potatoes take about 80-100 days to reach maturity.

To feed a family of four, start off by planting 40 potato plants. This will provide you with a potato based meal 2 to 3 times a week. The 40 plants will provide up to 6 months worth of meals. If you find 40 plants provides you with too many potatoes you can plant less next year.

In theory, at least, you could grow potatoes in the same place each year. However, some potato diseases are soil-borne, and survive underground for many years, infecting plants again and again. As such, it is best to plant potatoes, and their close relatives, in the same place every 4 to 5 years.

Dig potatoes too early, and you'll harvest a measly crop of minuscule tubers. You'll also risk stressing the plant and its precious root system, so although you could try replanting it, the plant might not thrive. Wait too long, and your potatoes may get damaged by frost, or begin to sprout, crack or rot underground.

Can you eat potatoes right after harvest? Sure can! While we recommend curing them for long-term storage, freshly-dug potatoes are perfect for eating right out of the ground (maybe clean them off a bit first).

First earlies – such as the Yukon Gold (which I'm planting here), take around 10-12 weeks. Second earlies – like Kennebec or French fingerling potatoes, take approximately 12-14 weeks. And finally, main crop potatoes – these include russets and blue potatoes, and these can take up to 20 weeks to grow.

A deep container is ideal for growing potatoes year-round, particularly early potato varieties. Drainage will be helped by adding some material such as a pot, broken brick or ceramic, or even polystyrene to your container then fill with about 4 inches of soil or medium.

1/4 fill the pot with compost and place the potatoes on top and then cover over with a layer of compost. As the leaves grow keep covering them up with new compost. Remember to water the container when the compost is dry. Keep topping up with compost until the container is full.

Fertilizing is particularly important for potato crops, since they have somewhat high-maintenance nutrient needs. They need to be fertilized four to five times throughout their life cycle, and many farmers and gardeners use a different fertilizer blend each time.

One seed potato will grow one plant which on average will grow 8 to 10 potatoes. Variety, soil fertility, moisture, sunlight, insect damage, disease prevention, planting depth, and distance will all have an effect on the number of potatoes a plant will produce.

Do you cut potatoes in half to plant them? ›

Cut them in half, or if the potatoes are really large, cut them into quarters. Make sure that each chunk of potato has at least one eye, which is a small depression in the surface of the potato where the roots sprout. If you need to cut seed potatoes, it is best to wait at least four to seven days before planting them.

When the potatoes have sprouted and grown foliage about 8” tall, you should begin “hilling” the plants by mounding the fluffy soil on either side of the trenches up around the stems of the plants. As long as there is some foliage sticking out they'll keep growing, and the more you hill, the more potatoes you'll get.

In a normal crop rotation plan, potatoes would only be grown in soil used for a previous potato crop every four years. If you grow potatoes in the same soil more frequently than that you risk them suffering from pests and diseases. So, when growing potatoes in containers always use fresh compost.

Small potatoes can be planted whole, but larger potatoes (bigger than a golf ball) should be quartered with a clean knife ($95, Williams Sonoma) before planting. Make sure each piece includes an eye or bud. To prevent rot, let the pieces dry for a couple of days before planting.