Does anybody have experience of growing potatoes in containers?

I grew some last year very successfully in an old galvanized dustbin. Just filled it with soil and compost mixed. End of March popped the seed spuds in and about mid June (I think then) had some beautiful home grown new potatoes. The only thing I did was tomato food once a week. You can do the old black compost bag trick for the same result I think. The main thing is not to let light get to them or you have green (poisonous) taties.

John.

i bought about 15 pop up waste paper bins from the pound shop, put holes in the base and some in the side to let out water, then couple of inches of compost then two seed potatoes, as the plant grows every 5 inches or so cover it over with compost keep doing this till it reaches the top of the container then let the plant grow until it flowers then tip it into a wheelbarrow and pick spuds yields last year from Maris peers and pipers were two to four pounds per container, same containers are good to go this year again. As Sarraceniac says some food and water and thats it.

If you plant now they must have some heat. My best results came from 1 seed potato in a 12 inch pot. No earlier than the beginning of March in a cold greenhouse.
As John says feed with a tomato fertiliser once a week when the first leaves show, Your worst enemy will be greenfly. You can put them outside at the end of April covering at night when frost is forecast. This is for the South.

Try this trick.

1. You need a few old tyres.
2. Fill a tyre at ground level with good friable soil and plant a couple of seed potatoes.
3, As the plants grow put the next tyre over the first and gradually fill it as the potato plant grows.
4. Continue this for about 3 - 4 tyres or more and then you'll end up with a barrel full of potatoes.

Have not tried this myself but a "gun" vegetable grower from Mt. Gambier told me about this "trick".

Hi Jeremy, thank you for your idea.

This is often used here for putting bedding plants in for the summer. Marge.

I use an empty compost bag rolled down to about 12in high. as the potatoes grow i unroll the bag 2ins and top up with soil/compost. I often have empty bags by march when i start my pots off. cheap and cheerful

Hi Seaburngirl. Thanks for the info. We will have lots of compost bags we can use shortly! Our compost bin compost has not gone very far, we shall have to go and buy some, just waiting for weather to warm up a bit.

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