The Great Growing-Potatoes-in-Bags experiment results

[Amacree1]

Not sure if this has been said or if you already know, but the potatoes that you thought had blight, I'm pretty sure they had potato scab disease. It's caused from soil having a higher PH than 5.5.

[takem2000]

The way she laughs makes me laugh too. Btw, I am going to try my first potato and sweet potato in a container this spring.

[graffiticandy]

if you are affraid of earth worms than homesteading IS NOT FOR YOU

[Michigansnowpony]

@graffiticandy Not afraid, just don't like 'em. As for homesteading -- ummm. . . .yeah, okay LOL. 

[alan30189]

Gotta love those earthworms! Vital to the garden.

[consernedamerican]

preserving ur wealth lmao

[ShonitaMG]

Great haul for six plants! That's awesome! If you ever decide you don't want your earthworms, send them my way! I need em in my garden! Lol!

[MsStanleycat]

What is blight and how do you prevent it??

[frelnc]

Earth worms are the gardener's best friends. You want to be a gardener? Get over it.

[raydiofolk]

it is clear, patatoes hate speach

[Michigansnowpony]

@raydiofolk And they really hate people who can't spell. . . . . ; 0

[raydiofolk]

@Michigansnowpony

lol

touché

it is dificult for a dutchman living in france not to mix up four languages

to make potatoes you realy need to plant first and than recover the plant with soil or other material so the plant will develop more sprouts so will make more potatoes, wich it will hide in safe loose places, even under cartonboard.

[Michigansnowpony]

@raydiofolk Oh my bad -- your spelling is fine for a non-English-speaking person or a person for whom English is a second (third, fourth) language! In fact, it's better than the typical American teenager used to texting all the time, which is who I thought I was replying to. ; ) I have learned that the variety of potatoe I planted in the bags was a determinate kind, so that will limit the harvest. Now, I plant our potatoes in rows. Still eating last summer's harvest!

[raydiofolk]

@Michigansnowpony

they basicly eat rocks and minerals and carbon, in order to do that they need disolving acids and micro-organismen With water and sun it will create a carbon life form the plant. the worms will make the mulch wich is the biotope under ground

[Jefferdaughter]

Since the cintainiers are made of a material (petroleum derived plastic) that is not totally innert, does anyone know if there are chemicals in those growig containers which might outgas or leach into the soil and be taken up by the plants?

[robertsmi9]

If she only knew how important those worms are for the garden,

[Michigansnowpony]

@robertsmi9 Oh trust me, "she" knows. (Worms are a gardener's best friend!) But that doesn't mean she has to like 'em. ; )

[carmelanneor]

heh,heh,heh,,,,, you needed to sing....... "One potato, Two potato, Three potato four

Five potato, Six potato, Seven potato more

Baked potato, Boiled potato, Tato mashed with cheese

Big potato, Small potato, More Potato Please!

[32323kb]

youll waited to long to pick them

[darat6]

the wind flattened mine



[Michigansnowpony]

@darat6  -- Could you salvage them???

[scicciarella65]

the bags are great for composting but since they are dark and no air the reason some got the blight was to much heat

the patatoes should be cleaned and dry only for about three hours till dry and stored in a cool dark place with air flow to last

[villagefem]

Im gonna try planting potatoes on My window Ledge in Manhattan.... Tee!

[gardenvespers777]

Earthworms are our friends :-) When I see them as I'm digging around I make sure I put them back. Means I have good soil and keeps it loose!

We used to go "hunting" for them at night when they would come up (for fishing).

My potatoes are just coming up for this year!!! hope I get some decent potatoes in a few months.

[sp00ktube]

Yes it's an idea for people with small spaces. Taters need room to make, the more dirt that you pull arond them the more they will make.

[sugerbear520]

nice earthworms are cool lol

[artjbjr]

LOL! Earthworms! Too funny. Keep the great videos coming. Common sense and foresight, no wonder you're married!

