Potatoes: Planting in a Garbage Can

Potatoes can be grown easily in any container that has good drainage, but a garbage can works well because you have the use of a lid if you need to protect your crop from driving rain or cold.

Items Needed:
1.A standard garbage can
2.Potting soil
3.Gravel or small stones or a stack of newspapers sufficient for a 6" bottom layer
4.Organic, slow release fertilizer
5.Enough potting soil for at least a 15" layer of soil
6.Soil, compost or bark dust sufficient to fill the rest of the container
7.Seed potatoes from a nursery or store bought potatoes with 'eyes'
8.A dish or drip pan to capture water draining from the can bottom

The garbage can (or any container of similar dimensions) should be big enough to allow for planting potatoes at least 16 inches deep and about 6 inches apart. Drill holes in the bottom of the garbage can for drainage or if you don't have a drill, use a large nail and a hammer to make the drainage holes. If you are growing this on a balcony or patio, keep in mind that the water will exit from the bottom. If your can is not going to be sheltered from rain, you may also want to drill holes on the sides of the container on the bottom 6 inches.

Place newspapers or small rocks in the bottom to create a 6” layer to provide drainage. Mix a slow release fertilizer into the potting soil before planting. If you skip this part you will need to fertilizer your plants every two weeks.

Planting the Potatoes:
• Add 6” of potting soil/fertilizer mixture on top of the 6” of papers/stones and water it until it is moist.
• Place the eyes from potatoes on top of this soil layer, facing up, spaced about 4” or 5” apart.
• If you want to increase the number of plants, do not use whole potatoes, but cut them into pieces (each piece should have at least 3 eyes in it)
• Leave each set of eyes with at least an inch of potato to provide nutrients until the sprouts have rooted. If you use cut potatoes, they need to cure before planting.
• “Cure” your cut potatoes by letting them dry out on a paper towel-covered plate. They need to be dry before planting so that the potato piece is somewhat sealed and will not rot when put into the moist potting soil.
• Place the potatoes 4” to 5” apart.
• Cover the potatoes loosely with a 2” layer of soil. If the eyes have already sprouted, cover them with 3” of soil. After the sprouts gain some length, add more soil.
• Water, then keep soil moist, but not too wet
• If the weather gets too cold or there is punishing rain, cover the garbage can at night, but remember to remove the cover the next morning.


Growing/Maintenance of Vines
• The vines will soon begin to grow and as soon as they reach 4 inches tall, cover all but 1 inch of the lowest vine with compost, wood chips or potting soil.
• The soil should also be kept moist, but not wet throughout their growing season. During hot weather you may need to water them everyday.
• Continue to cover the vines in this way until they grow out of the top of the garbage can.
• Once the vines bloom, you can reach in and pick the biggest spuds you can find. New potatoes won't store, but they are delicious for that evening's dinner.
• Wait to do the main harvest until vines turn yellow and die back completely in the fall.
• Potatoes need at least 6 hours of sunlight and take 65 to 100 days to harvest
• Do not water for a couple of days. Place a tarp on the ground, dump out the soil and gently remove your potatoes. The skin is soft, so care should be taken to pick them by hand. You can brush the dirt off gently.

Potatoes generally prefer cooler weather, so the period from September through March is ideal for growing in some areas. You will want to avoid freezing, however, so that may not work in areas like SW Washington. However, growing potatoes in garbage cans allows you to move or cover them when necessary. If you want baby potatoes and live in a cooler climate, you can also get in a late summer planting to harvest around Thanksgiving. Potatoes picked after the vines die back will store in a dark, cool spot for up to six months.

After you harvest the potatoes, the soil will not be suitable for other plantings without being amended with compost and nutrients, so if you decide to grow potatoes next year? Get new potting soil and compost and start fresh. Of course, it’s always a good idea to rotate crops so that the soil is not depleted of nitrogen but with potatoes this is very important.