[warhawk-77]

So a few months ago I planted some potatos in a 5 gallon bucket. I started it in my basement as it is still pretty cold here in Indiana. Here is what I did.

Drilled 3-4 holes in the side of the bucket about 2-3" from bottom
2"-3" of rock in bottom
3" of potting soil placed potato with eyes pointing up
Covered the potato with dirt so it was about 1" under the surface.

Watered, grow lights(8-10 hours a day), and covered them when ever they got about 3" above the surface.

When the bucket was full I stopped watering and placed them out in the sun light for a week. Then my impatient got the better of me so I checked and no potato other then the one I started with.

At first I thought I didn't wait long enough but there where no signs of small potato growth. Maybe too much light?

 

[zbx]

what kind of fertilizer, just whats in the potting soil?

 

[Mortimer]

What was the source of your seed potatoes? I have had mixed results from store-bought potatoes, better to get real "seed potatoes" from a nursery.

 

[REM]

If I'm not mistaken wait until you see blooms. At that point tiny potateos are forming and new potatoes will be ready in a couple of weeks.

That's from my mom who has gardened all of her life. I'm doing my first potato crop right now and I noticed a few blooms yesterday.

Potatoes are a full sun crop, so I doubt that you had too much light.

 

[zbx]

bought a 10 lb bag at Walmart a few weeks ago and they're all sprouting.

 

[IceDemon]

A lot of it depends on like what Mortimer said. What kind of potato did you start with and where did you get it from.

 

[warhawk-77]

Thanks for the info. I don't have the name of the soil I used with me be I will when I get home. I know it said.it had fertilizer mixed in that listed as good for 6 months.

The potatoes I used where bought at a grocery store marked as organic. I thought that would be better then just cheap ones from Walmart.

I'm not a farmer but I could tell something was wrong as the plant would break the surface and grow 2-3" every 3-4 days. I was thinking the plant was using all the energy to grow tall not grow the potato.

I will see if I can find some different potatoes this week

 

[REM]

Ease up on the fertilizer. Taters need some, but too much will force vegetative growth over production of potatoes.

I'd suggest going to a feed and seed store and buying seed potatoes that do well in your area. I can only grow reds here. Other varieties fail.

 

[LordOpie]

The potatoes I used where bought at a grocery store marked as organic. I thought that would be better then just cheap ones from Walmart.

we were told that mass produced potatoes (I think that includes organic) are sprayed with a substance to prevent them from growing while in transport or sitting at the store. We are trying two batches, one with seed potatoes and one with store bought that we washed thoroughly to try to get that growth inhibitor off.

 

[pammygene]

two things, first they will not form until after they flower. and two when you took them out of the grow lights and out into the sun you didn't harden them off, which when not done can either kill a plant or upset its growth cycle. so yeah you jumped the gun, but try again they really r easy...

 

[IceDemon]

Store bought potatoes are not that good for the garden (even though my current batch is potatoes from the farmers market). Go to the garden section of Walmart, HomeDepot, Lowes or where ever you can find some seed potatoes and try those.

Here are some good varieties that will produce a lot of potatoes when you add dirt.
Yellow Finn
Indian Pit
Red Pontiac - my favorite
German Butterball
Canela Russet
Bintje
Katahdin
But any potato made for seed planting would be better then using store bought potatoes

 

[LiveFreeOrDieFL]

Also, make sure you only spray the fertilizer on the plant.. like a good organic fish emulsion or one specific to food plants. Plants are like factories. They output their production first to leaves, then flowering, then to the seed, growing the root system (tubers/potatoes) along the way to continue production.
Definitely try again.. you're on your way.

 

[Highwater Filters]

Yeah, go to a farm store and get seed potatoes. Some store bought potatoes are treated so they won't sprout.

 

[zbx]

i've heard over and over again about this "growth inhibitor" supposedly sprayed on potatoes but i'll just say that i've got 5 potato plants growing right now from walmart spuds (i don't really want them as i need the space for tomatoes) and over the last 5-6 months i've had numerous bags that i didn't finish in time, sprout. Last time i bought 2 bags and the 2nd bag i never got to, out of maybe 20 potatoes they all sprouted except 2 or 3 and those looked like they were getting ready to sprout fwiw.

 

[grandma]

Ditto for what others have said about flowering; first the seed (the potato 'eyes' you planted), then the flower, then they start setting potatoes...patience, Grasshopper, patience.

 

[SurvivorGirlAL]

I've always read that when the potatoes are ready for harvest, the plant will 'die' (leaves wither) but of course the potatoes will still be living. Did your plant form leaves, and then die away?

Found on the 'net...
http://harvesttotable.com/2009/06/potato_growing_problems_troubl/

Plants are green topped, no tubers. Temperatures are too warm. Potatoes require cool nights below at about 55°F for good tuber formation. Plant so that tubers mature in cool weather.

Sorry your 'tators didn't turn out well I only like the white Idaho potatoes, and come to think of it, I've never known anybody around here to grow anything but red potatoes.

Will make good use of my dehydrator to make sure I have an ample supply of white 'tators when the big balloon goes up

 

[madscotsman26]

So a few months ago I planted some potatos in a 5 gallon bucket. I started it in my basement as it is still pretty cold here in Indiana. Here is what I did.

Drilled 3-4 holes in the side of the bucket about 2-3" from bottom
2"-3" of rock in bottom
3" of potting soil placed potato with eyes pointing up
Covered the potato with dirt so it was about 1" under the surface.

Watered, grow lights(8-10 hours a day), and covered them when ever they got about 3" above the surface.

When the bucket was full I stopped watering and placed them out in the sun light for a week. Then my impatient got the better of me so I checked and no potato other then the one I started with.

At first I thought I didn't wait long enough but there where no signs of small potato growth. Maybe too much light?

I grow several Thousand pounds of three varieties of Potatos here in Northern Maine and I can tell you that buckets and potatoes don't mix. The potato by nature is Ambitious, It's Roots expand constantly, up to an inch a day under ideal conditions as it branches out, it pushes dirt in several directions in order to spread the root system outward, the bucket has limits and will cause compaction. It also prevents the plant from flushing out impurities, it needs to breath above and below ground. So you will need to move the plant carefully to a much larger container, like a 3 foot wide Water trough or a wash tub with handles on it. Also almost all varieties of potatoes need pure sunlight and will not Grow a adequate stamin and pistel for pollinateing and producing potatoes. Some plants are very hardy and may overcome restrictions, but this is a rare thing. And as previously stated in a post above, the poster suggests fertilizing the plant itself with spray fertilizer, don't do this, the potato leaves are broad grain filtering and can be damaged in their water and sunlight uptake process. They will slow down production when food is directly applied to the leaves. Also you can gently and carefully aerate the soil surrounding the plant to increase productivity. Be patient, know your varieties growth term(100 days) etc. to maturity. It takes time. and try not to pull them up and peek.

 

[kev]

How long did you let the potato plant grow for before you checked it?

 

[madscotsman26]

You can try this out from this sites download section

http://www.survivalistboards.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1652

Trash can potatos: plenty of growing room and if painted black, will retain sunlights heat.:thumb:

 

[Rilke]

Also be careful with bagged soils like miracle-gro veggie soil.... sounds right, but it is not intended for containers because it's thick and does not drain well. It is intended to be mixed into your existing yard. I bought some in a hurry once.