Potato bags

[ScottBakula]

Has anyone had any luck in using the bags that you can grow spuds in ?
Is there a type / brand you would recommend?
I only have a very small paved back yard but I'd like to try growing some spuds but I don't have a clue where to start.
Do I need particular spuds or will any ( that are starting to sprout ) grow into more ?
What kind of time line am I looking at ?
Any tips and advice would be much appreciated

I've grown potatoes in a sack, and it was OK but you get a smaller crop IME.
You could grow a regular potato, but ideally look for seed potatoes. I like waxy potatoes. Timeline is about 3 months.
Grow Potatoes in Pots: Beginner’s Trick for a Bumper Crop

Buy potato - second early, Scottish basic seed potato potato Charlotte: £2.62 Delivery by Crocus
Seed Potatoes | Buy Potato Tubers Online | Suttons

I’ve used them, they don’t produce as much yield as ground planting, but if you want smaller potatoes they’re pretty good. I was given some Jazzy chitted potatoes after I’d planted up my bed. I’ve put the, 3 in each, bags and they’re healthy and will be ready soon.
I have also used pot bags for some beans where they will climb up a frame.

Thankyou both for the tips , the smaller crop is a bit of a shame but I don't have a garden so bags it is .

@UpMyself that link is great I really like it when the expert explains things nice and straightforward.

@Beebumble2 ooh green beans too , that's a great idea thankyou.

@ScottBakula , get several bags. You should get a decent crop as long as you don't put too many seeds in each one, earth up when you need to, and water regularly.

They'll taste better than shop ones.

The bags don't last well - just a couple of years -and I suspect generate a lot of.microplastics as theblining crumbles. A hessian sack or cardboard box will do the same job for 1 year, or use a large solid pot as a permanent version.

Or if you're buying compost to fill the containers with, you can just punch a few holes in each end of the compost bag, cut it in half, stand each half on it's end, and grow directly in there

Plant 1 - 3 potatoes per container and keep them well watered.

You're rather late for this season - they usualy go in around April. But if you have somewhere to jeep them frost free you could plant next month for a crop.of new potatoes for Xmas. They take around 100 - 120 days from planting.

Mine lasted a few years, but I agree about them crumbling. Far better to reuse a compost bag. It is late, Good Friday is usually the ideal time,but it's worth a try.

The first time I grew potatoes was in bags, they were a Xmas gift from my sister. I had more spuds than bags so I planted the extra in the bags the compost came in (cut the top off to open it up, holes in the base for drainage) there wasn't much difference in yield as i remember. This year I'm trying out solid 30l plastic buckets that I got for my birthday from Oakland gardening. Much easier to move round. The original bags degraded and I binned them but some felted ones from b&q are still going strong. I've found if it'll hold dirt and has drainage you can grow something in it. Currently using an old suitcase as a make-do raised bed.

Thank you also so much for your tips , I think since I have left it rather late I will use compost bags this year, I had know idea this was possible ( told you I was clueless ! 😃 ) .
@lcakethereforeIam , that's a great idea to use a old suite case .
It's amazing what can be adapted isn't it.

@ScottBakula ,get something like a salad mix or herbs and grow them in a container. You'll be amazed.

Ooh that's a good idea , I buy bags of salad leaves quite often for work lunches.

It's not too late to start spuds. Although getting the seed potatoes might be hard. I think they're more prone to blight at this time of year so you're supposed to grow a resistant variety. I'm thinking of planting some radishes tomorrow. They could do well in a grow bag. And some sugarsnap peas, for a succession planting. I've got the seeds, might as well use theml

Ok I have another question , earthing up , = adding a layer of soil once the shoot are poking through the original layer of soil , is that right?
If that's the case how tall should the shoots be when I earth up ?
Do I completely cover the shoots or leave a bit poking out ?

@lcakethereforeIam I haven't had raddishs for ages, I really fancy o e now !

In February this year I went to a Potato Day () run by an allotment society. It was, to me, surprisingly popular. Although the prices weren't much different they sold loads of different varieties of seed potatoes. I ran a bit amok and got four types (and some shallots). I'd got these buckets to fill up. Anyway I decided i cba with earthing up (there's a Welsh YouTuber, Simplify Gardening(?) who cba either) so i just filled the buckets to the top and waited nervously. They all sprouted and have grown apparently healthily. I'm not sure if this is recommended for all potato types. I don't think it matters much between 1st earlies, 2nd earliest or main crop but it might between determinate and indeterminate (which I only discovered was a potato thing this year!). Determinate grow the new tubers in a single layer while indeterminate grow them willy-nilly. Or it's the other way round 🤷

I think earthing up is to stop the new tubers being exposed to the sun and turning green. If there's another reason I'd love to know. The spud shoots grow fast, when I used to earth them up they'd often already be growing over the top of the bags even with the sides rolled right up but they didn't seem to mind even if I completely buried them.

I've taken to mixing sand with at least the bottom layer of compost to improve drainage. Some types of compost seem to hold far too much water and one year most of the new tubers had rotted and stank. It wasn't overwatering or poor drainage it was just the nature of the growing medium it was literally like a sponge, bone dry at the top but almost anaerobic at the base.

Eta I'm not that keen on radishes but I've got a rainbow seed mix, red, violet, pink white and yellow 😍 and I can pickle them...if they grow.

I bought one of these this year - recommended by a friend and looks a bit tidier than an old sack or box! I did find myself thinnking 'how many bags of potatoes could I have bought for £12 though!

https://www.homebase.co.uk/en-uk/clever-pots-potato-growing-charcoal-plant-pot-40cm/p/0487695

They need much more water than you think so do water well.
Before frost risk has passed I completely cover when I earth up, but now I leave leaves poking out as long as stem is mostly covered.

@lcakethereforeIam , potatoes day ! What ever next 😀.
It sounds like a interesting kind of thing tho.
I quite like the idea of willy nilly spuds , if I get two gro bags I may try both ways at the same time just to see what happens.

Drainage may be a issue tho , if I am just going to use compost bags I can see the compost getting compacted at the bottom of the bag.
So if I empty the compost out , add some sand and gravel and put the compost back it that should do the trick hopefully ( they will be stood on a metal table that's got holes in it )

@FeelingSoDizzy , I like the look of them pots but your right they are not cheap , that with the cost of the compost , seeds spuds , plant food ect its going to cost me £50 + for ( hopefully) a pound or two of spuds . 😮

@Strollingby , let's hope we don't get any early frost , I have a large sheet of heavy plastic that could be made into a lean to type shelter if needed.

Mix the sand/gravel into the compost or it may still get compacted and waterlogged above the drainage layer.

I wanted to updated this thread .
I planted some shop bought spuds that were starting to root and some proper seed spuds
Tbh they got very little attention from me apart from watering them when we had some very hot weather.
I intended to leave them until Christmas but the plants suddenly started dying off so I decided to dig them up .
This is the result, most of them are about the size of a hazelnut but there is a couple of bigger ones.
4 of the biggest were rotten tho 😕 .
But I have about 1lb of nice ( if small ) ones .

Thanks for the update. They look good.

We harvested our last lot today! Grown in bags that we picked up (new) from a charity shop. I say go for it, but I would buy seed potatoes .

The large rotten ones are probably the ones you originally planted.