How To Grow Potatoes In Containers UK
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2020
- How to grow potatoes in containers UK
I will show you how I grow potatoes from seed in containers in the UK. If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I will help. It's really easy to grow potatoes like this and get a really tasty crop to cook in your kitchen.
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You will need:
Seed Potatoes I've used Cassablanca
A container
Fertiliser
Compost
Water
Spade
Great easy to follow tutorial, still helping people 2 years later, thanks Helen ☺
Thank you. Glad this was of help :D
My spuds are growing well, thanks to your kind advice, much appreciated and a great tutorial x
Thank you Judy. I'm so pleased that you have started to grow some too :D
Loving the blackbird accompanying you! First early seed potatoes bought and ready to start so your advice extremely helpful, thanks.
Thank you. Yes I get lots of lovely birdsong all day! I'm very lucky :D Glad the video was useful. best wishes for your growing season! Let me know how you get on.
Good, clear and concise video. Thank you.
Thank you :D
Nice video showing what you need and clear steps given. I have followed this and planted my rocket variety in containers for the first time. Hope this works. Just subscribed, thanks.
Thank you. Best wishes for your potato.crop. Rocket is a good choice! Let me know how they turn out when you harvest them. I will be planting my potatoes very soon and will make a new video. Thanks for the subscription.
very helpful video thank you.
Thank you. Glad it was useful.
Helpful, thanks!
Thank you.
Nice video Hellens house and garden. I planted my potatoes in a Hollow container. Let's grow together. Home grown food is nice.
Hi thank you for your compliment. I agree home grown food is so much better and tastier. Good to see you are growing your own food too. Wishing you a good growing season :D
Nice
Thank you :D
Looks great, I thought you only partially fill the containers though? Then carry on adding compost as the shoots emerge? Have you trailed which way works best as I’m growing some this year and would love to know what works best or if there’s no difference 🤓
Great you are giving growing potatoes a go! If you are planting them in containers it makes no difference. So really it is whatever is convenient. If I have the soil ready I always now fill the container when I plant as it saves an extra job in the garden. Enjoy the growing season :D
Great video, very informative...Is it the same way/process when your planting potatoes in a canvas container 10g with the flap at the bottom....you can open the flap and just pull them out I guess....that is what the instructions said anyway. Thank you
Thank you, Lorraine. Yes, It's the same for whatever container or bag you use. I've used canvas containers in the past and found that I didn't use the flap to harvest the potatoes but yes that is the idea. Wishing you a great potato growing season. Let me know how you get on.
Great show Helen, there's so many interesting things to learn from you. One suggestion, you might want to look into another audio mic to capture your voice over environmental sounds.
Thank you. Yes i agree. I have now bought a better microphone so will be using this in future. Making TH-cam content is a steep learning curve. So hopefully I’ll get better as it goes along. 😊
@@HelensHouseAndGarden Looking forward to seeing more of your excellent content! G
@@donchase1530 Thank you.
Q: which veg is okay to grow in relatively low depth planters? I am growing onions and garlic in one ofd them as I believe the roots don't grow that far down, but I have another I want to use. I don't want to grow lettuce and so are the only options small carrots and beetroot? Could turnips grow as well? Thanks
Turnips and parsnips would need about the same depth as bigger carrots. Other options are radish, spring onions, chard, Bok Choi/Pak Choi, baby leeks, courgettes, pumpkins and squash don't need much root depth but do spread out a lot. Runner beans, peas, dwarf beans would all work well. Hope you have a good growing season.
I liked and subscribed, I am growing potatoes too, but I put soil on gradually, I did not know you could do it the way you did, I have two pots on the go I'm going to try your way in one, I will let you know how it turns out.
Thank you. Yes please let me know how you get on!
@@HelensHouseAndGarden up to now theyre both growing good
@@kimcocreations Great to hear! My potatoes are growing well too :D
What is the best compost for potatoes as I see a lot of the ones sold are for flowers or doesn't it matter once you feed the potatoes?