[Tagz3339]

more dirt will get more potatoes, add more starters as you fill all of bucket.

[onesojourner]

wow! you hate worms and you are gardening?

[Allen2045]

Worms help your garden grow.

[NewAmericaNow]

try tires, start with one full of loose rich dirt. We added sand to ours, you add another tire with dirt when the stems growing and go as high as u want. We went 4 tires high and harvested about 30-40 pounds from 3 sets. The tires hold on to the water and the potatoes get really big with low maintenance. Harvesting is easy you just remove the tires one by one. Mrs.NAN

[UnoRaza]

You're a gardener and you hate worms???

[Cookiejug1]

I can't believe you don't like the wonderful little engineers of the garden - Earthworms! Are you sure you're a gardener?

[mukwah1111]

I dont know how much money you invested in these bags but they hardly seem worth the bother.......maybe the compost production (this year?) is a much better idea? how did that work out ?

[iwantosavemoney]

this is making me hungry nice little crop. im not sure if it matters but i was all ways told to not cover the hole plant when adding layers this may help you have a bigger crop next year 5 *****

the cheap guy

[kokonutbaby1]

I cant beelieve you are not afraid of bees that can sting u all over, but are afraid of a toothless harmless worm?? lol that is soo funny! hahaha..you can thank your little friends who u are afraid of for all that nice compost..they produced it for you! So..I guess a worm farm is out of the question?? lol

[logojoogle]

you sounded like me when we dug ours up. lol would u ever have thought something like that would make us so happy.

[klodomir]

According to what I've read, Yukon Gold and all early varieties are no good for container growing, because they only set fruit once (at the bottom), no matter how many times you cover them while they grow. I'm going to try this with Bintje instead, but Yellow Finn has also been mentioned as a good container potato.

[iampchaupt]

From this video and others about growing potatoes in sacks and pails I know I won't be trying it. I wasn't impressed with the results.

[Michigansnowpony]

@iampchaupt - Yes, it may not be the most productive method, but for someone short on space / land, it's an option. I'm going to be interested to see what my potatoes planted traditionally in rows and hilled in the big garden this year are going to yield.

[thinkladythink]

@Michigansnowpony , this video of growing potatoes failed because, you are supose to plant the potatoe pieces, then when the greenery grows out of dirt, you are supose to recover it leaving a little bit of greenery out of dirt, and keep repeating until greenery dies on top then dg up potatoes.. the greenery turns to roots, the roots become potatoes .. its is best to use old tires, or hills in garden. people say the looser the dirt the more potatoes, some say use untreated saw dust mixed in dirt.

[dunno414]

@Michigansnowpony lack spots? do you mean the compost thats still on them?

[qzsue68]

@Michigansnowpony LOL a gardener who hates worms? They are one of your best natural friends :)

[balaclavaman]

Try with another variety?

[k9klf]

@iampchaupt ukon gold will not grow up their vines .Reds, bakers ,and fingerlings will. Only the ukon golds set at the bottom of the plant try it with pontiac reds, Idaho bakers and such.

[JohnBournemouth]

I have put 12 potatoes in my 3 bags, sets at 4inch apart in depth.

So I wonder how many I will get !!! Mine have flowers on them so it should not be too long now before I find out,

[Z71Ranger]

I hope you did not eat the potatoes! The black spots where from the worms pping and pooping on them.

[Michigansnowpony]

@Z71Ranger -- EEEEEEEKKKK! : )

[Z71Ranger]

@Michigansnowpony JK!!! LOL!!!

[IdahoViewing]

@Z71Ranger What a stupid idea that is. Grow up.

[Z71Ranger]

@IdahoViewing LOL at you REDNECKS and your gardens!!!

[Azathoth43]

you hate EARTHWORMS???

LOL

what kind of gardener are you?

[Michigansnowpony]

@Azathoth43 Worm-challenged. ; )

[SPCkeith]

man i hope i get a good crop of tatoes. I'm probably going to put in another few plants 2 probably isn't going to produce much.

