Leaves From My Garden

pages from the Notebooks of ..........Helen Cronin

  • Helen’s Garden
    • About the Garden
    • Garden Photo Challenge
      • About The Challenge
      • About The Garden Photo Challenge
      • Garden Photo Challenge Weeks 1-10
      • Garden Photo Challenge: Weeks 11-20
      • Garden Photo Challenge: Weeks 21 – 30
      • Garden Photo Challenge: Weeks 31 – 40
      • Garden Photo Challenge: Weeks 41 – 52
  • Gardener
    • Design
    • DIY
    • Gardening
    • Flower Garden
    • Kitchen Garden
  • Homemaker
    • Craft Projects
    • Natural Skincare
    • Recipes
      • Pickles and Preserves – General Notes
        • Preserves
      • Teatime Treats
  • Free eBook

Kitchen Garden

How to Plant Potatoes in Sacks – a photo guide

There seems to be a growing (!) use of planting sacks for Potatoes. I did hear one neighbour grumble that it was the most expensive pound of potatoes he had had, ever!

Although my first attempt was far more successful than it should have been, I know I didn’t do things quite as I should have. But I tried again, and was successful. So here is my photo guide of How to Plant Potatoes in Sacks

What You Will Need

If you choose to buy proper sacks it will cost more for the first year’s crop but with care the sacks will last a long time. Or you can go down the thrift route and use anything that’s big enough e.g. Pot, tub, container, inside-out compost bags (they look neater black side out), anything you can lay your hands on that can hold about 3 buckets of compost.

Sack planting Potatoes

You will see from the photo that I have chitted my Potatoes. This simply means resting the seed potatoes in trays or egg cartons with the bit with the most “eyes” facing up so that they can start sprouting. Put the tray into the light, but not direct sunlight. The ‘sprouts’ should be firm, stubby, and coloured.

A problem I have come across is if you order your seed potatoes and they are supplied too early. Keeping them until you are ready to chit them can be difficult. Try to keep them cool and in the dark. Sometimes the seed potatoes just can’t wait to get going and you may find that they have sprouted. Don’t panic just ‘chit’ them as described and the shoots should firm up. They may be a bit long so handle them carefully. You don’t want to knock any of the shoots off!

How to Plant Your Potatoes

compost suitable for growing Potatoes

To keep the costs down, I have mixed some cheap Multi-purpose compost (I bought 4 x 50 litres bags at a bargain price at the local supermarket) with soil I had from rotting down some old turf. It had been stacked for over a year, so all the plant growth etc. had mixed with the soil, which, in theory, makes for good potting soil. I  used one bag of compost to fill  6 bags for this project. If you have enough home-made compost you could use that instead.

Broken crocks aid drainage

Place some broken crocks or as I have done here, roof tiles, over the drainage holes in the base of the sack. This prevents them from clogging up with the compost mix.

Potatoes in the planting sack

Add about a bucketful of your compost mix to your sacks, to give them a layer of about 4 inches/100mm in the base. Place the potatoes with the sprouts pointing skywards on the compost. I have planted three tubers to each of my sacks. I noticed that when Monty Don trialled planting in sacks, one year, he said one-per-sack or if you preferred smaller potatoes, plant two. However, many Suppliers provide you with three tubers for each sack. Once you’ve made your decision about how many to plant, cover them with some more compost so that they are just tucked up (covered over) nicely.

compost and water for potatoes

Don’t forget to water the sacks. And do keep adding compost to the sack as the shoots get to being about 4-6 inches high. Keep adding more compost as the potato plants grow until the bag is about 3/4 full. Do water the sacks regularly, but avoid getting the leaves wet as this can cause a disease called Blight. 

And finally

Write a label, plastic, wood, anything that can stay in the sack or as I did when I ran out of labels, write the variety on the sack itself with a Sharpie. You think you will remember which variety is planted in which sack but you won’t, trust me, (ahem) I know from experience!

Label Potato varities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five little Potato sacks sitting in a row…

Potatoes growing in sacks

Whilst the home vegetable grower traditionally plants Potatoes for a Summer harvest, how about trying some for the Autumn/Winter? Maybe even new potatoes for your Christmas Dinner? By mid-Summer you can buy tubers for planting then and harvesting from October onwards. The tubers have been kept in cold storage and dormancy so chitting is not necessary. Planting in the Summer sunshine, in warm soil means they get going rapidly. Just remember to move the sacks into a sheltered spot or greenhouse before the frosty weather starts

This second planting means you could get two crops from you sacks, how’s that for value-for-money? The first lot of compost will be depleted of nutrients, so probably best to start again with fresh. 

 

Sharing is caring!

3shares
  • Share
  • Tweet


Leave a Comment

« The Kitchen Garden
Water, water everywhere … but not a drop to spare »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hello! Welcome to Leaves From My Garden

Cameo of Helen Cronin

My name is Helen Cronin

I am here to share my love of gardening with you, and to help you create, grow and nurture your garden. To encourage you to turn your ordinary space into a beautiful place, and to enjoy everything your garden and gardening can give you.

Sign up for the LFMG Newsletter and get your free copy of the eBook today!

Buy your Garden Design book – click on the image to read more

Categories

Recommended Resources

Follow me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Leaves From My Garden on Instagram

Beautiful Pussy Willow on my dog walk today. . . . Beautiful Pussy Willow on my dog walk today.
.
.
.
#willowtree #pussywillow #pussywillows
#dogwalkers
#inmyvillage
Forsythia exploding into flower....sadly not in my Forsythia exploding into flower....sadly not in my garden though
.
.
.
#forsythia #notinmygarden #gardenenvy #inmyvillage #indorset #goldenflowers #yellowflowers🌻  #springtimeflowers
Possibly the last photo this year(!) of this beaut Possibly the last photo this year(!) of this beauty. I love the crisp detail of the freckles. Is it possible to have crush on a flower 'cos this is it ...... for this week anway🤣

#ilovehellebores #inlovewithhellebores #helleborusorientalis 
#helleboresofinstagram 
#inmygarden
Crocuses ...and more to come. I love there cheery Crocuses ...and more to come. I love there cheery faces😄😄😄

#gardencrocus #springflowers🌸  #crocusflowers #crocuses # inadorsetgarden
Load More… Follow on Instagram

  • Home
  • About Leaves From My Garden
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT