How to grow Potatoes in a bag: Get the best Potatoes in a bag

Hello Agrohuerters, Has anyone ever said that you can’t grow potatoes on your terrace? Sometimes it happens to some of us that we believe that we cannot have all the plants that we would like in our flowerpot, but there is always a solution. This time we are going to see how to grow potatoes in a bag.

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are native to America and from the same family as the tomato. They are currently a staple in our diet worldwide. In general they are very easy to grow, they adapt quite well to almost any type of soil.

How to grow potatoes in a bag

To be able to have your mini garden of potatoes in a bag, follow these simple steps:

bags

The first thing to do is choose the container in which we want to have the potatoes. This can be a large raffia or plastic bag from the supermarket, a garbage bag, the large ikea bags are also a good option. If, on the other hand, you want to follow a traditional line, you can also use a deep planter.

The advantage of growing potatoes in bags compared to growing in a window box is that you can handle it much better and it is much cheaper than buying a window box of the necessary dimensions for growing this vegetable. Once we have chosen the container, we must make some small holes in the base, for drainage.

We fold the edges of the bag leaving it about 40 cm high from the ground, then we fill it with a small layer of large stones and above this a layer of about 25-30 cm of substrate.

Substratum

It is important that the substrate is already mixed with the fertilizer, when it is introduced. Therefore, choose the ecological fertilizer that you want and mix it well with the substrate; Depending on which fertilizer is the one you have selected, this will be the proportions to be mixed. For example, you can add 40% earthworm humus and 60% substrate (this can also be mixed with perlite or vermiculite to promote drainage).

Sowing

Once we have this layer, we only have to insert the potatoes and bury them with the sprouts facing up, if we see that they are not completely buried we can add a little more substrate. The wider the bag, the more potatoes we can introduce. For a large bag, it is recommended to use 4 to 5 potatoes separated by about 30 cm from each other.

As for the choice of potatoes, those that already have some root are usually used, because the growth process is accelerated a little. If we do not have the potatoes with the root, they can also be used without problems.

When the plant begins to emerge, it will be necessary to add substrate and therefore unroll the edges of the bag. This procedure is called hilling, it basically consists of adding a layer of soil as the plant grows, from the base and covering the ¾ parts of the stem that it has, never having to cover its leaves.

Numerous hilling must be carried out throughout the process, since depending on the variety, its cycle takes from 3 to 6 months to be harvested.

Potato harvest in bag

In the case of growing potatoes in bags, it is very easy to know when to harvest and this is when we already have the bag completely unrolled, the plant is large and the leaves and stems begin to turn yellow. Once this happens, the plant can be left for a couple more weeks, and we can proceed to harvest. Harvesting is done by uprooting or pulling the plant so that it comes out whole with all the potatoes.

Tips for Growing Potatoes in a Bag

• Every time the hilling is done, it is recommended not to compact the substrate too much, it is better to leave something loose, since as we go on hilling from its own weight, the lower layers will be compacted. This will also benefit when harvesting, it will be less expensive.

• It is important to carry out the indications for drainage, since the potato is very susceptible to fungi such as mildew if there is a lot of humidity. One piece of advice is to keep the bag moist and never flood it.
• It is highly recommended to plan this crop to have potatoes throughout the year.
• Before eating the potatoes, let them dry for a few days.
• The potato produces fruits very similar to tomatoes, but they should NOT be consumed, because they are toxic, as are the leaves and stems. You can only take what we know as a potato, which is the tuber.
• You can place a chive plant nearby, because it prevents the potato from diseases and thus you will have two crops.
• Potato plants prefer sun, so it is convenient to leave them in a very bright place.
• I hope you are encouraged to grow your potatoes in the garden with this simple method. If so, do not hesitate to put the photos in comments. Greetings Agrohuerters!