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Growing Potatoes in Containers: Complete Beginner’s Guide

Growing Potatoes in Containers

Growing potatoes in containers is an incredibly rewarding process. If you’ve always wanted to grow those delicious, colorful, often heirloom potatoes that you see at Farmer’s Markets and local restaurants, the kind you just can’t find in the stores. But you don’t have the room. Why not grow them in containers?

Potatoes can be successfully grown in containers if you have limited space or rocky, poor soil. Potatoes and other root vegetables are just some of the many that can be grown successfully in a growing box or pot.

While a harvest from a container might not be quite as plentiful as one from an in-ground planting, it is still possible to have an easy and plentiful harvest with the right care and planting considerations.

Growing potatoes is a little different than growing other popular vegetables. In containers, potatoes grow best when the stems are gradually buried by adding potting soil around the plant as it grows.

It’s an incredibly rewarding process that you should definitely consider. This article discusses all that it takes to learn about growing potatoes in cucumbers. So keep reading to learn everything you need!

Pot of Potatoes

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.

Why Grow Potatoes in Containers?

There are many reasons why you should consider growing potatoes in containers. Let’s look at some of the top reasons:

Taste Better

Even limited to a patio, container growing can give you a small bounty of spuds ready for boiling, baking, frying, and roasting.

Homegrown potatoes, like homegrown tomatoes, are tastier and have a better texture than store-bought. And growing them in containers can be a lot of fun for you and the kids.

More Compact

In a garden, potatoes require generous spacing and enough soil for “hilling” (periodically mounding soil around all but the tops of the potato vines; encourages tuber production).

Even one or two potato hills can smother a large part of your garden. The space needed for a row or two in a home can be prohibitive.

Potatoes planted in container pots grow vertically. Hilling is easy and contained inside the pot. Give your spuds the right soil and moisture conditions, and they’ll produce bumper crops relative to the size of the container.

More Variety

Containers provide the opportunity to experiment with various heirloom potatoes and different-colored spuds — yellow Finns, purple Majesty, Red Cloud, and Adirondack blue — all neatly separated in their own container.

You can grow fingerlings in one container, and late-season keepers in another. And harvesting container-grown potatoes is easier and more exciting than digging them from the ground which, of course, can be pretty fun, too.

Decorative Touch

You might even find that growing potatoes in pots can add a decorative touch to patios and landscapes. Potatoes flower attractively before the growing season ends. Pots spilling with sweet potato vines are particularly attractive.

Different Mediums

The same techniques that apply to growing potatoes in the ground apply to growing them in containers. In addition to compost and soil, they can be raised in coir, perlite, and other mediums that make growing simple and tidy.

Growers have had success with pots and containers of all kinds, including those fabricated from chicken wire, bins built from kits or scratch, and even plastic totes and recycled buckets.

What to Look for in a Container for Growing Potatoes?

Here is everything you need to consider when picking the right container to grow potatoes in:

Size

Big pots of all sorts make for good potato growing. They should be a minimum of 14 inches wide at the bottom and deep enough to allow for hilling as the season progresses.

Use at least two dry gallons of soil per start (England’s Royal Horticultural Society recommends eight liters of soil for each potato start, a bit less than two, dry-measure gallons).

More is a good thing. Crowding starts will result in smaller harvests of smaller spuds.

Depth

Potatoes, usually spaced 10 inches apart, can be crowded a bit (but only a bit) when planted in containers. A pot with a 14-inch diameter at the bottom will have plenty of room for three starts. The deeper the pot, the better, but it should be at least 15 inches deep. This allows for at least two inches of growing medium under the starts and room for modest hilling.

Drainage

Good drainage is crucial. Make sure your container has drainage holes if at all possible. If the container you’re using doesn’t have drainage out the bottom (and you can’t safely create it), lay down an inch or two of stones and gravel at the bottom of the container. Water carefully and don’t saturate the soil.

Space

Big pots can be extremely heavy when heaped with damp soil. Be sure to find a place for your pot before you fill it. Or consider heavy-duty rolling plant stands. Remember that potatoes do best in full sun.

