For a fun project, try growing Irish potatoes in a tub! It's time to buy the tubers and assemble the supplies now. By growing in perlite, the potatoes come out as clean as a whistle!
This is cool, I plant potato vines because they grow really fast and a great accent in containers. Was surprised when I pulled out several fingerlings last year as I started fleshing up my containers for spring. And yes, I roasted them and they were delicious!
Brilliant. MY neighbors grow their tomatoes in a 5-gallon bucket because they don't have a veggie garden space. It works great, and they have tons of fantastic tomatoes.
Also, I would have never thought of growing veggies in perlite.
I planted potatoes in very large used nursery pots last spring. I used potting soil (without fertilizer) and black kow mix. Turned out great, maybe I'll try the perlite this year.
I have dug up potatoes when getting my little garden ready in the Spring - they grown from the eyes of potatoe peel that I had thrown into my composter.
I grow white sweet potatoes, last Year I grew some in pots they grew very large some of the roots went through the holes in the pot and produced some potatoes in the surrounding mulch.
I tried to grow potatoes in some old garbage cans I had last year. Drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, put in good compost and potting soil (adding more as the vines grew up to the top of the bins) and watered when it was dry in the first few inches.Nothing came out of them. Had lots of healthy vines all summer. When they died off, I dumped the bins, all full of excitement, and NOTHING! Was a big disapointment...
I grew red, white, and blue potatoes last year; some in the ground and some in pots and a few in a big potato "bag" pot. I was still finding potatoes in the dirt in December. I have volunteers in the garden already. Can't wait to find out which color they are. I dug down over a foot and still didn't get 'em all!
Do you plant whole potatoes?, cut one into pieces,? The ones in store do not have 'eyes',what is perlite,? available in garden stores? Like D.G.'s idea of loose ground,but am limited to containers (cement city yard).
I can answer a couple of your questions, Joan. If you click on Walter's original link, it talks about planting whole or pieces. Some conventionally grown potatoes in stores will likely never develop "eyes." I think you are better off with organic. At least in my experience, if you keep them in a paper sack, they will develop eyes and start to sprout fairly quickly.
And perlite is a very light volcanic rock that is used to amend soil (or as the soil in this
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case). It looks and feels kinda like crumbled styrofoam and is available in most garden stores.
I've had volunteers from store potatoes that I pitched in the mulch pile because they had grown too many legs. Can't eat 'em at that point and in the winter I'm not going out in the rain to plant them. Can't wait to see what I have this year.
@Walter-I took a chance and just planted my potatoes today. With the crazy weather we've been having I am hoping winter will hold off a bit and I will get a few.
Walter, the plants are doing great- they seem like they have doubled in size. I have one question, there is a dark green color now on top. Is that alright? I have only fertilized them once because we have been getting a little more rain now that the weather has cooled down so I've not watered them for a week.
Walter Reeves -- I wish I wouold have remembered to take a pic, but I did get potatoes after all! I thought our first frost killed the plants, but after bringing them inside until we got another warm spell this last week, I checked them over the weekend and got about 18 with 5 or so being a decent size. I will be doing this again next year, thank-you for sharing a different/new way to do things.
Last year I tried planting potatoes twice in April, both froze. In May I again planted potatoes, organic purple potatoes, just the eyes. In early August I harvested my purple potatoes. :)
Also, I would have never thought of growing veggies in perlite.
And perlite is a very light volcanic rock that is used to amend soil (or as the soil in this ...»