iGrowVeg

Growing Potatoes in Pots

New Potato Harvest

This is a guide to growing potatoes in pots, bags, buckets or any type of container.

When do I grow them? Plant potato tubers between March and April. (You can buy them from December to February from catalogues like Mr fothergills, suttons seeds, marshall seeds etc).

When do I harvest them?

Salad Potatoes and Earlies – Harvest 10 – 13 weeks from planting which is usually June to August.
Maincrop Potatoes (early and late) - Harvest 15 – 20 weeks from planting which is usually September to November.

Can I grow new potatoes for xmas? Yes buy from online suppliers late June – July and plant tubers as per below in late August – Sept for harvest in Nov-Dec but remember to cover with fleece to protect from frost. Xmas potatoes do not need to be chitted, just plant them out.

You will need:

Potato Tubers (buy from a supplier – Mr Fothergills, Suttons, Organic Catalogue or garden centre.
Old Egg boxes or plastic propagator lid to chit potatoes in,
Buckets, dustbin or large pots with a few drainage holes,
Multi-Purpose Compost.

Instructions:

As soon as you receive your potato tubers, you will need to ‘chit’ them by placing each one with the potato eyes upwards in old egg boxes or in a propogator lid. If there are any cracks in the potatoes or moldy ones, dispose of these.
Place your egg boxes or propogator lid in a cool and well lit place but not too hot and not in direct sunlight. For example a windowsill with net curtains or a shelf away from bright sunlight.
Leave in place until shoots appear and it is the right month for planting out. You can however just put your potato tubers in the soil without chitting them but they may take a little longer to start growing due to the outside temperatures.
Fill your bucket or container a third of the way up with multi-purpose compost.
Place a maximum of 4 -5 tubers spaced apart on the soil with shoots facing upwards.
Cover all potatoes and shoots with soil gently without breaking shoots.
Water well and wait until shoots and leaves appear above the soil.
Earth up / put more soil into bucket to cover new shoots, do this until you reach the top of the container.
Keep watering and let it grow.
Harvest June – August or 10 – 13 weeks for salads and earlies and September – November for Maincrops or 15-20 weeks growth.
To harvest tip pot on its side to loosen earth, tip out onto patio or sheet and gently use your fingers to pull potatoes out of the soil and roots.