Hi Suzanne, It's a good question and everyone will give you a different answer because they have their favourite method and blends. It's always best to look at the composition of compost and you should find information on the bag or speak to the supplier. Generally you can use multi-purpose/all purpose compost, which is what I do. When starting seed potatoes off I always add in some Vitax organic potato fertilizer amzn.to/3ytkhCK . Other composts designed for flowers may have a different nutrient mix or PH level which wouldn't be suitable for growing potatoes. I hope that helps. If you are in UK and wish to grow potatoes this year get them in soon. August is really the last chance for planting for a Christmas crop.
I have lots of 12L buckets. Can I use these instead and perhaps just use one potato per bucket?
Yes you can use these. As for how many that is always a debated question. I would personally put at least 2 in each bucket if not 3. The reason is because not every seed potato always grows so if you only have 1 then you would get a no-show and waste growing time, soil and space. Make sure you have drainage holes in the bottom of whatever you grow your potatoes in. What variety are you growing? If it's earlies I would put two in the bottom and another about halfway up and earth up all in one go. You could always count how many seed potatoes you have then divide it out between the buckets. If I have an odd number I sometimes will put 2 or 4 in so I don't mix varieties. Let me know what you decide to do and how you get on. Hope that helps.
Hey Helllen MERRY CHRISTMAS , I have two questions:1) if you would plant next time indeterminate potatoes in 30litter pots you would put 2 or 3 seed potatoes and 2) if you were to plant determinate potatoes how many would you put?(I have seen gardeners put as many as 4 seed potatoes 2 in bottom half and 2 in top half ). Thank you!
Hey Merry Christmas to you too! Great questions. I am going to experiment with this during the next growing season. Here's what I am going to do. I'm also finding it hard to get a list of what potatoes are determinate/indeterminate so I am gathering that information as I go along. 1) Indeterminate potatoes I am going to put 3 seed potatoes in the container. 2) Determinate potatoes I am going to put 3 in the bottom then half way up put another 3 seed potatoes in the layer. In anything over a 30L container I will add more layers. Have you grown potatoes before? What do you do or plan to do?
@@HelensHouseAndGarden I have never planted potatoes before like I said above , but I have done a little bit of research online and especially in youtube and I am going to plant like I said above the way (Simplify gardening ,youtuber) plants them and others like him( for determinate 2 in bottom and 2 in top and for indeterminate just 2 in bottom) cause he seems to know what he is talking about. Also he has done a lot of potato experiments so I trust him! Thanks for the quick reply!
@@itsamemario6539 It's always good to do research. I do the same. There are lots of ways to grow potatoes so I just vlog about the way I grow them. I know some growers who cut their seed potatoes up and plant pieces of seed and also some who peel off the eye and just plant those. It's also good to experiment and see if you can improve on what you are doing. The main thing is to do what you are doing and give it a go and see what works best for you. Let me know how you get on with your crop. I will be adding more videos on here about potato growing as the next season gets started. Best wishes for your potato growing season.
@@HelensHouseAndGarden Thank you so much! I like to experiment too! I am sort of space so this growing season I am going to plant a lot of things in containers and in small raised beds. I hope you have a great growing season!
@@itsamemario6539 Thank you.
Yes me too. I only have container space for growing and a very small greenhouse. It's surprising what you can grow though.
Hi! It’s a great video. Very informative. You explain it so nicely😊. I thought I should cut the potato in half and plant (like I did for tomatoes). I did it today. Would that work normally? Thanks.
Thank you. You can do either. Just make sure if you are cutting the seed potato that you have an eye on each piece. It's a great way to make seed potatoes go further if you are short of them. Best wishes for your growing season. Let me know how you get on :D
@@HelensHouseAndGarden That’s great, thank you😊. I hope it works. I’m doing it for the first time😊
@@lifeisbeautiful8165 It was a very usual method for home growers post WWII in UK when food was still rationed due to shortages. I've known a lot of elders use this method successfully. So you should be all good :D
@@HelensHouseAndGarden So nice to learn this :) Thank you :)
@@lifeisbeautiful8165 You're welcome. History and growing coming together :D
How long does it take for the potato tops to show when you have fill your pot with compost
Gosh from memory about 3-4 weeks for these size pots.
