Grow Potatoes in a Bag with Shirley Bovshow
1. Prepare your potato seed for planting
• Cut potato seed in chunks that have at least 2 "eyes" (about ice cube or golf ball size).
• Allow the potato chunks to callous over by laying on a plate for a couple of days. (drying the potato helps prevent rotting)
2. Start planting!
• Fill the bottom third of a large, 20 gallon "smart bag" with 50/50 mix of potting soil and compost. • Add a little acid fertilizer to lower the ph of the soil. Potatoes thrive in acidic environment. • Place the potato chunks with the cut side down and "eyes side up" about 2 "-inches deep, @ 8-9"inches apart. • Water well and place in a sunny spot. Water again when soil feels slightly dry. • As your potato vine grows, cover the leaves with the 50/50 compost/soil mix except for top 6"-inches. Covering soil protects potato seedling from light which causes potatoes to green. • When your potatoes begin to flower you can harvest them, but you must eat them within 3 days because they will not keep fresh. • For harvesting storage potatoes, wait until the foliage of the plant dries in late summer and then harvest and store correctly. And you can get more great gardening tips from Shirley at
FoodieGardener.com or on twitter
@FoodieGardeners.