Check out what One Hundred Dollars a Month reader KK had to say about her recent potato harvest {grab the tissues, it’s a tear jerker}.
“A few years ago I saw a few blogs mention that you could grow potatoes in trash cans. As I live in a city row house with a very tiny backyard, that seemed perfect for me. But I never got around to trying it out until this year, after seeing loads of bloggers touting it on Pinterest. They all claimed one could grow up to 100 lbs of potatoes in a single trash can.
I used two trash cans. My biggest expense was actually dirt. As I live in a tiny plot, that all needed to be purchased. I just knew the 200 lbs of potatoes between the two cans would be so fun and worth it though.
I finally dug them up this past week and to my saddest face ever, this is all I grew. Total. Around 7 lbs. Sad sad! Always searching for the silver lining though, the second photo is of one of my potatoes. Blush! Yes, that’s one single tater. Which doesn’t make up for the 193 lbs missing according to Pinterest. But…it’s provided endless laughter among my friends and family.
I was however able to grow with success, for the first time after trying for the last few years, carrots. I actually grew them in containers. Who would have imagined they would be happier there than in the ground. Or that I could grow such fun veggies in a city downtown!”
Ohh KK, I’m sorry your potatoes didn’t work out. Hopefully you will try again next year.
Do YOU have any advise for KK about growing potatoes?
What methods have YOU tried, and been successful at?
Thanks for your help!
~Mavis
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The Complete Book of Potatoes: What Every Grower and Gardener Needs to Know
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Preppy Pink Crocodile says
Your tear jerker comment made me giggle! Thanks for including me- so sweet of you! I can’t wait to read tips on a better potato crop next year!
KK
Lucky L says
I think it was just a bad year for potatoes. Last year 1 did one 3ft diameter tower and got 26 lbs of reds. This year I had 2 towers and got 5 lbs of potatoes – total.
Erika says
My summer crop of red potatoes got really buggy in the ground, so we couldn’t use about half of them. Planted again at the beginning of September and just dug them up – a lot less than I was hoping for, too. Probably 2-3 dinners worth, but that’s it from the 6′ round raised bed. A little disappointed, but happy not to have to deal with another 56 lbs of produce (which is what I got from my sweet potatoes this year – I’m still cooking and freezing!). I’ll probably have another go in the raised beds in early spring here.
Sarah says
I have yet to dig up my taters which I planted in a large bin similar to a wine barrel. I am HOPING it’s FULL, but I want to wait as long as possible before digging them up.
Amanda says
This makes me nervous to start growing spuds next year… Hopefully being in the ground will help. We had a great harvest at the farm I worked at this summer.
jamie says
made me laugh…awesome! On a whim, my son and I planted a bag of bad potatoes we bought from the grocery store this summer. People told me they wouldn’t grow because store bought potatoes are treated to not grow, but they were wrong baby! Unfortunately some of my potatoes and carrots had these white caterpillar/wormy things eating them. I’ve got to figure that out before planting next year. I would love info if anyone has any to share!
Maria Zannini says
I live in north Texas and have had pretty good luck with potatoes. I harvested enough for the season in the garden, then started a new batch in some deep pots. They didn’t flower as much as my taters in the ground, but I dug a couple of plants up today and they look ready to eat.
As for the malformed potatoes: Sometimes if my soil isn’t friable enough, my carrots will come out deformed. I wonder if that was the case with these notable characters. Either way, they’re still good to eat–and they make interesting dinner conversation.
Ref: grocery store potatoes
Some places spray anti-sprouting chemicals on potatoes, but when they do sprout, I carve out the sprout with a little flesh underneath and put them in a pot. I haven’t bought actual potato seed in years. Most of my potato starts come from the farmers’ market.
Lisa says
Potatoes in pots never do quite as well as ones grown in the ground. If you do them in pots make sure to use the layer technique. It will help. Put about 4″ of soil in the bottom of the pot and then put in your potatoes. Cover the spuds with about 3″ of soil. Let the plants grow up and when the plants are about 6″ tall add about 3″ of soil. Repeat until you get to the top of the plant. Water the plants regularly and when they start flowering cut back the watering to a minimal amount. When you see the first yellow leaves stop watering all together. When the plant is totally yellow/brown and fallen over dump out the container. You’ll get a better harvest with a shallower container than a garbage can because once the can is totally full it is difficult to get water all the way to the bottom. A 15 gallon nursery pot works best.
Jamie, to get rid of the root maggot (the white catterpillary thing) try using beneficial nematodes in the Spring. They are a microscopic insect that attacks grubs. They are naturally occurring in the soil, but the use of chemical fertilizers kills them off. If you use the nematodes they’ll last no more than 2 years if you use chemical fertilizers. If you go organic they’ll live 5+ years.
jamie says
Thanks for the advice. These are new raised harden beds and I was organic this year and hope to continue in the future. Where do I buy these nematodes and what/how/when do I do with them. Thanks!
Lisa says
Jamie, a reputable independent garden center should carry the nematodes.
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
Thanks Lisa! I did the layering technique but I will definitely try a more shallow container next year instead of the deep trash cans. I also didn’t stop watering (well…because we had a monsoon season up here so the sky watered for me and a LOT) once the leaves started turning yellow. Great tips!
KK
D'Anna says
Did you dig everything out of the can? I know my 20 year old son grew a potato plant in school when he was about 9, took it to Grandmas and planted it in her raised bed garden….they still get baby reds in that spot so there may be hope for your cans next year.
Sara says
They say you can be happy with your potato harvest if you get 10 lbs of potatoes for every 1 lb planted. That rule of thumb may help people decide if the investment in planting materials is worth the results.