Also, consider that tipping over the pot, the preferred method of harvest can make quite a mess on your newly finished deck.

Other Types of Containers for Growing Potatoes

In addition to garden pots, there are a variety of containers that can serve as potato producers. Let’s look at some of the top ones in more detail:

Grow Bags

Grow bags are particularly suited for potato growing. Don’t skimp on the size.

Since they breathe and drain, heavy burlap bags make perfect containers. Whatever container you choose, make sure there is enough space to build up the soil as the potatoes grow. This promotes the formation of additional tubers in layers.

Smart Pots are also an excellent choice for potatoes. These growing containers are lightweight, eco-friendly, and made of fabric, allowing your potatoes to breathe as they grow. They also have excellent natural drainage, ensuring that your potatoes do not sit in water and rot.

Chicken Fence

The chicken fence potato tower is an easy and productive means of growing potatoes, especially when using straw.

The design can be as simple as driving four snow fence posts at corners in a square, then tightly binding the fencing around the poles. Repurposed wooden palettes can also be used to construct potato growing bins.

Towers can also be made from outdoor shades or screens made from bamboo or other reeds.

These screens are usually wide and turned on their sides can provide plenty of much-needed depth. Roll them lengthwise into the desired size (doing it around a right-sized pile of straw or loosely around a barrel can make it easier) and bind them with hemp twine on top, middle, and bottom.

Standing Compost Containers

Standing compost containers, including the GEOBIN make excellent containers for potato growing. You can purchase commercial wooden potato planters (often requiring assembly) that feature doors near the bottom for potato harvesting.

Buckets and Bins

Potatoes have been grown successfully in everything from five-gallon buckets to plastic laundry bins. Wooden bushel barrels also work well. Using your imagination can have its rewards.

Here are detailed plans for a wooden potato tower from Washington State University. And the University of Minnesota extension service offers this potato tower project to do with your kids.

Steel Cans

Galvanized steel cans and containers are gaining popularity among patio gardeners. And we’ve seen incredible pictures of sweet potato vines growing from shiny metal trash cans. But we’ve also encountered recommendations against using metal containers.

Be aware that the safety of using galvanized containers –small stock tanks and the like –for vegetable crops is in dispute and the internet hosts various opinions taking one side or another. The Cooperative Extension Foundation provides a thoughtful take on the issue.

Galvanized containers have a long history of providing water to humans and livestock. Containers are galvanized with zinc and, often, cadmium, which shouldn’t leach under most normal conditions (“most” because it’s speculated that acidic soils may encourage corrosion).

The safety of new, galvanized containers is widely accepted for landscape growing, less so for food crops. Some suggest lining galvanized containers with plastic but this seems like substituting one problem for another.

If you intend to recycle older cans, avoid those that show signs of rust or other damage or have been used to throw away pesticides, household cleaners, motor oil, other lubricant containers, and other toxic products.

Stacks of Old Tires

Growing potatoes in stacks of old tires, a way to keep tires out of landfills, is tried and true. But contamination safety is also an issue with tires.

Those that say growing in tires is okay claim that the contaminants, such as heavy metals and carcinogens including benzene, are bonded in and don’t leach out unless the tire is burned. Some leaching has been noticed when tires are “chipped” to be used as playground surfaces.

What’s the Best Soil for Growing Potatoes in Containers?

Like garden-grown potatoes, container-grown potatoes need rich, well-drained loamy, soil. A mix of potting soil and compost with added sand (about 20% of the total) serves potatoes well.

Add a handful of well-balanced organic fertilizer as you’re making your soil-compost mix. Potatoes aren’t heavy feeders but do require small amounts of trace nutrients for maximum production.

Don’t rely on garden soil for potato pots (or any container growing for that matter) as it tends to compact too easily since it’s fine in small amounts. Well-finished compost is ideal. Remember that too much organic material can encourage disease.

Soil should be acidic, around 5.0 (7 is neutral). Potatoes grown in soil with a pH higher than 6.0 are susceptible to potato scab.