[lillbutton2]

my taters get scab and can look a little ruff but they still taste greate. I am going to try this bag method this year on a few plants. But i love ground growing. I just don't like hauling the dirt for hills. :)

[EbolaV1rus]

I think what is on the spuds is called "scab" it's from organic matter touching the growing spuds. However the good news is, it's harmless and the spuds are fine to eat.

[MP99312]

The good news is the worms made your potatoes big! I will take all the worms you are griping about!

[carnypimp]

Me too fish bait!

[neild1]

good experiment atleast now youll know to earth the shoots up to get more free food. loved watching thankyou

[vanfarowe]

could let your chickens scratch for worms in the black gold.

[robmelnoahzane]

I am glad to see your experiment was a success.

Rob

[jihadacadien]

Those bags are prettyy cool

[loveofvegetables]

You should know that worms are your best friends in the garden, you should be happy you got so many of them in your potato bags, if I were you I would place them all in your garden they will do wonders.

[whoodiestyle]

what exactly do they do? i guess i could google it and find out

[EbolaV1rus]

Worms make small holes in the soil, helping to lighten the soil and reduce soil compaction. They also drag organic matter like leaves or grass clipping deep into the soil, thus enriching the soil. Another added benefit is their poop, which is called "castings" this is loaded with micro nutrients and trace minerals.

Think of worms as tiny little farmers. Plus you can use them for fishing!

[ExmoorMist]

old tyres do a great job,they can be piled as high as you wish and as taters grow add another and fill with soil.taters to the top!!!!!!

[ExmoorMist]

and of course old tyres are freeeeeee ........... and last for years

[Dixie096]

Yippie Renee! I'm so excited that your potato experiment was a success. Awesome job and you and your husband are so cute together.

[michiganmadmax]

I forgot about your "love" for earthworms...too funny:) I wonder why you didn't have the girls help you? I grew spuds for the first time this year, and my 6 year old thought we were digging for treasure when we dug them up (which I guess we were). She watched with me and kept pointing out all the potatoes as they rolled out--she was almost as excited as you, except she wanted to keep the earthworms:)

[herbalcat]

Okay...so you're a gardener and you hate worms??? Hahaha! Hilarious!

[Frequencitee]

You are hilarious Renee! That's a funny response to night-crawlers. I know what I'm getting you for Christmas. teehee

[blueeggsitter]

Good lookin taters Renee!

[58belvedere]

someone said stack tires up and do the same. so i gave it a try last year no luck it didnt work.

[TheCassandraReview]

you got better results then I got with the tires. where did you get the bags?

[Michigansnowpony]

Well, I ordered them on sale from Farmteck for $9 a piece. BUT, later saw them at our local farm store for the same price (minus shipping costs though!). I'd be tempted to band some hardware cloth together in a "barrel" and line with newsprint or grocery sacks. I think that would work well and would also be easy to dump. These bags didn't hold up as well as I'd like. I can still use them another year, but. . after that. . . maybe not.

[BLBMZ]

Just like opening a present...lol. Your potatoes looked much better than mine. Mine were huge, but thats just because they looked like 5 or 6 had grown together...lol. I had some Very odd shaped potatoes. Wont find them in a grocery store...lol. Dont know what I did wrong but.....they still taste good. Live and learn and will try again next year. Thanks for sharing!

[GoatHollow]

The worms crawl in.......

The worms crawl out.......

In your stomach, and out your mouth!!!!

An old nursery song I know

[Wivanunu]

Great video!

There's something relaxing about anticipating how many potatoes will come out of each bag! I'm just strange. :-)

[Michigansnowpony]

LOL! No, you're just a homesteader at heart.

[hunt1803]

We always ended up with a potato plant or two growing out of the edge of our compost bin up in Alaska. They were never as prolific as the ones that were in the rows. Did find out, however, that when we mulched between the rows with dried grass clippings and straw for weed control, that we'd have nearly as many potatoes in the mulch as in the dirt.

