sparkysmum Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hi folks, I've heard of growing potatoes in special bags and I know of someone who grows them in woven sacks. I was wondering if anyone has grown them successfully in compost bags/animal feed type bags. You know the type - heavy duty plastic. I am tempted to try this as I'm loathe to spend money on specially made grow bags if I can recycle things which are lying around. Sorry to be so "wordy" Hope to hear from you if you have tried this. Allisonx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGirlsMum Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 It works fine just put a few drainage holes in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Thank you GirlsMum for your reply. This forum never fails to amaze and surprise me The collective knowledge here is astonishing Allisonx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Thanks for asking the question in the first place sparkysmum as I had been wondering this also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I have the grow bags, and they look just like the big shoppers sold in Ikea for about £1. There's nothing very special about them, but they did keep my tatties safe from the vile depradations of naughty chickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola H Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I didn't have a great success with the bags last year and they cost me a fortune....Not sure why i didn't get many potatoes from them, but I am going to try again this year and also plant some in the ground. Infact my potato tubers have just arrived and are ready to chit, I didn't realise how many i would get and only have 2 small raised beds so some will have to go in bags and some old dustbins that I have..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I kept two builder bags (those huge cubic metre sized things you get the sand and stones delivered in) after having some work done on the house, and was hoping to use them to grow potatoes in. One is cut and ready to sew up, I just need a bit of time. They are woven plastic and as they hold dry goods I am sure they will drain fairly well. I hope they work! Builder bags are not recyclable or burnable and have to be dumped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoebe Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 we grew them in old plastic dustbins one year, which was also pretty sucessful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Thanks for all your replies. I'm going to add a dollop of well rotted horse manure for good measure (or perhaps that should be chick poo) and keep my fingers crossed. I think I'll try salad potatoes as they mature quicker and I can plant the others in the ground. Good luck if you have a go Allisonx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackgold Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I have a couple of old plastic dustbins. One has a split in the bottom. What soil do you put in? Just normal garden or multi compost. I have some chicken poo that is a couple of months old Could i mix that in first. Thanks Sue xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoebe Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 We had (shop bought) multi purpose compost in ours. When they are ready you just harvest the whole lot at once, as you hav to empty the whole bin out. As to poo, I think you have to have composted it or left it for a year before you use it, as it is too strong to use straight away, particulalrly in small space. I don't recall that we used any fertiliser, because new compost has a lot of nutrients in any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I had a wonderful crop last year, from potatoes grown in rubble bags from B&Q. I just stabbed them a few times with a screw driver for drainage. Father Christmas gave me some proper potato bags a few weeks ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henny penny Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Hi I kept two builder bags (those huge cubic metre sized things you get the sand and stones delivered in) after having some work done on the house, and was hoping to use them to grow potatoes in. One is cut and ready to sew up, I just need a bit of time. They are woven plastic and as they hold dry goods I am sure they will drain fairly well. I hope they work! Builder bags are not recyclable or burnable and have to be dumped Hi I used my builders bags to cover my compost heap as I couldnt send mine to land refill either. OH gets a little exasperated with my recycling ideas! Always looking to recycle things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 As my parents are having huge rebuild/renovations done on their house, their builders are saving the bags they won't use for their own rubbish for me so I can fill them with soil /compost & use them as mini high-level raised beds. I'll try anything once, & if it goes pearshaped I can just empty the soil back onto the garden & try again next year! I got some old tyres from the Tyre Warehouse down the road to plant my potatoes in, they were happy to have them taken off their hands & I can go back for as many as I like! This is my first year of planting properly, so I'm at the "suck it & see" stage ! Bought my pots last week, Swift First Earlies, I'm impatient & would like a fairly quick result for my first attempt, I will get some others in a few weeks to get them going too. They have a fair number of "chitty bits" on already - how long should the sprouts be before I plant them? Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 You don't want to let the sprouting nits get too long before you plant them , because they can easily snap off. I find if they are in an even temperature with good light they form strong chits that don't go leggy and they will sit like that until favorable weather to plant them comes along. If you have a greenhouse you could plant some in bags or bins in there after the upcoming cold spell, they may suffer if more cold weather comes but if not you may get and early crop. When planting in bags etc put in a layer of good garden soil mixed with compost then put in the tubers and cover with about 6 inches of soil, as soon as shoots appear cover them over again and keep this up until the bag is nearly full then let them grow on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy chickens! Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Blackgold wrote What soil do you put in? Just normal garden or multi compost. At the bottom compost of some kind is best, but you can earth up with anything, grass clippings, compost or even mix some shredded paper in if you're doing it in a container. The more you earth up, the more potatoes you get as the root system is extended, so start them off with say only 6 inches of compost, then when you've got 6 inches of growth nearly bury them again, and repeat as necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 Thanks for all your fantastic advice folks, looking forward to a bumper yield Allisonx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffyknickers Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Last year I bought from seed potatoes and a big bag of compost (cant remember exactly which make). I let the seed pots sprout in the conservatory and prepareed the bag. I simply stood it up so made it have a little base so it wouldnt topple over and stabbed some drainage holes in it, i then put the seed pots in and then as they grew covered them up. harvest time was like a lucky dip, just put my hand in a pulled out loads of lovely spuds. Was so very easy. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I tried this last year, salad potatoes eg Charlotts do well but main crop or earlies not so good, my Maris Pipers just rotted, so I will put them in a bed in the veg garden this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I kept two builder bags (those huge cubic metre sized things you get the sand and stones delivered in) after having some work done on the house, and was hoping to use them to grow potatoes in. One is cut and ready to sew up, I just need a bit of time. They are woven plastic and as they hold dry goods I am sure they will drain fairly well. I hope they work! Builder bags are not recyclable or burnable and have to be dumped Jewson's reuse their bags... mine clearly asks to be returned.... no chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spencers Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 We've just bought our seed potatoes from a local pet store that also does a few garden things. £1.20 for more than I think we'll be able to use. They are a mixture of First Earlies, Second Earlies and Maincrop. They're sitting in the garage in paper bags at the moment. They're going to go into potato bags. Any idea when we should be getting them out to start chitting and when can they be planted out? Should they all be done at the same time separately? We were a bit disorganised and just bought a mixture from T&M and bunged them straight into the bags without any chitting. The spuds were great but we were a bit disappointed by the crop size and want to try and do it properly this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackgold Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I am going to try it this year. Where in Stockport did you get them? Our local nursery has closed down.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudance Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 My local (large chain) garden centre sells bags of compost especially for growing potatoes in. They're a slightly different shape to a normal bag of compost, more squat, so that you grow them in the bag and don't have to put them in a separate potato grow bag or tub. I figured that as I was going to have to buy my own compost anyway - this was definitely the cheapest option. Fingers crossed it works not tried growing potatoes before either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 We've just bought our seed potatoes from a local pet store that also does a few garden things. £1.20 for more than I think we'll be able to use. They are a mixture of First Earlies, Second Earlies and Maincrop. They're sitting in the garage in paper bags at the moment. They're going to go into potato bags. Any idea when we should be getting them out to start chitting and when can they be planted out? Should they all be done at the same time separately? We were a bit disorganised and just bought a mixture from T&M and bunged them straight into the bags without any chitting. The spuds were great but we were a bit disappointed by the crop size and want to try and do it properly this year! I'm starting my chitting now in somewhere cool with lots of light and frost free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spencers Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I am going to try it this year. Where in Stockport did you get them? Our local nursery has closed down.... They came from a little pet/garden shop in Edgely centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