Thanks
Hi , thanks for your video, I have been told that if I brought potatoes from my local Sainsbury etc, that they wouldn't grow properly, as they have been sprayed etc , is this true
Thank you
Thank you, Samantha. Samantha. I can only speak for what happens in the UK. Yes, you are correct. Some store-bought potatoes have been sprayed with "anti-growth". I couldn't specifically say if Sainsburys ones are. Most importantly the main reason to buy seed potatoes from a reputable supplier is, to prevent disease. Potato disease spreads to other crops really quickly. It can decimate not just your crop but other vegetables in your growing space and your neighbour's and farmers' crops. Other good reasons are - variety you can choose from 100's of varieties and they will taste so much better. Don't forget you can make your seed potato go further by cutting it into half or so. Just make sure you have a good eye or shoot on each piece. Hope my answer helps. Are you growing potatoes this year?
How does the cost of the container, compost and fertiliser etc. compare to the value of the potatoes?
Great question. It depends upon how you look at it. These containers will last for decades and even if you try potatoes and decide not to grow them again, they will be useful for many others things you can grow in the garden. They are much better than the potato bags that you can buy to grow them in which only last for a couple of seasons. Compost and fertiliser you can make yourself or buy. All gardens will need fertiliser/compost at some point. Once you are set up then the cost reduces from year to year. The taste of homegrown potatoes is quite different and much better than any you can buy in the supermarket and the quality including for storage is so much better. Plus you can grow varieties that you cannot find in shops.
Hi Helen. Where did you purchase your tubs and what type of compost did you use?
These are the tubs that I use. amzn.to/3I0sseb Compost it depends on what I have available. A multipurpose compost will do. You can also get specific potato compost which is more expensive but will have everything in it that you need to get them started. I have been making compost so will use that.
@@HelensHouseAndGarden Thaks very much!
Hi there, I planted 3 seed potatoes in a container and watered them religiously for 3 months, I kept covering the new green shoots with more compost. When my curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see how big they were, I felt around inside the soil and they were GONE!!! What do you think happened to them? Why did they vanish? I was so disappointed... !
Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that. It's so disappointing when a crop fails. There are a number of reasons why this can happen. If you can let me know the answers to the following I may be able to pin it down. When did you plant the potatoes? What variety? Did you have an abundance of green stems & leaves? Were the leaves normal looking or not e.g. curled? Did you let the leaves & stems die back before harvesting?
Where to buy those buckets that you have thanks
Here's the link for the buckets amzn.to/3KzAgZq they are really good quality, sturdy and so easy to move with the handles.
When should I buy the seed potatoes, as in what month?
If you want to grow potatoes this season then buy them now. The availability will dwindle from now on. A lot of people order well in advance to get their favourite varieties and they are delivered in time for planting as the season goes a long. Hope that helps. Are you growing in containers or the ground?
Is it the same process for New Potatoes, ie same depth etc?, also what time of year is the earliest they can be planted (in Essex)?
Hi yes it's the same process for all potatoes with the exception of sweet potatoes. You need to plant your potatoes after the last of the hard frosts so it's always a bit of a gamble as you can get caught out. Generally speaking, planting is late March for First Earlies, Early to mid-April for Second Earlies, and maincrop mid to late April. I hope that helps.
@@HelensHouseAndGarden Yesit does help, thanks, can you tell me if organic store bought pots are sprayed with anti sprouting chemical? Actually last year I grew Pots in a tub but didtn check how to grow them first and just pushed a sprouting big store bought spud into the top of the tub. As you can imagine I didn’t get many spuds and the foliage was way too long and hanging over to the soil. That wasn’t an organic potato, so now I’m preparing a big deep tub to try and get good results, do you know why some, like the potato I used last year are not treated to prevent sprouting?
@@Kiyarose3999 It's always best to ask the supplier of the potatoes about how, if or what they spray them with that way you will know 100%. I always use seed potatoes as you know exactly what you are getting and they are produced to be used as seed. It also cuts down the risk of disease in the crop. I use Potato House or here's a link to some King Edward seed potatoes which are a good all-rounder from Amazon. amzn.to/3wH16HM
Hi is there a follow up to see how to take your potatoes out? Thanks
Hi. I don't have one at present. I am looking to see if I have enough footage to put one together from last year. The weather beat me and I had to harvest mostly dodging the showers so no good for getting the camera out. I aim to do one this year so it will be later on as I'm behind with everything in the garden due to late frosts. Fingers crossed for a good summer :D
How long before you harvest them
It depends on the variety however, wait until the green stems start to yellow and die back. Then stop watering for a couple of days so the soil is dry then harvest them. If in doubt have a rummage down in the soil and see if you can feel any potatoes. Hope that helps
Where did you buy your Casablanca potatoes from? If you don't mind me asking
You can get them from Thompson & Morgan on Amazon. Here's an affiliate link amzn.to/3NCiPXs
Thank you, all the best.
