3rd time its charm - potatoes

After two, very unsuccessful, attempts to grow spuds, I finally achieve a harvest.   When I tipped out my SmartPot bag, I got these.  I'll definitely use SmartPot bag (taller one next time) for potatoes.

Nice!
 

Nice harvest! What size smart pot did you use and which one are you changing to?

Did you use the kind of smart pot with a trapdoor on the side? Those look especially cool for potatoes.

I used the 10 inch (height) pot with handles - like the photo here. No trap door - didn't know they had one!

I haven't been able to grow potatoes yet and would be tickled pink if I got that harvest.  Did you use the Smart Pot on the first 2 attempts, or where did you plant them?

CC

No, I did not use Smart Pots in the earlier attempts.  Smart Pots are fabric felted pots -  not the polypropylene grocery bags popularized by Larry of Minnesota.  In the past, I had used large plastic planters and that was my mistake.  The potatoes need air and most wooden and deep plastic planters do not allow for much air flow.  I grew broccoli and lettuce in the 5 gallon bag size and potatoes in the other.  I used self-watering planters for my other veggies.  My potatoes were grown on the concrete driveway.  I used Mel's Mix to start the spuds, then added Mel's mix and extra compost as the potatoes grew.  I'm sure if I had a deeper bag, I would have had more potatoes.

If you can only have a temporary space for your SQ FT Garden, Smart Pots makes a Bag Bed.  I wouldn't hesitate at all to use it - love that air pruning!  P.S. Smart Pots are made in the USA and are washable.

The only change I'm going to make next year is to put a Smart Pot in a wicking-typing self watering planter so I get the benefit of irrigation as well.

I was thinking of doing something a bit like that simply by putting my growbags in a large saucer of some kind, perhaps formed out of the top of a rubbermaid container.

squaredeal wrote:...love that air pruning!  P.S. Smart Pots are made in the USA and are washable....

 Way to go on them 'taters! Think I'll try a Smart Pot or 2 next Spring.

Did you start with  a seed potato and are you going to replant from this crop or start from new potatoes.