Potatoes is one of the easiest vegetables to grow.
You need:
a) A vertical container: that’s a large pot, dust bin or bucket with a few drainage holes, if outside you can also use stacked car tires.
b) Potato tubers: you can get these at garden centres and pet shops.
c) Good compost: In London some city farms give away compost for free, we got ours from Hackney City farm.
1. Add 10-15cm of gravel or crocks (old broken pots etc) at the bottom of the container, it helps with drainage when watering,
– Add another 10cm of good compost and place your potatoes 15-30cm apart with the sprouts pointing upwards and cover them with soil.
– Water well, and wait.
2. When shoots and leaves appear above the soil, cover the plant with more compost just leaving a tip of the plant above the soil.
3. Keep watering well, and as the plant grows keep covering it with soil, each layer of soil will grow a layer of potatoes.
4. When you reach the top leave the plant to grow and harvest after flowering.
If you plant ‘earliers’ or salad potatoes you are ready to harvest 10-13 weeks after planting.
For Maincrop potatoes, harvest 15-20 weeks after planting.
Uploaded on Jul 11, 2011
You can grow potatoes anywhere, even on an apartment balcony. Watch Amy Grisak plant potatoes in a container. Be sure to use only certified seed potatoes and keep adding soil as they grow up. Of course, they’ll need water and fertilizer!
