I always wait until the plant is dead. That way just about all of my potato's are large. Any sooner and you will have little bitty potats. The biggest secret to gardening is patience.
excellent job on all those potatoes! was that yukon gold? i've grown red potatoes in buckets but never harvested that many potatoes. i think this year i will add a little bone meal to my rows in the garden. root vegetables like phosphorus to grow. nitrogen makes the foliage grow beautifully but doesn't help the potato. i've used scotts 10-10-10 fertilizer so it helps both. plus it has potassium for strength.
All those little ones the size of a marble or larger if they're firm. I heat up a fry pan with a skiff of oil in the bottom and roll them around to fry them up. They are the best with some eggs or whatever you prefer for breakfast. Just an idea, so they don't get wasted.
Thanks for replying. I use Growbag compost with my potatoes in a potato sack. I assume Growbag compost is high in Nitrogen? My potatoes will still grow ok in that compost wont it?
What compost do you suggest using to grow my potatoes? Do you just use compost or mix it? If so, with what?
@ilovezoe1234 The Nitrogen thing is just a guess on my part. I am certainly no expert. Please see "Potatoes in a bucket 8" for a recap of what I did. i would love to know what sort of yield you get with a potato sack.
One question though if you dont mind. My potato shoots are very high, no matter what i do with the next bag, they still shoot up extremely high. Is this normal? The shoots all seem to bend and some snap. WIll the potatoe carry on growing regardless?
Also, how many seed potatoes are you starting with in each bucket?
@ilovezoe1234 One thing that I can think of that might make the above ground part of the potato plant grow tall is a lot of nitrogen. Maybe you used a nitrogen fertilzer or the soil is high in nitrogen. I would still think that they would grow underground though, as long as it is just a few of the shoots that are breaking. In the video you commented on I used two seed potatoes per bucket and in later videos where I used barrels I used five or six. Good luck with your garden.
you will get a better harvest if you completely bury the potato plant each time you add soil. I start with an inch of soil on the bottom, add the seed potato, when the plant is 3-4 inches tall I completely cover it with soil, runners then are sent out with more potato's. Do this until the pail is full, using this method I generally get about 10lbs per bucket. Very nice video diary of your process and you have a great looking raised garden.
@neonpurplegirl I watered them about an inch, twice per week. It depends on the soil one uses of course, but the idea is to get the water to the bottom of the bucket. Good luck.
I got the biggest kick out of your little boy's reactions! I just planted my first garden with my 3yo daughter and she is super excited about the whole thing. Every morning she wakes up and says "papa we need to go water my garden, hurry!" I have never done potato's but I think I may try it. I'm doing everything else in 5 gallon buckets too.
Actually, potato seeds come from a seed pod that is seperate from the flower. The one I have seen looks like a small green tomato. I think MichiganSnowPony has a video that shows one. I have also read that trying to harvest these seeds to grow ones own seed potatoes is an endeavor best left to a botanist, but this is just what I have read. Good luck.
This gives me hope. I'm growing some reds in the ground, however each plant has about the same space as one of those buckets.
I have mixed mulch and perlite along with soil for use in hilling the plants. I figured that would be the softest growing area short of hay or straw(which I don't want to use).
Nice haul, I'd be happy with 2lbs per, considering the small amount of space needed.
Most of the buckets had two seed potatoes, but I'm not sure that was the best thing to do. This year, I have planted ten buckets with Red Norland as a n early crop. These I have done with one potato per bucket. I will do my later potatoes in barrels and I will use four seed potatoes per barrel. We shall see what happens.
Here too we wait until the leaves are dried up and dead...usually just before winter. I though your pot would be too small..but you still got tatters! Nice! loved the kid talking ;)
What do you use for a container? I was thinking on using only one larger sized seed potato per five gallon bucket this year. I used six seed potatoes per barrel last year, but I was thinking on four larger sized pieces this year.
@robmelnoahzane Now I mainly plant in the ground....but I still use a few pots like yours for like tomatoes, pepper...works fine. I'm gonna try old tires stacked up for my potatoes this year (oh and the ground) But I'd agree with your, just one spud per pot. and I guess if you wait 'till the leaves are dead you should have more harvest.
You're right, they tasted great. I am going to try stacking buckets for the late season spuds this year. I am starting to get the itch to get back out there.