Adding elemental sulfur or some other acid raising supplement will bring your potting soil to acceptable limits. Never add ashes or lime to the soil you might use to grow potatoes. It will increase alkalinity.

Once potatoes starts are placed on soil, they can be covered with more soil-compost-sand mix or straw. Once the vines emerge, they can be hilled with soil or straw as well.

If using straw, pack it into the container tightly. Too much air space will allow the pot to dry out too quickly. You can improve straw’s moisture retention by adding peat or coir to the mix (remember to soak it thoroughly before adding to the mix). Using partially decomposed straw will make tight packing easier.

Any straw or hay that you use should be as free of seeds as possible as potatoes don’t do well when competing with weeds. Container advantage: growing in pots makes spotting and pulling weeds easy.

Coir and peat can be used in place of straw. Both afford better water retention. Peat (pH of 3.6 to 4.5) tends to be more acidic than coir (5.5 to 6.8). Coir, on the other hand, holds water better.

Perlite is another growing medium that works well. Because perlite has no nutrients, potato plants should be given a modest dose of liquid fertilizer with each watering. Here are detailed instructions for raising potatoes in storage containers using perlite from the University of Florida’s Gardening Solutions website.

Woman Holding a Potato

Photo Credit: Dreamstime.

Which Varieties for Growing Potatoes in Containers

Look for smaller varieties of potatoes if you want to grow them in containers. Fingerling, gem, and red potatoes are all excellent options. Large potatoes, such as russets, will not have enough room to grow to full size in a pot, resulting in lower yields.

As a rule of thumb, early and mid-season potatoes do best in containers. The long growing season needed by keeper potatoes gives diseases including potato varieties

Opting for early potato varieties is a good option since they mature quickly and produce crop all at once. They typically mature in 65-80 days, and new potatoes can be harvested in 6-7 weeks from planting.

Small, new potatoes have a delicate texture and a sweet flavor. Chieftain, Dark Red Norland, Irish Cobbler, Sangre, Red Gold, and Yukon Gold are some early potato varieties that you should check out.

Fingerling potato varieties can also be grown in containers. Fingerling potatoes are small varieties of potatoes that range in size from two to four inches and have a narrow, finger, or oblong shape.

Their flavor is mild, nutty, and earthy, with a firm and moist texture. There are numerous varieties of fingerling potatoes, including AmaRosa, Banana, French Fingerling, Pinto, and Rose Finn Apple.

Remember though, as you would with garden potatoes, always choose cultivars known to do well in your area. Buy from reputable nurseries and local growers.

Most grocery store potatoes have been treated with tuber inhibitors and the chances are you won’t get much of a crop. Though they’ll often work, they may carry diseases that will spread from your garden to the neighbors.

How to Plant and Care for Potatoes in Containers

Location

Consider where your container will go before planting. Potatoes need full sun for a minimum of six hours a day. Don’t place containers under eaves or tree limbs that might funnel rainwater into the container.

Once the seed potato eyes begin to sprout, put them near a sunny window for a day or two to encourage sprouting. They can be cut into golf ball-sized pieces with at least two eyes for planting.

Light

Plant them in your outside container beginning a week or two before the average date of the last frost (potato vines are very susceptible to frost). They should be 10 to 12 inches apart and four to five inches from the side of your container on a bed of two inches or so of soil (more is a waste).

Water

Don’t water directly after planting but make sure your soil bed is moist. Wait until the first vines appear, then keep the soil moist but not damp. Crumbly might be the best description.

Containers holding potatoes will dry out more quickly than the soil in your garden. Careful monitoring is required to keep your potato container uniformly moist.

Potatoes need at least an inch of water a week, 1 1/2 inches for maximum production, particularly after tubers have started to form. Container growing makes it easy to check. Just reach in to judge conditions.

Fertilizer

Watering is a good time to introduce a liquid fertilizerApplications of foliar sprays or seaweed extract two or three times during the growing period will also encourage healthy tuber growth.

