Potatoes in a Grow Bag

My potatoes in a grow bag.

In 2011, I purchased two felt-like grow bags - one for my sunchokes (because they are invasive if planted directly into the soil), and one for potatoes (because I'd read they thrive there). While my sunchokes did very well in their grow bag, slugs and snails ate up my potato plants that year. This year, I was more vigilant in handpicking the snails and slugs in my garden, and just a few days ago, I harvested my first grow bag crop of potatoes.




First, take a look at the potatoes I grew directly in the soil this year:

Although I've been told this is a reasonable amount to expect from one hill of potatoes, I was disappointed. All but six of the potatoes were too small for eating - and that was a stretch!



Now take a peek at my grow bag crop:

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So much better! I got a medium-sized bowl worth of edible potatoes, plus a small bowl of tiny potatoes to use for seed next year.

Why does a grow bag work better? I've read that whenever a potato's roots bump into the side of the bag, they branch out, creating more possibilities for potato tubers to appear.

The only down side to a grow bag that I've discovered is that, like all containers used for gardening, it requires more watering than if plants are grown directly in the soil.

Next year, I'm going to experiment further. This winter, I'll have my hubby make a potato tower, which is basically a tall pot. Supposedly, if you select the right variety of potato, you can get up to 100 lbs. of potatoes from just one container.