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How to grow potatoes in a small area, above ground, or in the city. A great idea...


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Here you go Michiganmadmax and others that have inquired about how the potato bags fared. (For new subscribers, see earlier videos from this past Spring and summer) The plants didn't have the dreaded blight as I feared, but the "harvest" was fairly light -- EXCEPT when you consider I only got the bags 1/3 to 1/2 full. The straw layers were bulky and fooled me into thinking I had the bags fuller than I did. I realized (too late as the plants were huge by that time) that I hadn't filled my bags. Oh well. I also learned that I probably overfed my plants and next time would lean more towards filling the bags with SHREDDED or chopped straw only after planting the potatoes in a 8" - 10" bed of good, loamy soil. I think that would have lent to a better crop. That said, I am really geeked to use these bags again as COMPOST bins, alternating layering half-composted goat manure / old hay and straw as I did with the potatoes. The finished soil we got was just lovely. So. . . while the potato bin will not be overflowing this year, I DID learn a new, easy way of making some great compost! : )


We've done this with what they call potato bags (kind of like landscaper cloth only heavier. Went to pull what thought was weeks and it had a bunch of baby potatoes attached. So surprisingly funny.

Growing your own potatoes is fun. I've used raised bed, in the earth and potato bags which worked the best.

First get some potatoes you enjoy eating and let them go to sprout. Cut the potatoes into sections (each section has a sprout) and plant in the dirt. When the plants get to about 5-6 inches place another layer of dirt on top. Just keep layering after each growth period until the bag is full. Don't forget to water. In the raised bed they didn't get much water due to drought and looked pathetic. The bag ones look great. Also cleared the area surrounding the raised bed to allow stringers to reseed in the earth. Didn't use any straw - just compost soil.