Hilling

The time to hill is when vines reach ten inches or so and begin to trail. Tuck soil, to a depth that leaves only the top leafs visible.

Mound the soil, finished compost, straw, or other growing medium around the stems being careful not to break them. Cover all but the last two or three inches making sure to keep some leaves above the soil.

Hill again as many times necessary as plants continue to grow. You can add a few shovelfuls of finished compost as you hill to provide your plants nutrients and possibly some elemental sulfur to maintain the acidity that potatoes crave.

How to Harvest Potatoes Grow in Containers

Harvesting container-grown potatoes is easy and something of a treasure hunt. And, since you can do most of the work with your hands, there’s no damage to your crop from spades and garden forks.

When ready to harvest, just tip the container over. Grow your potatoes on a deck or patio? You might want to put down a tarp to make cleanup easier.

Towers filled with straw or other growing medium can be lifted off the stack or dugout as needed.

Plants will produce small attractive flowers well before the vines start to die off. They’re especially attractive when growing from containers. Enjoy them. They’re also a signal that the plants will soon be ready for harvest.

Don’t be afraid to harvest some potatoes early. These ‘new potatoes’ are especially tasty with thin skins and a toothsome texture. Use them as soon as possible. Those thin skins keep them from lasting long.

You shouldn’t eat potatoes that have a greenish tint. This tint is evidence of a high solanine content, a bitter chemical that can upset the stomach. Usually, tubers won’t turn green unless they are exposed to sunlight. This problem can be avoided by consistently hilling your plants.

Stop watering when vines begin to yellow and wither. For storage potatoes, allow the vines to die back completely before harvesting. Dry a day or two as necessary before putting it up.

Potatoes in a grow bag.

Photo Credit: Dreamstime.

Bonus Tips & Tricks for Growing Potatoes in Containers

Plant a container of early-harvest potatoes such as Dark Red Norland or White Rose beginning in March or April as soon as conditions allow so that you’ll have fingerling and baby potatoes for use in July.

Is container growing as productive as growing them in the ground? Here’s a head-to-head contest conducted by the University of California Master Gardeners of San Mateo and San Francisco. The results may not surprise you but all the thinking the growers put into their evaluation is fascinating.

Spoiler Alert: They conclude growing potatoes in containers is worth it. We think so, too.

 

Other Container Gardening Guides from Planet Natural:

Container Gardening 101

Complete Garden Tower Project Review: Should You Buy It?

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5 Responses to “Growing Potatoes in Containers: Complete Beginner’s Guide”

  1. Angela on May 13th, 2018 at 7:20 pm #

    It would be wonderful if you would mention that the TYPE of potato you grow in your area is very important when choosing a container and the container culture. Here on the Gulf Coast, we can only grow DETERMINATE varieties. They do NOT do well when hilled. They should only be covered if the tubers are exposed. They are not suitable for “potato tower” systems. We do grow them in containers, including grow bags, baskets, market sacks, and wire cages.

    INDETERMINATE varieties will grow well in the “potato tower” type of container and are suitable only for parts of the country.

  2. Jacquelyn on December 11th, 2018 at 3:19 am #

    Thank you for such an informative article! Can potatoes be grown indoors during winter months with grow lights? If so, what is the optimal temperature range. Can potted potatoes be grown in a mix of coco coir and peat moss without soil?

  3. calvin e. sturdevant on July 6th, 2019 at 7:38 pm #

    I planted potatoes that were brown variety. However half harvested were brown. Some potatoes harvested were completely purple. What happened? brown and purple potatoes from the same plant.

  4. Sophia111 on July 19th, 2019 at 2:37 am #

    I have never grown potatoes but I have some experience in growing tomatoes and some widely used herbs in Indian kitchens like cilantro, mint and basil. Your article has given me some serious motivation about trying my hands with potatoes. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks.

  5. Richard on March 25th, 2020 at 12:37 am #

    Hello E. Vinje, I really enjoyed reading your article about growing potatoes in containers, I found it very helpful. Thank you, Richard