Growing potatoes in bags: technology step by step with photos and videos

Growing potatoes in bags is a solution for gardeners with limited plots. Traditional culture occupies a lot of space. Good crops require crop rotation.

Growing potatoes is a laborious process. Planting care (watering, weeding, loosening, hilling) takes up free time. Work with a bent back. Elderly summer residents are abandoning their favorite culture.

And there is a solution to the problem - to grow potatoes vertically (in bags). Landings take up little space, it is worth placing in any lighted place, it is much easier to care for (there is no need to bend over).

It is worth trying to grow potatoes in bags for young gardeners. People get an environmentally friendly crop and acquire additional skills. Knowledge of agrobiology will help in working with other crops.

Sacked potatoes along the paths will give the site an unexpected flavor. It is worth remembering: in the Petrine era, ball gowns and hairstyles were decorated with flowers.

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

How to grow potatoes in bags?

The rules for growing potatoes in bags are simple. But they must be strictly followed. Violations lead to the death of plants, loss of crops.

Cultivation technology:

Prepare containers for planting potatoes in bags. Ordinary wicker from under sugar, flour, compound feed for animals 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 ripe tubers).
Stock up on nutrient soil in any way: buy ready-made or make it yourself. The soil should be loose, fertile. Acidity pH 5.5. Disinfect the prepared soil with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Pour the soil into bags at 1/3 of the height. Spread the tubers whole or cut into pieces (one in the center, three around). Sprinkle with soil with a layer of 5 cm. Pour. Roll up the edges of the container. Mulch the planting with rotten straw.
Put the planted tubers in a sunny place. After the tops grow by 15 cm, remove the mulch, cover it with soil by 12 cm, return the straw to its place. Repeat the procedure twice.
Grown early potatoes are easy to get through the bottom valve. Small tubers continue to grow, the roots are not damaged, the soil does not spill out.

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

Some gardeners use nested trash bags. The decision is environmentally wrong: the material releases harmful toxins.

You should pay attention to watering. With a lack of moisture, tubers cease to form. For optimization, it is recommended to install devices that measure soil moisture in bags.

Tubers develop in a confined space. The soil is being depleted. Top dressing with mineral fertilizer is required to be applied regularly. Effective combination of potassium and phosphorus. Excess nitrogen in a rainy summer will lead to late blight.

Place bags away from unfriendly plants: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants. Does not like the presence of strawberries and strawberries in potatoes. And beans, beans, lettuce, marigolds are pleasant to him. Marigolds scare away the Colorado potato beetle.

Pros and cons of "bag" technology

Gardeners, considering how to grow potatoes in a bag, evaluate the pros and cons of the method. Positives:

harvest potatoes realistically in minimal gardens;
loose soil saturated with air;
the soil is easy to structure, disinfect;
no weeding, hilling required;
Easy to dig up early potatoes.

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

Before planting the tubers in a container, you should evaluate the negative points:

required to purchase bags, prepare the soil;
the number of watering and fertilizing increases;
bags last 1-2 seasons;
excavated soil needs updating;
vertical container - house for garden ants.

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

Negative feedback about the method of planting in bags is given by gardeners who have made mistakes. Most common:

lay out planting material at the very bottom;
pour a layer of soil over 5 cm;
put new planting material before adding;
use substandard tubers (rotten, infested, gnawed by mice);
lack of regular watering;
stagnation of water after irrigation (leads to acidification of the soil);
placement under roof drains (soil erosion occurs);
placement in a shaded area;
replacing the first layer of soil with branches, foliage;
lack of top dressing;
too much soil above the tubers (the plant does not have time to form roots).

Increase the yield will help the introduction of ash. 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. Feces of herbivores (cows, goats, sheep) contain weed seeds. Landings will have to be weeded.

To get a crop, you need to follow the technology of growing in bags step by step.

What do experienced gardeners say about the method?

Feedback from experienced gardeners is 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 tiled. Places for landing minuscule. I grow flowers, herbs, cucumbers and tomatoes. Always dreamed of a potato field. I wanted to eat my own early potatoes. But it was not possible to select a garden bed.

I read the article about growing in bags. I took 3 pieces of sugar. I cut out a valve at the bottom, sewed a loop with a button. With an awl, I pierced holes through 30 cm throughout the entire volume. The work was carried out on May 1st. The hardest thing was with the land. Scored in the forest, added peat and ready-made soil. Mixed with a mineral complex for potatoes according to the instructions. Then I acted according to the scheme: I plant one potato of the Nevsky variety in the center, 3 - along the edges. I add calcium nitrate. I sprinkle with soil, straw on top.

She made a mistake: she landed on the veranda, the bags had to be dragged to the path. Hilled three times (sprinkled the stems with earth). The summer was dry: constantly watered. Feed three times. The ants did not bother: in April, I treated the site with "Muracid" according to the instructions.

There were few Colorado potato beetles: marigolds and climbing beans grew nearby. Aphids migrated to beans. The bushes were green. The leaves drooped in the heat. Drank in the evening.

July 15, I pulled out 6 large potatoes from one bag through the valve (I did not touch the rest). The plant continued to grow. On August 20, the stems turned yellow. Decided to remove. The harvest pleased: from 4 potatoes 1.5 ten-liter buckets.

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