I am using the soil for a couple of non-vegetable projects that I have planned. I think I am going to harvest the barrels today, so maybe I will get that posted by Monday.
You did well, you grow yours the same way we do ours. We did try round cage type thing, used rabbit fencing and then wrapped a weed tarp around the inside alond with a bit on the bottom (we have clay and rock so we were short of ideas, but have tons growing in this compost bin like circular growing area, I heard carrots love to grow in the soil utilized for potatoes, you recyling it that way?
Everytime I grew taters, I just waited till the plants died back and then harvested them. It gave all the spuds time to get as big as they were gonna get. You actually got a pretty large harvest for a bucket planting. Excellent harvest. Very cool!
ps: You shoulda told your kid that those were pod people. lol
Yeah pretty much brown. They fall down when they're dead. I slow down watering as they die............so it's sort of like playing it by ear. You took yours almost all the way to the end though. They were pretty yellow and on their way out. You actually got a very decent harvest for a bucket planting.
Praxxus, can you leave the potatoes in the buckets to grow the next season? Or is that a "no no" I dont know about? Exploreourplanet said she replants in Sept, I forget where she is at but Im in South Carolina and I replanted the smallest of them (or left them in the buckets) is that ok to do? I like to get a couple opinions, I dont know when our first frost would be, Nov? Does it matter with potatoes? Would it harm them? I could bring them inside or throw a bag over them, not sure what to do
I've never seen a sand castle that had potatoes in it :). Thanks a lot for posting these updates documenting the potato progress. There are not really any others I found on youtube like this just about growing potatoes and the different stages. I may try it next year. Thanks!
You're welcome. At the end I will do a review of the experiment so you can see everything I used from start to finish. Other people have posted videos that have helped me with questions, so I guess I want to try to do my part. You have got me looking around for places to hang things. Keep up the good work.
Let me know how they turn out. I am going to let the rest of mine die more completely. Maybe the yield will increase. Maybe not. We shall see. Good luck.
Very cool!
SFGFoundation 3 months ago
adorable kids
burning1er 4 months ago
hahaha "BURP" thats my boy there...lol
aschris87 5 months ago
Can I Know your bucket size (diameter and its height) ?. thank you very much!
seemegzllusion 5 months ago
Potato's have a huge appetite! Fertilize well.
buddybleau 6 months ago
I always wait until the plant is dead. That way just about all of my potato's are large. Any sooner and you will have little bitty potats. The biggest secret to gardening is patience.
buddybleau 6 months ago
WOW! Thats look like a sand castle....
The child is so cute. He is really excited to see all this. How adoreable...
ahmedbilalawan 6 months ago
excellent job on all those potatoes! was that yukon gold? i've grown red potatoes in buckets but never harvested that many potatoes. i think this year i will add a little bone meal to my rows in the garden. root vegetables like phosphorus to grow. nitrogen makes the foliage grow beautifully but doesn't help the potato. i've used scotts 10-10-10 fertilizer so it helps both. plus it has potassium for strength.
checkfoldcallraise 6 months ago
how do you get new seeds? when you harvest can you let your harvested potatoes sit to grow new ones for the next season?
LiquidDnb4Ever 6 months ago
ecellent vid..thks very much ...just what i wanted to know
billyboggins 6 months ago
Why you throw away the small ones?
G0MPgomp 7 months ago
Your son is adorable!!!! Everyone is ignoring him, concentrating on the new babies lol :p
TheyDontSee 9 months ago
that kid is silly
MsCatstevens 9 months ago
Love your son, good harvest!
shortwanker 10 months ago
It's so funny that i gasped the same time you did when you saw the potatoes! lol! you have inspired me to grow some potatoes in containers myself!!
rainieda 11 months ago
We are using tires to do the same...we have heard that you can yeild even more using old tires! Thanks for posting!!
susieqinpsl 11 months ago
@susieqinpsl I have heard that method produces a good yield, but I have yet to see it. I hope you will consider posting your results. Good luck.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 11 months ago
@robmelnoahzane I will!!
susieqinpsl 11 months ago
@susieqinpsl old tiers leach toxic chemicals into your potatoes i would not eat them ! use food safe buckets
randomnoone 11 months ago
loooooove the kid in the background. Thanks for the video!
jahnotdead 11 months ago
All those little ones the size of a marble or larger if they're firm. I heat up a fry pan with a skiff of oil in the bottom and roll them around to fry them up. They are the best with some eggs or whatever you prefer for breakfast. Just an idea, so they don't get wasted.
