Step-by-step technology for growing potatoes in bags

Growing potatoes in bags is a solution for gardeners with limited space. Traditional culture takes up a lot of space. To obtain good harvests, crop rotation is required.

Growing potatoes is a labor-intensive process. Caring for plantings (watering, weeding, loosening, hilling) takes up free time. You have to work with your back bent. Elderly summer residents are abandoning their favorite crops.

But there is a solution to the problem - grow potatoes vertically (in bags). Plantings take up little space, should be placed in any lighted place, and are much easier to care for (there is no need to bend over).

Young gardeners should try growing potatoes in bags. People receive an environmentally friendly harvest and acquire additional skills. Knowledge of agrobiology will help in working with other crops.

Potatoes in bags placed along the paths will give the area an unexpected flavor. It is worth remembering: in the Peter the Great era, ball dresses and hairstyles were decorated with flowers.

The technology of planting in bags allows you to obtain root crops even in the absence of free land. The area is occupied by paths or is an overgrown wasteland: potatoes will please you with a harvest.

How to grow potatoes in bags?

The rules for growing potatoes in bags are simple. But they must be followed thoroughly. Violations lead to plant death and crop loss.

Cultivation technology:

1. Prepare containers for planting potatoes in bags. Ordinary wicker made from sugar, flour, or animal feed will do. Make holes at the bottom (for water drainage) and along the entire height (for gas exchange). Some gardeners sew a valve at the bottom of the container (for sampling ripened tubers).
2. Stock up on nutritious soil in any way: buy ready-made or make it yourself. The soil should be loose and fertile. Acidity pH 5.5. Disinfect the prepared soil with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
3. Pour soil into bags 1/3 of the way up. Arrange the tubers whole or cut into pieces (one in the center, three around). Sprinkle with a 5 cm layer of soil. Water. Roll up the edges of the container. Mulch the planting with rotted straw.
4. Place the planted tubers in a sunny place. After the tops grow 15 cm, remove the mulch, cover it with 12 cm of soil, and return the straw to its place. Repeat the procedure twice.
5. Grown early potatoes easy to reach through the bottom flap.Small tubers continue to grow, the roots are not damaged, and the soil does not spill out.

On sale you can find special bags for such plantings. They are made of thick plastic. They have holes and a valve. The service life of the container is several years.

Some gardeners use garbage bags inserted into each other. The solution is environmentally incorrect: the material releases harmful toxins.

Attention should be paid to watering. If there is a lack of moisture, tubers stop forming. For optimization, it is recommended to install devices in bags that measure soil moisture.

Tubers develop in a confined space. The soil is depleted. Fertilizing with mineral fertilizer must be applied regularly. A combination of potassium and phosphorus is effective. Excess nitrogen in rainy summers will lead to late blight.

The bags should be placed away from unfriendly plants: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants. Potatoes do not like the presence of strawberries and wild strawberries. And beans, beans, lettuce, marigolds are pleasant to him. Marigolds repel the Colorado potato beetle.

Pros and cons of “bag” technology

Gardeners, thinking about how to grow potatoes in a bag, evaluate the pros and cons of the method. Positive points:

• collect potato harvest realistically in minimal gardens;
• the soil is loose, saturated with air;
• the soil is easy to structure and disinfect;
• no weeding or hilling required;
• It's easy to dig up early potatoes.

Such planting in bags makes it possible to grow an environmentally friendly crop in limited planting areas. It is convenient to collect root vegetables (the valve helps).

Before planting tubers in containers, you should evaluate the negative aspects:

• you need to purchase bags and prepare the soil;
• the number of waterings and fertilizing increases;
• bags last 1-2 seasons;
• waste soil requires renewal;
• vertical container - a house for garden ants.

Growing in bags increases the cost of the process by 15–20%. We have to apply more fertilizers, buy soil, and renew worn-out containers.

Negative reviews about the method of planting in bags are given by gardeners who have made mistakes. The most common:

• lay out planting material at the very bottom;
• pour a layer of soil more than 5 cm;
• add new planting material before adding;
• use poor-quality tubers (rotten, pest-ridden, gnawed by mice);
• lack of regular watering;
• stagnation of water after watering (leads to acidification of the soil);
• placement under drains from roofs (soil erosion occurs);
• placement in a shaded place;
• replacing the first layer of soil with branches and leaves;
• lack of fertilizing;
• too large a layer of soil above the tubers (the plant does not have time to form root crops).

Adding ash will help increase the yield. This measure will reduce the acidity of the soil. Excess nitrogen will cause the bushes to fatten. Only mature compost or rotted manure should be applied. The feces of herbivores (cows, goats, sheep) contain weed seeds. The plantings will have to be weeded.

To obtain a harvest, you need to step by step carry out the technology of growing in bags.

What do experienced gardeners say about the method?

Reviews from experienced summer residents are positive. A gardener from the Moscow region says: “My plot is small - 4.5 acres. There is a house, a barn, a greenhouse. The paths are paved with tiles. Landing space is scanty. I grow flowers, herbs, cucumbers and tomatoes. I always dreamed of a potato field. I wanted to eat my own early potatoes. But it was not possible to select a bed.

I read an article about growing in bags.I took 3 pieces from the sugar container. I cut out a flap at the bottom and sewed a loop with a button. Using an awl, I pierced holes every 30 cm throughout the entire volume. The work was carried out on May 1. The hardest part was with the land. I collected it from the forest, added peat and ready-made soil. I mixed it with a mineral complex for potatoes according to the instructions. Then I proceeded according to the following scheme: I plant one potato varieties "Nevsky" in the center, 3 - along the edges. I add calcium nitrate. I sprinkle it with soil and straw on top.

I made a mistake: I was planting on the veranda and had to drag the bags to the path. I hilled it three times (sprinkled the stems with earth). The summer was dry: it was constantly watered. I fed her three times. The ants did not bother me: in April I treated the area with “Muracid” according to the instructions.

There were few Colorado potato beetles: marigolds and climbing beans grew nearby. The aphids migrated to the beans. The bushes were green. In the heat, the leaves drooped. I took a leak in the evening.

On July 15, I pulled out 6 large potatoes from one bag through the valve (I didn’t touch the rest). The plant continued to develop. On August 20, the stems turned yellow. I decided to remove it. The harvest pleased me: from 4 potatoes there were 1.5 ten-liter buckets.

I liked the method. She spent no more labor than growing tomatoes. I sprinkled the used soil on the flower bed and under the roses. Next year I will repeat planting in bags: I will decorate all the garden paths.”