Growing Potatoes in a Bag!

Growing Potatoes in a Bag!

I’m so excited to try my hand at growing potatoes in a bag this year! I have a raised garden bed, also. Due to the amount of space, I decided to try growing the potatoes in a bag this year.  My other vegetables that I am planting will be grown in the garden bed.  I’m planning on planting onions, tomatoes, squash and……a blackberry bush (somewhere in the backyard). I normally plant the vegetables or fruits that we eat on a regular basis and lots of it.  Last summer, we even planted watermelons.  We did a lot of traveling last year during the summer, so I didn’t plant a lot of vegetables.  Just watermelons.  For some reason, I didn’t know that potatoes are so easy to grow when it comes to planting.  They’ll grow in any containers with the usual ingredients.  So, I can’t wait to see how they turn out.  I’ll definitely post pics as they continue to grow.  Here is what I did to start the planting phase.  Thank goodness the snow has finally left.

Items needed:

  • bag (I’m using the bag that held the soil. 56.6L)
  • soil
  • water
  • seed potatoes

Directions:

Growing Potatoes in a Bag

I bought some seed potatoes.  In this pic, my seed potatoes were already sprouting nicely.  If not, you can let them sit out until they start sprouting.  (As you know, when you buy potatoes and don’t eat them in time, they start sprouting also.)  I didn’t try growing them from store-bought potatoes since this is my first time.  I read where others had tried growing potatoes from store-bought potatoes and they didn’t produce a good harvest.  For some reason, the potatoes were very small when they were ready to harvest.  So, I’m sticking to the seed potatoes for this trial.  Cut them if they are too large.  Just leave an eye on each part that you cut. Then, let the cut parts sit out for a couple of days before planting. These were not that large, but I cut a few and kept some whole.

Growing Potatoes in a Bag

Empty bag of soil or use whatever bag of your choice.

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Fold the bag down.

Growing Potatoes in a Bag

Fill the bottom of the bag with 3 inches of soil.  The soil I used had a fertilizer in it.

Growing Potatoes in a Bag

Using some type of pointed object, poke holes in the bag to allow drainage.  Put holes all around the bag. I used a screwdriver.

Growing Potatoes in a Bag

Put your seed potatoes in the bag.  Try to keep the eyes that are sprouting facing up. I put five in the bag.  I probably should’ve placed about three in the bag, but I’m super excited about growing them in a bag. (Whenever I plant something for the first time, I tend to overdo it.)

Growing Potatoes in a Bag

Cover seed potatoes with about 2 inches of soil.  You want to make sure that you fully cover the seed potatoes but not too deep.

 

Growing Potatoes in a Bag

Water the seed potatoes.  Now, I just need to wait for nature to take its course.  When the seed potatoes  start growing and gets about 5 inches above the surface of the dirt, I will put about 2-3 inches of dirt on it.  I’ll keep repeating that process until the stalks are about 5 inches above the top of the bag.

UPDATE:  After a month, the potato seeds are coming up nicely.  Hopefully, the cold weather has decided to move on.  We’ve had some cold days in May, also.  Here’s to warmer weather and a nice harvest.

Potatoes Growing in a Bag

 

These are some of the photos of vegetables that I have grown in the past and from my raised garden bed:

Growing My Own Vegetables Growing My Own Vegetables Growing My Own Vegetables

Growing My Own Vegetables Growing My Own Vegetables Growing My Own Fruits

I have my fingers crossed that my fruits and vegetables grow nicely this year, especially my potatoes and blackberry bush.

Have you grown potatoes? What are some of the fruits or vegetables that you have grown?

 

Comments

  1. Hello Sharon, potatoes are great! i love harvest time- i get so excited to see what i’ve grown..thanks for the post.

    Richard.

  2. Thanks for sharing this post with us. I am little bit interested to get more information about Plants. I like to share my opinion on Plants.Planning forward is one of the best ways to attain success. Selecting a backyard shed design that addresses your entire wants actually comes all the way down to the precise planning. Be ready for any issues and challenges that may come up and issues will go a lot smoother. Take your time and do not rush by means of the mission as a result of this could trigger errors and create extra issues. Maintain a concise plan and persist with it. rule of thumb is “measure twice, reduce as soon as”. Just be sure you have available, an inventory of all of the components, instruments and tools you have to to finish the mission.

  3. Hello Sharon, great article on growing spuds in a bag. Nothing beats eating freshly dug potatoes! Keep up the good work!
    Richard.

  4. That’s a great idea and a clever tip. Glad to know it works.

  5. Thanks for linking up! I’m glad your experiment seems to be working! I recently planted my tomatoes, and have put in basil and parsley also, but the bugs have gotten to those. Bad drought year=bad garden bugs I guess. I picked up more basil to plant after our heat wave and after I put down a good sprinkling of Slug-O! Here’s to happy, healthy harvests!

    • You’re welcome Renee! Right now, we’re having more problems with the weather not staying warm. Yesterday, it was so hot. Today, I needed a jacket. I’m only hoping that the weather straightens out so it doesn’t affect the vegetables I have planted……

  6. This is a great idea. This year, I’m trying to grow potatoes in a rubbermaid container for the first time. I used store bought potatoes, but after reading what you wrote, I’m thinking I need to go get seed potatoes. In my garden beds, I have peas, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, and bok choy. I’ll plant melons, cucumbers and squash in a few weeks. Thanks so much for sharing it with us at the Let’s Get Real Friday Link Party. I hope you’ll join us again this week.

    • Wow Nicky! You have a lot of stuff planted in your garden. I must say that I would love to try eggplant. I can just imagine the dish that I can make with it right now. I did melons last year and thinking of planting again.

  7. this looks so easy my son would love it!

    • Hi Roaen! I’m sure he would. It’s great when kids get involved in growing food and it’s even more fun when they are young. My daughter loves to garden….

  8. This is great . I haven’t tried growing potatoes yet. I’m thinking about trying them this year.
    Thanks for sharing,
    Kelly

    • Hi Kelly! This will be my first attempt at growing potatoes. I feel pretty good about it. Can’t wait for them to start sprouting up….

  9. love the new look S. And good tips as usual.

  10. Good luck…I hope this works well for you. I’ve heard of this technique before but have never tried it. I use raised beds for growing vegetables as well. I usually grow a couple varieties of peppers, squash, lots of cucumbers for bread & butter and dill pickles, green beans, & tomatoes. I look forward to seeing your updates on the potatoes. It seems very convenient!

    • Hi Wendy! I tried growing cucumbers when I first make the garden bed. They didn’t grow well for me. Might have to try that again one year…

      • The cucumbers I grow are called Picklebush. They are heavy producers, but the plants stay compact and really work well in a smaller space. They are great for salads and pickles, never bitter!

        • Thanks for the advice about the cucumbers. Will keep these in mind. I love salads in the summer and will definitely want cucumbers in it…. Plus, I hate to give up on an item that I tried growing and didn’t work the first time….

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