Would you like to get fresh healthy food yourself? You can actually do this by growing red potatoes in containers that only take up a small amount of space in your garden!
Do not be satisfied with planting roses and ornamental plants only. Instead, try to take advantage of all the possibilities available to you. You can enjoy a fresh and healthy potato crop and also enjoy the view of beautiful potato plants that resemble a piece of decoration.
In today’s article, We’re taking on a fun tour of how to grow red potatoes in containers even in old boxes. We’re revealing our top tips and how to harness all the possibilities to get the best crop possible of red potatoes from growing them in containers in a small corner of your home or garden. How excited are we? Let us do it.
How To Grow Red Potatoes In Buckets And Containers And Pots?
Growing red potatoes in containers is a straight process and doesn’t require much effort. It consists mainly of:
Choosing The Right Containers.
Preparing The Containers.
Choosing The Right Seed Potatoes.
Planting The Seed Potatoes.
Caring For The Red Potatoes.
Monitoring For Pests And Diseases.
Harvesting The Red Potatoes.
I. Choosing The Right Containers
The Types Of Containers That Are Suitable For Growing Red Potatoes
There are many types of potato-growing containers such as:
Grow Bags
Heavy-duty burlap bags are ideal for growing potatoes because they let the plants breathe and drain well.
Smart Pots
Smart planting containers are lightweight and eco-friendly because they are made of fabric. so they are great containers that allow your potatoes to breathe well as they grow and have excellent natural drainage.
Buckets, Bags, And Boxes
You can successfully grow potatoes in any opaque container with drainage holes, including barrels, trash cans, and plastic storage tubs, in sizes from five-gallon buckets.
A container with a capacity of about 10 to 15 gallons will work well, and it will be easy to care for. The ideal container height is 2-3 feet. Avoid containers that are too short to give enough room for the potato to grow down and the leaves to grow up.
Also, avoid containers taller than that. it will be difficult for you to water efficiently and evenly. The top of tall containers dries quickly and the bottom of the containers is soggy that the potatoes will rot.
Recommendations For Materials That Are Best For The Containers
If there is a good budget, you can buy Garden pots made of burlap or fabric, which have good drainage and will work well.
II. Preparing The Containers
Preparing The Containers For Planting
Clean the container well of any impurities or dirt, and leave it to dry. If it does not contain holes for drainage. you should make holes for drainage by yourself. You can make holes easily by heating any skewer or thin screwdriver and then placing it on the container to make the holes.
Take care while doing this. The holes are very important for soil drainage, where potatoes will not grow well in containers without drainage. As the water will build up in the bottom, causing seed potato rot and even killing the entire plant.
The Ideal Soil Type And Preparation Method
Soil is rich in fertilizers and loose, with acidity, that its PH ranges from 4.5 to 5.5. Mix the soil with compost, moisten it with water, and place it in the containers.
III. Choosing The Right Seed Potatoes
The Different Types Of Seed Potatoes Available For Planting
The Importance Of Selecting Certified Disease-Free Seed Potatoes
It is recommended to plant specialized potato seeds purchased from the garden store or nurseries and not purchased from the market. The first is reliable and disease-free, and not chemically treated which guarantees you a successful potato cultivation process.
IV. Planting The Seed Potatoes
There are 2 important parts that you need to take care of when planting red potatoes:
Time.
Method.
The Ideal Planting Time For Red Potatoes
At the end of winter and early spring when the soil temperature is 45 to 50 F.
You can explore the weather news to find out the last frost date in the winter. You can plant red potatoes safely two weeks before the last frost date.
The Proper Method For Planting Seed Potatoes In Containers
Potatoes should be planted at a depth of 4 cm and a spacing of 1 square foot for each potato. Put 4 cm of soil into the container, then stack the seed potatoes and cover them again with 3 cm of soil.
You can read about the number of potatoes needed to grow potatoes in a potato bag from our guide here.
V. Caring For The Red Potatoes
The Importance Of Proper Watering And Fertilization
Potato plants need food to grow and their food is water and fertilizer in the soil. But potato plants must be fed as much as they need without excess or deficiency.
Recommendations For The Ideal Frequency And Method Of Watering
Potato plants need 1 to 2 inches of water every week. Test the soil with your finger to determine whether to water it or not. when you find the surface texture is dry, you have to water your plants. Use a hose to water the potato plants so that the amount of water flows gradually within 30 minutes until the soil is well-soaked and the roots get water.
The soil should be fertilized at the beginning of the planting of potato plants. then you should fertilize it once every month or a month and a half so that the number of fertilizations ranges from 2 to 5 times during its growing season. Some may fertilize the soil once, depending on the quality of the soil.
You can use organic or chemical fertilizers. Fertilizers are usually found in two states, either liquid or granular. Granular fertilizers are placed on the soil and then watered with water until it dissolves and releases their beneficial elements into the soil.
VI. Monitoring For Pests And Diseases
Like any plant, potato plants are susceptible to pests and diseases, so the plants must be constantly monitored and necessary measures must be taken to prevent and treat these issues. The matter is important. Neglecting potato plants and neglecting the treatment of diseases may lead to weakness or loss of the crop in the end.
The most common potato diseases include potato early blight, potato late blight, potato Rhizoctonia, Verticillium wilt, silver secure, and Aphids. You can learn more about these diseases and their signs from this video.
VII. Harvesting The Red Potatoes
The Ideal Time For Harvesting Red Potatoes
The best time to plant potatoes is when their leaves turn yellow, and the stems begin to die, often after about 100 days of planting potatoes.
The Proper Method For Harvesting Potatoes From Containers
The best way to harvest potatoes from containers is to empty the soil and the contents of the container into the garden cart or on a large garden bed. then pick the potatoes and enjoy their delicious taste. The taste of freshly harvested potatoes is very wonderful.
Leave the potatoes to dry well, but away from direct sunlight, as it leads to It turning potatoes green as a result of the formation of a toxic substance. Clean it well after it dries and stores it in a cool place.
The shy one (too shy to put her photo) and the only girl in our team! Doaa is a veterinarian who is passionate about writing content. She knows a lot about animals and birds, as she has been studying them for many years now. Her goal? She is researching and learning to convey to you all the knowledge she have and what's new about farming.