@@EliotEnright Thank you and most welcome. Casablanca are one of my favourite varieties so if you give them a go let me know what you think!
Do you put holes at the bottom of the bucket?
These containers have holes in the bottom already. However if your container does not then you will need to make some holes. Potatoes need good drainage otherwise they will rot and you will not be able to grow them. Hope this helps.
Thanks so much for your reply, much appreciated. @@HelensHouseAndGarden
@@tonyeastman153 You're most welcome. Let me know how you get on!
Are these determinate??
It's a really good question and I'm not entirely sure. I couldn't find out either way. I didn't order Casablanca but the supplier sent these as an alternative as they were out of stock. They grew really tall and not entirely in one layer but they didn't grow in an obvious way for me to tell. Ideally you want indeterminate to grow in containers for maximum harvest. The flavour was really good and a good all round cooking potato. Please let me know if you know the answer or where I can find out what they are. I've been trying to find a definitive list of determinate and indeterminate potatoes. It's a shame the suppliers don't list them as such in many cases.
Where do you get the tubs from
You can get the tubs from here - this is my affiliate link code so I do get a small commission from sales but this does not affect your price. I use 30L tubs for potatoes amzn.to/3qPxiDf
Yes that's the size I grow my potatoes in. As you say that size seems to be the most popular for potato growing.
if you would have had some fertilizer at planting what would you have used, and do you just rely on the rain to provide water instead of you watering them ?
Hi David. Yes I would have added some fertiliser into the soil when I planted the seed potatoes if I had had any. I then would add more four weeks later then once a week thereafter. For watering I don't rely on the rain even if it rains a lot. It is surprising sometimes how little rain actually gets into any container. I always check the soil as I go along. Potatoes need regular watering. It is better to water sufficiently in one go then do a little every day and it not be enough. I test the soil and see how wet it is. If it is really hot you may need to water every day. If it is cooler then once a week may be enough. When you water as soon as the water starts to seep out of the bottom of the container that is enough. I hope that helps. Please ask if you have any more questions. Let me know how you get on.
@@HelensHouseAndGarden thank you for that, Would your fertilize be Growmore or something similar ?
@@davidwaddington9414 You're welcome. I use Vitax organic potato fertiliser and There are lots of others and everyone has their favourite. Hope that helps :D
Hi why dont you mulch the pots after planting? It stops the compost drying out in full sun and when you water you might think you've put enough in but it's just run down the inside and out the holes!!! Holds the water inside as well
Hi, Yes, mulching is a very good way of stopping water loss and keeps weeds down too. I am mulching this year! What are you using as mulch?
@@HelensHouseAndGarden I use fine bark chippings they rot down quicker when i reuse the compost and straw as well of course but whatever is to hand really x
@@lyndontaylor4440 Agree fine bark chippings are a good choice. I don't have access to straw. I do have a bale of hay - have you ever used that?
@@HelensHouseAndGarden I'm sure hay will be fine!! Talking about hay I once worked for a scaffold company and the owners wife had 6 horses she got 2 of the lads to muck out the stable area it was huge but they put hay down after instead of straw lol they didnt know the difference!!
@@lyndontaylor4440 Oh no! lol I bet the horses thought it was the best day ever! I'm going to try some hay and bark chips in selected areas. Purdey (ex-puppy mill breeding rescue dog) has pica and bark chips are something she likes to chomp. I have to be careful what I use and where I plant anything. She's taken a liking to the Seddon plants at the moment!
What time of year?
In UK you can plant outside in Spring when the you have had the last of the frosts.
@@HelensHouseAndGarden Thanks x
@@Queen-of-Swords Most welcome. You still have time now to plant if you are in UK. Lots of people plant potatoes now to get a crop in time for Christmas. :D
A copper wire wrapped around the pot would help with the snails
Thank you. Yes copper seems to work. I've used copper tape on some pots that I grow lettuce etc in. With the potato pots they gather under the rim so it's a handy way to attract them and be able to remove them from the garden so they can't munch other plants as well.