LIKEAWHIRLWIND 1 year ago
Do you have any wondering Jews?
Armornone 1 year ago
God is good.
mikeygeneral 1 year ago
Hi,
Thanks for replying. I use Growbag compost with my potatoes in a potato sack. I assume Growbag compost is high in Nitrogen? My potatoes will still grow ok in that compost wont it?
What compost do you suggest using to grow my potatoes? Do you just use compost or mix it? If so, with what?
Thanks for your help.
ilovezoe1234 1 year ago
@ilovezoe1234 The Nitrogen thing is just a guess on my part. I am certainly no expert. Please see "Potatoes in a bucket 8" for a recap of what I did. i would love to know what sort of yield you get with a potato sack.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 1 year ago
I thought this video was so helpful. Brilliant!
One question though if you dont mind. My potato shoots are very high, no matter what i do with the next bag, they still shoot up extremely high. Is this normal? The shoots all seem to bend and some snap. WIll the potatoe carry on growing regardless?
Also, how many seed potatoes are you starting with in each bucket?
Thanks
ilovezoe1234 1 year ago
@ilovezoe1234 One thing that I can think of that might make the above ground part of the potato plant grow tall is a lot of nitrogen. Maybe you used a nitrogen fertilzer or the soil is high in nitrogen. I would still think that they would grow underground though, as long as it is just a few of the shoots that are breaking. In the video you commented on I used two seed potatoes per bucket and in later videos where I used barrels I used five or six. Good luck with your garden.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 1 year ago
the little kid made the video
72hakim 1 year ago
your kid sounds more excited about the mud than the potatoes.... i find that hilarious
bakeee 1 year ago
look how clean they are next to the plant roots, wow awesome.
1dsunhope 1 year ago
you will get a better harvest if you completely bury the potato plant each time you add soil. I start with an inch of soil on the bottom, add the seed potato, when the plant is 3-4 inches tall I completely cover it with soil, runners then are sent out with more potato's. Do this until the pail is full, using this method I generally get about 10lbs per bucket. Very nice video diary of your process and you have a great looking raised garden.
chevydmax04 1 year ago
i love this its so helpful, how often do you water them and how much?
neonpurplegirl 1 year ago
@neonpurplegirl I watered them about an inch, twice per week. It depends on the soil one uses of course, but the idea is to get the water to the bottom of the bucket. Good luck.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 1 year ago
I got the biggest kick out of your little boy's reactions! I just planted my first garden with my 3yo daughter and she is super excited about the whole thing. Every morning she wakes up and says "papa we need to go water my garden, hurry!" I have never done potato's but I think I may try it. I'm doing everything else in 5 gallon buckets too.
enigmascape 1 year ago
The kid seams eager to help lol.
kingsnoofer 1 year ago
Well done
lazarantony 1 year ago
I'm not sure why, but I find it entertaining to watch you pull potatoes out of a bucket. Well done.
dhaddox 1 year ago
Flowers???
Do potatoes get seeds that way?
bmwsux4 1 year ago
Actually, potato seeds come from a seed pod that is seperate from the flower. The one I have seen looks like a small green tomato. I think MichiganSnowPony has a video that shows one. I have also read that trying to harvest these seeds to grow ones own seed potatoes is an endeavor best left to a botanist, but this is just what I have read. Good luck.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 1 year ago
Comment removed
bmwsux4 1 year ago
Looks like one bucket had enough potatoes for a family of four. Nice very nice I am going to try this.
xxnoangelxx 1 year ago
I love the comments from the little guy.
scottdrawdy 1 year ago
When the potatos are done growing they will die back by themselves. Your just limiting your harvest by digging em up early.
the 2 week after they die is so they can harden their skin and stabilize the starch for storage.
astrialkil 1 year ago 3
I am definitely going to let them go longer this year. We learn as we go.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 1 year ago
This gives me hope. I'm growing some reds in the ground, however each plant has about the same space as one of those buckets.
I have mixed mulch and perlite along with soil for use in hilling the plants. I figured that would be the softest growing area short of hay or straw(which I don't want to use).
