Overcoming Rocky Ground
This year in eager anticipation of my new garden being tilled, I purchased Red Lasoda seed potatoes from a local nursery. I had dreams of a luscious harvest summer and began sprouting them so they would get a good start.
Tilling day arrived and I learned the awful truth about how rocky my garden soil REALLY is! The tractor man said, “I had no idea there were so many rocks in this part of the country.” Me either!
On to plan B.
Potatoes and other root crops need loose soil to be successful. If you do manage to get seeds planted, once the emerging roots hit rocks, they will produce poorly shaped tubers.
The best soil is a sandy loam and soil that is well drained. Very sandy soils may require extra watering to maintain adequate soil moisture. Fine‐textured soils that are high in silt and clay may not be well drained and are not suitable.
This year I decided to plant in grow bags and purchase a few bags of organic soil.
This gives me the option to control the soil and the environment where they are growing. I purchased a pack of 5 heavy-duty fabric bags in the 3-gallon size from Amazon and set to work.
Potatoes are a warm weather crop in the Northern states because they are susceptible to frost damage. In the South, they are a cool weather crop and are planted in February or March and are harvested in June and July.
Most varieties need 90-120 days to reach maturity. I have grown potatoes in various containers in the past (check my previous post here: Creative Ways for Growing Potatoes in Containers) but thought I would try the grow bag method this year. So far it has worked out terrific.
Sprout the Potatoes
Spread out your seed potatoes in a shallow box or egg carton with the seed end pointing up. The seed end has little dimples in the tuber there the sprouts will emerge and the strongest sprouts will form.
Keep them in a warm, bright spot like the kitchen counter for 2 to 3 weeks or until sturdy green shoots appear.
If you use moderate light and keep the tubers at temperatures in the 60-70 degree range, you can speed up the process a bit. This way, the sprouts will grow stocky, sturdy and dark green.
To speed up the sprouting process, you could try pre-sprouting them, or chitting them. For more details, check out PreprednessMama’s previous post: Are You Chitting Me? Preparing Seed Potatoes for Planting.
Planting in Grow Bags
The potato tuber develops from underground stems called stolons. Dormant buds (eyes) develop on the tuber.
Tuber formation begins when plants are 6 to 8 inches tall, or five to seven weeks after planting, and results from the production and movement of starch into the developing tubers. (source)
Add 3 inches of soil to the bottom of each grow bag and place your sprouted seed potato pieces.
Once the plants reach about 4 inches tall, add more soil and continue adding until the bag is full. Place in an area with full sun, and be sure to cover the plant bag if a hard frost is expected.
Watering and Harvest of Grow Bags
Maintain even moisture until harvest time. Potatoes are very sensitive to soil moisture so even soil moisture levels throughout the root zone should be maintained, though over‐wet and saturated conditions should also be avoided.
For small “new potatoes” you can begin harvesting once the plant starts blossoming and for varieties that don’t bloom, you can start harvesting about 10 weeks after planting.
Regular size potatoes will be ready for harvest once the tops have died back half-way at about 17 -18 weeks after planting.
I anticipate that harvesting will be super easy, in that I will only need to cut off the plant tops, loosen the soil and dump out the contents.
Top Benefits of Grow Bags
- Grow bags are great at holding in the heat and have superior drainage to plastic or rubber containers;
- Unlike beds, grow bags can be easily moved around. For instance, if the potatoes get shaded by other plants you can move them to a brighter spot; the same goes for a pest infestation;
- Growing potatoes in grow bags is a great way of getting a denser rooting system in the first few years of the plant through a process known as “air pruning.”
Are There Any Drawbacks to Having Potatoes in Grow Bags?
Initially, I was concerned that the bag fabric would wick water away from the plant roots. I have not found that to be a problem and in fact, the fabric seems to be retaining moisture for the plant to use.
We have had several big rain events in the past few weeks (one even dumped 5 inches) and I was glad that my potatoes were in the grow bags and not in the regular garden with the soggy soil.
We have constant sweeping winds here in Central Texas. I was concerned that the wind would dry the bags out too quickly and that I would not be able to retain moisture.
I have placed the grow bags on the deck stairs in a somewhat wind protected area. This has helped them retain moisture so I do not need to water any more than normal.
To overcome my rocky garden soil I have planted this year’s potatoes in grow bags. It has given me perfect control over the soil and watering requirements that I need for a terrific crop.
I will post pictures and a final review of the process at harvest time next month.
There are affiliate links in this post. Thanks for supporting PreparednessMama in this way.
Super clever idea!!