Good guide however the chits on your potatoes look weak, they should be short and look a green/purple colour.
Thank you. Agreed they weren't the best chits. Sometimes you just have to go with what nature gives you. It was very hard to get any seed potatoes last year. Are you growing potatoes this year?
@@HelensHouseAndGarden yeah make use of what you've got is a good philosophy. Normally happens when you buy store bought spuds, I didn't realize how poor quality they were until recently. Yeah I'm doing king Edwards this year, wondering if maincrop will do well though in containers. Happy gardening :)
@@phifediggy9659 These were proper potato seeds but they delivered a different selection to what I ordered as they had run out. So it was that or nothing! I've changed supplier for this year so hopefully, they do better. The chits are looking much better which is a good sign. I've not got them in yet due to very low night temperatures. I like King Edwards very versatile and tasty. Yes main crop will do just fine in containers. Happy Gardening to you too. :D.
Any advice on watering please helen
Generally, I water well 2-3 times a week depending on how hot it is and how fast the soil is drying out. I water until I see the first bit of water run out the bottom of the pot. It's better to water less often and do it thoroughly rather than irregularly a little bit here and there. This helps the potatoes grow at a steady pace and gives a more uniform crop.
We did this for the first time, this year. Commercial compost and fresh seed. The resulting crop was a considerable disappointment. Despite watering carefully (I used a hygrometer) all the spuds were covered in some sort of scab. I have peeled them all but there were some deep holes despite the obvious absence of insect infestation. Unless we can discover what happened, this is clearly not for us.
Oh. no! How disappointing. I'm soory this has happened. It sounds like your potatoes have got scab. Did you use potato seed from a supplier? This helps to reduce this happening. It sounds like you have watered them correctly especially using a hygrometer which helps reduce scab and disease. The soil needs to be moist but not waterlogged. There are some varieties that are more resistant to scab like Ambo, Golden Wonder, Mayan Twilight, Nicola and Pentland Javelin. The last two being some of my favourites for flavour. Sometimes you just get unlucky and the crop fails. Don't give up. Try again with well composted soil and make sure you wash out your containers with gardeners soap before planting in them again as this will help make sure that the container isn't contaminated from this crop. Make sure you harvest them when the tops die back as if you leave them too long in the soil they can bad. We have all had crops that have not done so well from time to time no matter how experienced you are. It's definitely worth giving it another go.
Could you keep an average size family going all year round with this or is it more a hobby?
Absolutely. I know many people who do. It depends on many variables. Some potatoes are higher cropping than others. Then how many mouths to feed and how often you eat potatoes and what quantity etc. You can also select potatoes to use as your seed potatoes for next season from your crop. They will need selecting and storing correctly to do this but you could easily become self-sufficient with potato crops from year to year with good planning.
@@HelensHouseAndGarden thankyou x
@@gadgit22 You're most welcome. Hope you get some great potato crops :D
What benefits dose the fertiliser have on the potato?
Hi Tim. Fertiliser provides the nutrients that the potatoes need to grow. It will boost the tuber's production and yield. If your soil/compost hasn't been enriched and especially if it's new, adding potato specific fertiliser will help give the soil the right balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, phosphate, and minerals.
Would fish blood and bone be a suitable feed to grow potatoes?
Yes that would work well. It's best applied to the soil a week prior to planting.
@@HelensHouseAndGarden Thank you so much for such a quick response! So helpful too! My containers are due today so I will do that and plant the potatoes next week. Thanks again :)
@@BrownEyedGirl14 Most welcome. That's really great! I haven't planted any potatoes as yet because it is too cold, frost, hail and showers. Make sure the weather is past it's cold snap before planting out. Best wishes for your potato season!
It looks like you are using shop bought compost. Isn't that quite an expensive way to grow potatoes?
I had to start somewhere as I had very little soil available in the garden. Most people who garden will need to buy in soil/mulch/improver at some point. I recycle all the soil and have a composter so this year should be much cheaper. Buying in bulk can help keep the cost down as well.
You can reuse the compost elsewhere to recondition your soil