Marianne's Response

New potato container idea

I am attempting a new idea for my potato crop this year. The usual way does not give me very many potatoes and the ones I do get are usually quite small.
I do all of my gardening in totes and this year is no exception. With this on difference. I planted my seed potatoes in the totes as usual and now the plants have sprouted, I am cutting the bottoms out of several 5 gallon pails.
I place these over the plants and cover the plants with more soil. So far, 3 of the plants have died but 2 are still growing well. I also have new plants that will get the 5 gallon bucket treatment as well.
I do have a couple of photos to share once I get them onto this desktop pc. I am simply looking for your thoughts and possible ideas on my idea.
Thanks, William Henderson

Posted by William Henderson on May 2, 2025

Marianne's Response

  First congrats on being inventive and experimenting and sharing what you learn. Gardening is an adventure. I do think you are on the right track as growing potatoes vertically will give you a better yield. My suggestion is to use a larger container such as a large trash turned upside down with the top cut off. This way as the potatoes sprout you keep adding soil and just barely covering the new growth. The plants that have died may have been covered by soil too soon as the starts need sunlight to make roots and fruit.  A 5-gallon tote just seem too small to use on potatoes. Think a 25-gallon garbage can or larger.  I have not seen the images yet that you mentioned sending but will watch for them. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti

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