I’m doing something similar myself (in the middle of England), with good results so far – though of course I won’t be sure of that until harvest!
Shelle, I love that you posted this right now! I just ordered five 15 gal grow bags, that will be delivered tomorrow, to try them for potatoes! I have very rocky clay soil and have never had much luck with potatoes, even though, with better soil, they should grow and be harvested within my short growing season. I do mostly container gardening due the the rocky soil, the heavy clay (retains too much water for many plants), and the short growing season (usually around 16 to 18 weeks).
I’m happy to see someone else giving this a go. Trevor, thanks for letting us know your trial is doing well, so far!
I will be adding a link to this in the next post for my new blog. My last post was on gardening for the healthiest food. The one I’m working on is harvesting for food storage. This post fits right in!
I Have been doing this for many years (very successfully ) using black construction bags, Same procedure as above, only I have found that putting a base of 5 or 6 bricks / grey stones down as a base and punching several holes in bottom to ensure drainage works very well . I harvest approx. 20lbs per bag…….delicious .
I use this method as I Have limited space ……. if you have a large back yard…. then do the extreme container method using old tires ……. and keep staking every time tops reach approx. 4″ above tires….. this is really interesting as the potatoes grow in around the inside of the tire …….. to harvest just slide off one tire at a time ……..and roll it to the kitchen……Have fun… Nothing taste better than the spuds you grow yourself………Side benefit…if you have kids or grand kids …the are amazed when the see what THEY have helped grow..
Very interesting publication, I read the article with pleasure. I love to grow vegetables in the garden. This year, I get a good potato tubers in a galvanized bucket. Harvest turned out even better than I expected. Here there is a lot of information about a galvanized bucket http://apromera.com/ I think that the cultivation of vegetables in a galvanized bucket is very effective.
what soil mix do you use. Some say in ground use only. I was thinking potting soil mixed with compost.
Hello Bryan!
Yeah, I think that could work too. I used a mix of organic garden soil and compost for the last batch.
Hello Sir
We manufacture fabric grow bags which are breathable, keeping roots and soil oxygenated and cool throughout the year. Great for developing strong, fibrous roots and keeping them healthy.
Our fabric gardening grow bags prevent oxygenation or water stagnation or roots circling or stunted growth as the roots come in contact with the edges of the fabric pot plant sense the drier soil that is exposed to the air. At this point plants know they have reached their growth limit . They are light weight and come with built in handles making them easy to move to different locations. They are popular since they can be brought from inside to out with ease and they take up minimal space when storing. Grow bags can be placed in many different places like balcony garden or terrace garden and can even be planted directly in the ground as they are biodegradable. These fabric grow bags can be easily washed and reused. During the off season or when not in use grow bags can be folded up and stored with minimal space.
We have colours in it Maroon , Black , Grey and Dark Grey .
How air pruning works?
Air pruning happens naturally when tree roots approach the exterior of fabric grow bags, they branch into a fine, fibrous structure rather than circling the pot. This process, known as “air pruning,” creates a highly effective nutrient delivery system for the tree. Not only does it grow bigger trees faster, but it also allows tree farmers to retain approximately 80 percent of the root ball at harvest. By retaining such a high percentage of the mature tree’s roots, nursery operators can dramatically reduce mortality and encourage faster recovery times.
Is it really effective for increasing yield?
Using fabric grow bag means easy watering, less stress on the plant when moved, and quicker transplant times as filling requires no more than one person instead of several people, allowing others to handle additional work in the garden.
Different size of growbag selection options available with Us
Fabric Growbag : 4″ x 4” , 6″ x 6” , 8″ x 8” , 10″ x 10” , 12″ x 12” , 16″ x 16” , 30″ x 12” . Also can be customised as per your requirement .
We are manufacturing the fabric with our best expertise in Jaipur , India . Kindly update for your valuable enquiry .
Please feel free to contact for any details.
Regards
Shri Vardhn Mohatta
For SHRI RADHIKA NONWOVEN PVT. LIMITED
(Formerly known as Radhika Minerals Pvt Ltd)
191,Shiv Nagar, Murlipura
Road No – 1, Jaipur – 302039,INDIA
SKYPE : shrimohatta
FACETIME : +919530035555
WHATSAPP : +919530035555
PHONE : +919530035555 , +911412331757.
Website : http://www.indiamart.com/shriradhika/
Website : http://www.radhika.net.in
Website : http://www.shriradhikanonwoven.com/
Hi, will you please give info on how many seed potatoes/cuttings per bag? I’ve read up on it and can’t see to find a consensus. I have both 3 and 5 gallon grow bags. Thanks in advance!