live_tv
Livestream Starting Soon
00
Hours
:
00
Minutes
:
00
Seconds
Up next in 10
This video explains how to grow potatoes successfully in buckets or containers and how to maximise harvests in limited space.
The guide covers choosing suitable containers, compost, planting depth, watering, feeding and earthing up correctly. It also explains how container growing allows anyone to grow potatoes even without a traditional garden.
If you want a productive crop in a small area, these simple beginner-friendly tips will help you grow potatoes successfully in containers.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Potato growing Q&A in buckets. Welcome
0:04
to Gardening with Ben. And we're going
0:05
to give you some Q&A questions. I've
0:07
been getting a lot of comments recently
0:09
about growing potatoes in buckets as
0:13
that is one method that I love to do.
0:16
Now, these are the buckets that I'm
0:18
going to be growing mine in. These are
0:19
from Oakland. And as you can see, they
0:22
have holes in the bottom which make it
0:25
excellent for drainage. So these are
0:27
absolutely perfect for growing the
0:30
potatoes in and they're off of the
0:32
ground as well so that they can drain
0:34
from the bottom pretty easy as well. So
0:37
they don't get water logged. So these
0:39
are ideal. These are from Oakland
0:41
Gardens. These are 30 liter deep. And
0:46
the main reason why I grow potatoes in
0:49
buckets is because I've grown them in
0:52
the ground in the past. And yes, they've
0:55
grown absolutely fantastic, but when it
0:58
comes to digging them up, I end up
1:00
stabbing them and damaging them when I'm
1:02
digging them up or I'll miss them. And
1:04
then you'll keep getting potato plants
1:06
growing up year after year after year.
1:08
Now, obviously growing them in buckets,
1:11
when the plant has died back, that is
1:13
when you know they're ready for
1:14
harvesting.
1:16
And you can just literally turn the
1:18
bucket upside down and go through and
1:22
get all your potatoes out without
1:25
damaging them, without stabbing them.
1:27
And all the old compost I use on my beds
1:30
as well. So I use that so it's not
1:32
wasting the compost. And obviously you
1:35
need compost to fill the buckets up, but
1:38
I reuse the compost as well. So it
1:40
doesn't go to waste whatsoever. And also
1:43
obviously growing potatoes in the ground
1:45
you can get wirew worm in them you can
1:47
get slugs attacking them and yeah they
1:50
can get damaged from pests and you don't
1:52
get as much damage from growing them in
1:54
pots. Now obviously as well growing them
1:56
in pots if you've got a greenhouse or
1:58
poly tunnel you can plant them now and
2:01
get them started but I will be waiting
2:04
till good Friday. That is when I plant
2:06
all my potatoes. I stick by the old
2:08
gardener's tale of planting them on Good
2:09
Friday. It's to do with the moon. Even
2:11
though it changes every year, that is
2:13
something that I've always stuck to and
2:15
had success with. However, with having
2:18
them in buckets, what I'll do is I will
2:20
keep them in the poly tunnel for the
2:22
first month and a half and just that
2:26
little bit of extra protection from the
2:27
frost and the cold weather. And then
2:30
around possibly end of April into May,
2:33
I'll move them outside where it's a lot
2:35
warmer and I will keep them watered
2:38
outside. Obviously, they'll dry up
2:40
probably faster in the poly tunnel. So,
2:42
you've just got to keep making sure that
2:43
they watered and looked after. And one
2:48
year I noticed that a lot of people
2:50
planted the potatoes pretty early
2:52
outside and we had a late frost one year
2:55
up north where I was and it literally
2:58
blackened the whole plant and it burnt
3:02
them and damaged them. So, that is
3:04
probably one reason why I grow them in
3:06
buckets and then I can move them outside
3:07
when the chance of frost has passed as
3:09
well. And yeah, it's a lot more easy.
3:12
You can place them where you want and
3:14
you can use your other beds for growing
3:16
produce in as well. And they're
3:18
absolutely ideal. And these are strong
3:21
and sturdy and they'll last for years.
3:23
Now, I have a few people ask me, how
3:25
many potatoes do you put in a bucket?
3:28
Now, you don't want to overcrowd them.
3:30
And
3:31
obviously you don't want too many
3:33
potatoes in there. So I would stick to
3:35
around three or four in my 30 liter pot.
3:38
I won't plant more than that in any of
3:40
the pots because obviously it'll grow
3:42
quite a lot of potatoes on it. Fingers
3:43
crossed that's what we want. So it will
3:46
soon fill up the space. So you don't
3:47
want overcrowding. If it's overcrowded,
3:50
the potatoes won't grow as big and yeah
3:52
it won't it won't grow very well. So
3:55
stick to around three or four per for
3:58
the 30 liter to 40 liter pots. That is
4:01
what you need to stick to. Now obviously
4:03
when you're planting them, put a layer
4:04
of compost on the bottom, put the four
4:08
three to four potatoes in the bottom and
4:11
then put some potato fertilizer in as
4:13
well. Obviously with them being in
4:14
compost, they'll use all the food up. So
4:17
add some potato fertilizer just to give
4:18
them some extra food to last them into
4:20
the growing period. And then you can
4:23
also feed them as well once it fully
4:25
established. You can give them some um
4:28
more feed later on. So yeah, that is
4:31
basically what you do. And obviously
4:33
fill it back up with compost up to the
4:35
top as the plants start growing to help
4:37
produce the potatoes on them. And that
4:39
is what you need to do really. And it
4:42
saves you all the effort of doing all
4:43
the digging, all the trenching and doing
4:46
all that. So if you're less mobile and
4:48
you want the easier option, I would
4:50
stick to the buckets of growing potatoes
4:53
and that is what I always do and stick
4:55
to. So yeah, I hope you found that
4:57
useful. That is some of the questions
4:59
what we've got answered. And if you have
5:01
any more questions, please do drop them
5:03
in the comments and I will get round to
5:05
answering them all as fast as possible
5:07
for you. So until next time everyone
5:09
remember keep smiling, keep shining and
5:11
keep gardening with Ben everyone.
#Home & Garden
#Home & Garden
#Home Improvement