Growing potatoes within containers instead of in the ground have various advantages. One of the most significant advantages is that it is easier to protect your plants from pests that always love eating them.
Container potatoes are a nice hobby for kids to do as well. The plants develop quickly and generate a very good yield within the amount of space they take up. The only true disadvantage of growing potatoes within containers is that you must be more careful with watering because container soil may dry out faster than ground soil.
It is critical to keep the soil moist, however, not soggy. You should have a plentiful potato harvest if you check your soil moisture frequently and water deeply.
The potato origins slowly evolved in the highlands between Bolivia and Peru. Humans reached there around 15,000 years ago.
10 tips to grow potatoes within pots
- Choose the right type of seed potato
- Take time for preparing your seed potatoes
- Pick a certain sunny location
- Pick the suitable pot
- Start your potatoes always off right
- Keep your soil moist
- Fertilize every 2 weeks
- Hill will be needed for encouraging growth
- Begin harvesting after your flowers have bloomed
- Complete your final harvesting after plants have already yellowed
Where you should grow potatoes within a container
The optimal conditions for potato growing within containers are full sun with 6 – 8 hours of light with ambient temperatures of roughly 60° F (16° C). You might want to plant potatoes on your deck so that you can get the tiniest young potatoes quickly.
How you can grow potatoes within a container?
After all threat of frost has gone, plant your potatoes. Mix a handful of fertilizer into a free-draining soil mixture. Fill your container with the previously soaked media to a depth of 4 inches.
Seed potatoes must be cut into 2” slices with multiple eyes. Plant your chunks 5” – 7” apart, with 3” of moist soil between them. Cover your container potatoes with extra soil after they reach 7” in height, and cover little plants until the bag is full.
Common problems that you might face
- Failure to emerge
Purchasing high-quality seed potatoes and planting them with 4”- 6” of warm soil will yield shoots within a few weeks. Chemical compounds that impede the sprouting process are commonly present in store-bought potatoes, preventing them from growing shoots.
- Holes in leaves/tubers
Potatoes and potato leaves are eaten by a variety of worms and parasites. These problems can be avoided by cleaning pots with water with soap and using new potting soil every year. Keep your container garden isolated from any other gardens or open soil areas to avoid bugs from spreading.
- Green tops with no tubers
During tuber production, if the weather is excessively warm–especially at night–fewer potatoes will form. Shifting the pots out of sunlight and into a certain cool, shady place during the late afternoon, then returning during the morning will help drop the overnight soil temperature and boost tuber growth.