The potato is a favorite and versatile food that proves easy to grow. The best and only way to grow potatoes in bags is to plant spuds in potions, balconies, and small gardens. All potatoes grown that way are less susceptible to pests and diseases, giving you a better chance of achieving better results. The best potatoes to grow in bags are fingerling potatoes.
To grow potatoes in bags, consider the following five steps, as stated below:
1. Roll the sides of the potato bag for about a third of their normal height.
2. Add 10 cm of peat-free compost to the bottom of the potato bag, and place three to five (3-5) chitted potatoes on the surface.
3. You should cover the compost with another eight to 10 cm (8–10 cm) and add water.
4. If the shoots have grown to around 8 cm, cover them with another 10 cm of compost.
5. Do this every week, slowly rolling the bag back up to its original height so the potatoes don’t get green spots from being exposed to light.
Harvesting
Harvesting from the planting date depends on the cropping type, which includes:
1. First early potatoes.
2. Second early potatoes.
3. Early maincrop potatoes.
4. Maincrop potatoes.
5. Second cropping potatoes.
All of these types have different planting times and finally planning dates.
Growing Potatoes in Bags When to Harvest
There is no permanent harvesting time; it varies depending on the growing season and how big you want your potato to be. When you are unsure if your potato is ready, you can find out by having a gentile dig below the ground to check the size. If they are too small, you can leave them for weeks to explore them.
Consider the following five cropping types of potatoes, planting time begins, final planting time, and harvesting time when harvesting potatoes grown in bags:
1. First early potatoes are grown at the end of February, and the final planting date is late in May. After 9–13 weeks from the planting date, you will be able to harvest.
2. Second early potatoes are grown in March, and the final planting time is late May. It takes about 10–15 weeks to harvest from the time of planting.
3. Early maincrop potatoes are primarily grown in March as planting time begins, and the final planting time is late May. It takes about 13–17 weeks to harvest after planting.
4. Second-cropping potatoes are primarily grown in early August, and the final planting time is the end of August. It takes 10–15 weeks to harvest from the planting date.
5. Maincrop potatoes are planted in March, and the final date is late May. The harvesting time from the planting date is 18–23 weeks.
How Many Potatoes Can You Grow in a Bag
When you grow potatoes in a bag, there are three things you need to know before starting to plant them. These are chitted potato seeds, compost, and a backpack. Growing potatoes in packs is the best option for growing your own potatoes, and it’s easy to harvest and versatile.
Regularly planting potatoes requires one potato to grow in a potato bag. Each chitted potato, whether a whole potato or just a part of it, will produce one plant. The number of pieces of potatoes needed depends on the size of the bag used.
Each potato plant requires about 2.5 gallons; therefore, 10 gallons typically support four potatoes, and five gallons support two potato plants. This sentence answers the common question many people ask themselves: how many potatoes can you grow in a 10-gallon bag? Now it has been answered correctly.
When you want to plant many potato crops, it’s better to grow them in different bags rather than planting them in one giant bag. When you split them into other batches, you will be able to harvest them at different times so that you will have a more continuous supply of potatoes.
What Are the Best Potatoes to Plant
When you are starting a new garden or planting potatoes, you need to know there are different types of potatoes you need to consider.
The following are four types of potatoes:
1. Magic Molls
These are the small potato varieties, and they have dark purple skin and dark purple flesh. They have an earthy flavor. They are planted in the midseason.
2. Pinto Gold
These are small potato varieties that have reddish-pink skin and yellow flesh. They are grown in late-season potatoes.
3. Russian Banana Potato
It’s a small potato variety with light yellow skin and flesh. They are late-season potatoes.
4. French Fingerling
These are small potatoes that have pink skin and yellow flesh. The tubers are a bit bigger than the Russian banana potato varieties. They are grown in the late mid-seasons.
Factors Affecting the Growth of Potatoes
The best choice of potatoes depends on different factors. Below are five factors you need to consider when planting potatoes:
1. Disease resistance
2. Location
3. Sunlight
4. Time to maturity
5. Type of soil
Classifications of the Time of Planting Potatoes
Different groups are classified depending on the time to maturity of the potatoes.
Here are three groups showing the seasons of growing potatoes:
1. Early Season
Early-season potatoes are fast-maturing. Most of the potatoes take as little as 50 to 100 days after the planting date to produce tubers.
2. Mid-Season
All potatoes planted at this stage mature more slowly and produce tubers between 80 and 120 days after planting.
3. Late Season
Potatoes planted during this season take the most time to mature. It takes more than 100 days to produce tubers for harvesting.
