lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on Mar 19, 2015 13:04:14 GMT -5
OK: never grown potatoes before, but after reading through some of the posts here, I'm inspired to try growing some in containers. So here's my though: I have several 35-gallon garbage cans (plastic) which have never been used for anything; if I were to fill them about half full of mulch, then layer in about 12 inches of good soil and plant potatoes, would they make it? I know that I will need to cover them with more mulch in order to reduce the light. Just asking, here .... I have NO idea what I'm doing!
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Post by spacecase0 on Mar 19, 2015 16:00:31 GMT -5
you have to have drainage in any container you plant them in so make sure you have holes in the bottom
planting them in mulch works great I usually put 6 to 12 inches of rotting leaves over the top of them if I have good soil I will put it below the rotting leaves
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Post by paquebot on Mar 19, 2015 20:36:56 GMT -5
You want to use mulch at the bottom just as a filler. If organic matter, it's going to break down from the watering and compact from the weight of the soil. That's no problem since you'll also be using mulch above and can easily add more as the lower layer collapses. For planting, you'll want to just barely press the seed pieces into the soil and immediately cover them with a foot of your mulch. It will be awhile before there is green peeking through but then you have an option to add more mulch even if it means covering up those first leaves. The stems will keep right on growing up through it. As the previous reply, drainage is a must since potatoes do not like wet feet.
Martin
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on Mar 26, 2015 10:48:45 GMT -5
Got them planted yesterday -- nothing fancy, just Yukon Gold and Appalachian Blue bought at Lowe's. The picture attached is not my container, but I did two just like it, 1/3 bottom-filled with pine bark mulch for drainage, 1/3 middle filled with good compost/soil mix, and top 1/3 left for adding more mulch as needed. Fingers crossed!
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on Apr 18, 2015 7:33:08 GMT -5
Potatoes are around 6 inches high now, so I plan to cover them, later today, with a layer of either wheat straw or yard leaves. So far, things are looking good.
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Post by paulf on Apr 18, 2015 12:23:38 GMT -5
Tried the garbage can method and it would have worked except it was a dry year and I forgot to water the garbage can often enough. Disaster. Today the garden club I go to every once in a while is working with 4-H kids in the area starting a trash bag potato garden. Same idea as garbage can but using trash bags instead.
I am out of the potato growing mode since I have a brother-in-law who plant about an acre of potatoes using a tractor for planting and for harvest. We get more spuds than we can eat so why waste valuable tomato and watermelon space.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 18, 2015 23:00:51 GMT -5
I think that your system is a winner. Pine bark mulch will retain moisture and that's where the roots will go to look for it. (I assume that there are drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.) Good compost and soil mix for the plants to feed on sound good and there should be enough of it. Normally should not let the stems get more than 3" but keep adding mulch until the stems are almost to the top. If straw or leaves are used, shred them and then keep them damp. If stolons are produced within that zone, just one day of being dry may be enough to stop it from further development. Now we will all await the day when you dump them and show us the results.
Martin
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