POTATO PLANTER

hi all
im getting back into veggie growing after a few years break,im in the process of making a 3mtr x 1mtr x .5mtr high, raised border for various vegs,it will have a removable plastic top for early season seed growing,i will also be growing tomatoes in grow bagsi also have earmarked a 3mtr x 2 mtr section of garden but that is under 6 inches of concrete so i have got to sort that during the winter,
,now my question is:-
ref potato grow bags,are they any good,and if so can anyone reccomend a good one,

best regards bob

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Permalink Reply by VP on December 3, 2010 at 21:26

They're fine if you're short of growing space, but don't expect much of a crop out of them. It's a very expensive way of growing potatoes even if you can get hold of one for free and just need to buy the compost. You also need to do much more watering compared to in the ground - another added expense if your water's on a meter.

That's my experience - anyone out there had a better result than I have?

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Permalink Reply by Jo on December 4, 2010 at 9:24

You don't have to buy specific bags, just use an old compost bag or similar. I use large buckets which hubby got from work. I've had quite good yields, and one benefit of growing in bags rather than the ground is that there's much less damage to the potatoes. I've had lots of slug damage from those grown on the allotment, but no damage at all from those grown in containers.

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Permalink Reply by VP on December 4, 2010 at 12:05

Thanks for the reminder re no slug damage Jo. I'd also add you don't spear any with your fork when you get them out the bag either as you can just tip them out.

Jo said:

You don't have to buy specific bags, just use an old compost bag or similar. I use large buckets which hubby got from work. I've had quite good yields, and one benefit of growing in bags rather than the ground is that there's much less damage to the potatoes. I've had lots of slug damage from those grown on the allotment, but no damage at all from those grown in containers.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Willetts on December 4, 2010 at 12:31

I used an old compost bag in the greenhouse but had a disappointing crop even though no slugs. I used Swift potatoes, with some grown in the ground for later-they did much better , no slugs around early in the season. I also found it difficult to harvest them-I cut a hole in one corner to see if they were ready-they weren't, so had to use another compost bag to patch it up. Eventually had about 12 potatoes from 2 seed potatoes- got about 20 per plant in the garden.

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Permalink Reply by VP on December 4, 2010 at 12:41

I did a product test vs compost bag potato trial last year which you might like to have a look at. I wrote several articles: the link below is to the final one which also links to the others I wrote along the way.

In the trial the compost bag performed better, but note my remarks re some 'volunteer' spuds in a compost bin on the allotment! These were Sarpo axona which is a much higher yielding variety than the ones I used in my trial. Its blight resistance is amazing but I wouldn't recommend it for eating.

http://vegplotting.blogspot.com/2009/10/product-test-air-pot-result...

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Permalink Reply by The MULLETEER on December 4, 2010 at 14:19

hi all
thank you all very much for your advice and reports,thats just what i wanted,from your experiences it seems a waste of time/effort and expense,for a very small return,im now thinking of using the ground available for tattys/onions/caulis and a courgette,and the raised border for all the rest,with toms and a cucumber in grow bags,im thinking of growing runners in a large pot/bin,i will only need about 8 plants due to the fact its only me and the wife to eat them,and a few for my jack russell alfie who loves his veggies,and freeze the balance,
any advice or comments greatly received,thats the beauty of forums like this,it shortens the learning curve for numptys like me,
once again many thanks,and i look forward to getting to know you all in due course,
best regards bob

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Permalink Reply by Darren Blick on January 8, 2011 at 19:35

Ho Bob, having not read al the replies, I may well be repeating other comments and I have mentioned this in other posts but in case you have missed them, I recommend the following planter

http://www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk/express-shopping-list/potato-plant...

I also like using polypots which I find a lot easier than digging in the ground

http://www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk/express-shopping-list/polypots-p23...