Nice haul, I'd be happy with 2lbs per, considering the small amount of space needed.
flibber123 2 years ago
I have Red Norlands planted in ten buckets. One potato per bucket. We will have to compare what we come up with. Good luck.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
Try mixing some perlite in your soil.. it will crush easy when the tatters grow i get about a dozen from 2 seeders in one 5gallon bucket.
Nice Work Cute Kid!
PimpinTheG 2 years ago
Can you summarize what you did? Fertilizer, water, potato variety?
Thanks, Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
gr8 video , how many seed potatos did you sow per bucket ?
wxpm 2 years ago
Most of the buckets had two seed potatoes, but I'm not sure that was the best thing to do. This year, I have planted ten buckets with Red Norland as a n early crop. These I have done with one potato per bucket. I will do my later potatoes in barrels and I will use four seed potatoes per barrel. We shall see what happens.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
thanks for your reply rob
wxpm 2 years ago
Here too we wait until the leaves are dried up and dead...usually just before winter. I though your pot would be too small..but you still got tatters! Nice! loved the kid talking ;)
jihadacadien 2 years ago
What do you use for a container? I was thinking on using only one larger sized seed potato per five gallon bucket this year. I used six seed potatoes per barrel last year, but I was thinking on four larger sized pieces this year.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
@robmelnoahzane Now I mainly plant in the ground....but I still use a few pots like yours for like tomatoes, pepper...works fine. I'm gonna try old tires stacked up for my potatoes this year (oh and the ground) But I'd agree with your, just one spud per pot. and I guess if you wait 'till the leaves are dead you should have more harvest.
jihadacadien 2 years ago
That's about what I got out of single layer buckets. I hope to get more yield out of layered buckets. But WOW! what great tasting spud's!!!
meroneyboney 2 years ago
You're right, they tasted great. I am going to try stacking buckets for the late season spuds this year. I am starting to get the itch to get back out there.
ROB
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
I am using the soil for a couple of non-vegetable projects that I have planned. I think I am going to harvest the barrels today, so maybe I will get that posted by Monday.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
You did well, you grow yours the same way we do ours. We did try round cage type thing, used rabbit fencing and then wrapped a weed tarp around the inside alond with a bit on the bottom (we have clay and rock so we were short of ideas, but have tons growing in this compost bin like circular growing area, I heard carrots love to grow in the soil utilized for potatoes, you recyling it that way?
KARStarla 2 years ago
That's one yummie sand castle!!!!
Great job
tnjeffofalltrades 2 years ago
Everytime I grew taters, I just waited till the plants died back and then harvested them. It gave all the spuds time to get as big as they were gonna get. You actually got a pretty large harvest for a bucket planting. Excellent harvest. Very cool!
ps: You shoulda told your kid that those were pod people. lol
Praxxus55712 2 years ago
Do you mean all the way brown? When would you stop watering?
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
Yeah pretty much brown. They fall down when they're dead. I slow down watering as they die............so it's sort of like playing it by ear. You took yours almost all the way to the end though. They were pretty yellow and on their way out. You actually got a very decent harvest for a bucket planting.
Praxxus55712 2 years ago
Well then I guess that's the plan. Thanks.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
Praxxus, can you leave the potatoes in the buckets to grow the next season? Or is that a "no no" I dont know about? Exploreourplanet said she replants in Sept, I forget where she is at but Im in South Carolina and I replanted the smallest of them (or left them in the buckets) is that ok to do? I like to get a couple opinions, I dont know when our first frost would be, Nov? Does it matter with potatoes? Would it harm them? I could bring them inside or throw a bag over them, not sure what to do
KARStarla 2 years ago
I've never seen a sand castle that had potatoes in it :). Thanks a lot for posting these updates documenting the potato progress. There are not really any others I found on youtube like this just about growing potatoes and the different stages. I may try it next year. Thanks!
14dollarz 2 years ago
You're welcome. At the end I will do a review of the experiment so you can see everything I used from start to finish. Other people have posted videos that have helped me with questions, so I guess I want to try to do my part. You have got me looking around for places to hang things. Keep up the good work.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
Let me know how they turn out. I am going to let the rest of mine die more completely. Maybe the yield will increase. Maybe not. We shall see. Good luck.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago
great job. your boy steals the show. encore to the both of yall.
ironhead41 2 years ago
I guess he thought we were harvesting mud. Ate some of the taters with dinner. Very good.
Rob
robmelnoahzane 2 years ago