Learning how to grow potatoes Part 1 by A. Nonymus

In researching how to grow potatoes in a container, I found a lot of great information online, and discovered that one person had great success with fingerlings in bags. I scrounged up 3 old burlap bags and followed the instructions on a YouTube video, filling the bags with a mixture of straw and garden soil to about 6” deep to start. The plan is to add soil and roll up the sides of the bag as the stalks grow. Then we planted each whole fingerling about 10 per bag, and covered by several inches of soil mix.

I learned that it's important to keep piling soil up around the stem of the potato plant – which induces more potatoes, as the tubers grow from the covered stalk. The bag system is perfect, since you roll down the sides of the bag to start, but then add dirt as the stems grow unrolling the bag upward. In theory, when the bag is fully unrolled and full, you will have a nice yield from each plant.

This concept of mounding dirt around the plant stem is also applied to the 'garbage can' system. Start with a little dirt in the bottom, and keep filling as plants grow. Tip the can over to harvest. Of course the can needs good drainage. Some special tubs are available online, but I think I'll get a 40 gal. plastic trash can and drill good drain holes at the bottom along the sides for next year.)

But just try to find burlap bags!

After asking all around and calling various vendors with no luck or leads, I finally got lucky at a local feed store, and they gave me 3 old burlap feed bags. I was surprised that I couldn't find burlap bags anyplace. Problem solved this year, by a stroke of luck.

I recently found a source online for reusable 'potato' bags made exactly for container potatoes. I'm sure that next year I will give those a try, as it's already apparent that burlap, at best, is a one season use item.

After 2 months, the bags are holding – but just. So next year garbage cans for the big potatoes, and the commercial bag system for the delicates varieties and fingerlings.

[Editor's note: This story is Part 1 of 3 and was written by A. Nonymus.]



Fingerlings in Burlap Bags