As to your bags only being half full, could it be that the material you put in just shrank as it composted?

[Michigansnowpony]

That's exactly what happened -- the straw was bulky, but then packed / composted down. That's interesting about the mulch between the rows growing potatoes as well as the rows. . . That follows along with the article in Backwoods Home that gave me the idea about the straw. But of course, I had to add compost too because I was just sure straw alone (on top of the initial soil the spuds were planted in) wouldn't be enough!

[mrgoodvibrations]

That looks like a cool alturnative way to grow taters! Looks like it takes space, but lower yield?

[Michigansnowpony]

This is what I would do different (better?) next time: I'd use less compost and more straw (that was CHOPPED) and plain 'ol soil. Then, I'd make sure I was filling my containers all the way up -- maybe adding soil every day (because these plants grew at a phenomenal rate).

[HomesteadAcres]

Its a wonderful feeling to dig up potatoes and see whats under there! And you got some wonderful compose to!

[MomOfTwoInTexas]

If you do find that you have blight, does it not stay in the soil? I know it's airborne, but it would seem the soil would be contaminated.

I'm sold, I'm getting some of those bags!! Hubby made it look so easy, lol.

[Michigansnowpony]

From what I read (our local newspapers ran several stories on the blight this summer), the fungus is always present in the soil to some extent, but unless the growing conditions are right, it doesn't get a foothold. The right conditions are: lots of rain, cool nights, and warm but not hot days. That pretty much sums up the summer we had here.

[TheDailyRon]

Good job on the potatoes. Now package up those night crawlers and set up a stand by the road. :)

[Michigansnowpony]

SNORT! My girls would definitely be game for that!! Me -- ahh, not so much.

[phnixlady]

beautiful ! I am so happy for you. I have to check this out, as a container gardener! I love the worms, so that will be nice !! love,p

[tabitie]

Sno-Poni and Hubby!! We stayed up late to watch your grand finale vids. Not a disappointment becuase I expected you to get nothing after that tobacco mosaic virus (sorry.) Looks like you got at least 25 lbs of organic spuds there? That would be around $50 where we live. Not bad. The Gardening when it counts book would have recommended more soil and less compost in the mix, with lots of bonemeal and some fireplace ashes. I'm halfway thru the book as we speak.

[marthale7]

That sure beats digging in clay :) I one time had several bags of leaves in black garbage bags it seem to make wonderful compost out of the leaves in no time, i think the high tempretures help. The thing with the bags is it helps keep the moister in... I am wondering why don't you wash your potatoes in the buckets before you bring them in to dry?  I normally filled the buckets and swirled them around then dumped the water Then dried them.. Cheers thanks for sharing!

[Michigansnowpony]

Ackkk! (Smacking head) Now I'm wondering why we didn't wash the potatoes in the buckets before bringing them in too!!!! Good idea. Just didn't think of it at the time. DUH! : )

[Octahoney]

If you do find potato blight, will you film it and show us what it looks like? I have never grown potatoes, but i would like to try it. :):)

[Michigansnowpony]

I'm loading a video as I type. The potatoes didn't have blight afterall, just some rougher / patchy-type skin spots on some of them.

[centervilletn]

fantastic! i gotta get one of those worm growing bags!! haha... I think youi need shorter bags..so they can pollinate ...i think thats what happened...grow red potatoes too..they are seem to produce more...i got about 200 lbs from 15 lbs of seed potatoes

[Michigansnowpony]

Ha ha ha -- yeah, that's it! Forget the potatoes, they're WORM GROWING bags!!

I don't know about the pollination because the plants were spilling out over the tops of the bags no problem and we had lots of bees this summer due to the neighbor behind us having hives for his market garden fields. I think I just overdid it on the compost and should have used more straw. I think I fed the plants (tops) too much, even though potatoes are supposedly heavy feeders.