Is digging your garden a tedious activity?. You can grow potatoes in bags in a small space and don’t have to dig the garden.
Well-known for the production of potatoes in the urban gardens and terraces, growing potatoes in bags can be very useful in areas characterized by scarcity of water and arable land.
Brief history
The cultivated potato, Solanum tuberosum, ultimately traces its origin to Andean and Chilean landraces developed by pre-Colombian cultivators.
It arrived in Europe sometime before the end of the 16th century by two different ports of entry: the first in Spain and the second via the British isles.
Potatoes entered Africa with colonists, who consumed them as a vegetable.
Successful growing of potatoes in bags
Prepare the bags and plant potatoes as follows:
- Open up the reusable shopping bag and fold the top 4-6 inches so that it is easier to reach the bottom.
- Lay a plastic sheet or cover on the floor under the shopping as bag is porous.
- Layer the bottom with leaf waste, about 5 inches.
- Fill the bottom of your bag with about four inches of potting soil.
- Cut the potatoes into pieces so that each piece has at least two eyes. Lay three or four pieces of the potato with the eyes facing up.
- Place potatoes or potato eyes or pieces an equal distance apart.
- Add another layer of leaves, or other organic mulching material.
- Add a final layer of soil. About 10 inches all totaled is fine.
Watering and location
Water lightly. Continue to water the bag so that the soil is moist, but not soaking wet.
Do not over-water, as this will cause the potatoes to rot before they can sprout.
Within two weeks, leaves will sprout and grow quickly.
It is important that the potato bag be placed in a sunny, warm spot, or under strong lights.
Watch for signs of over-watering, such as stunted and curled foliage. If that happens, water less often.
Hilling of potatoes
- When the leaves are six inches high, it is time to ‘hill’ the potatoes. Lightly pack soil mixed
with a little compost around the leaves and stems until only about three inches of foliage is showing. - Allow the potatoes to grow for another week or until they are six inches high once again. Then hill the potatoes again, by packing more soil around the stems.
- Continue hilling every six inches of growth until the soil reaches the top of the bag. After that, let potatoes grow.
How to harvest potatoes from bags
Potatoes will mature within three to four months.
The leaves will begin to turn yellow, and the plant will appear ill, but it’s just reaching the end of its life cycle. Once the tops have died back, you can harvest the potatoes.
Carefully dump the soil in the bag onto the plastic sheet, and search through it to remove potatoes.
Brush soil from the potatoes.
Do not wash harvested potatoes as it may never fully dry, leading to rot.
Leave potatoes in a warm, dry environment for a few days to “cure” them, then store in a cool, dark location.
Do not harvest or eat green potatoes. They have a bitter taste and contain a mild toxin that can irritate the stomach.
Finally
Most potatoes in the grocery store have already been sprayed with a chemical that keeps the potatoes from sprouting.
So if you are buying your seed potatoes at the store, ensure you buy organic ones.
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