This is how to grow potatoes in a hessian bag in my backyard. I was going to grow them in a self-watering bucket but decided to do something different.
I bought some seed potatoes that had already started to sprout,so I put some quality potting mix in the bag. Spaced them around the bag and covered with about 5 cm of potting mix.
When the potatoes emerged and grew another 10 cm, I added some more potting mix. This continued until the bag was full.
The image on the right shows more clearly the potato growing.
Watering and Feeding The Potatoes
I wasn’t sure what he watering regime might be as I imagined that the hessian would allow excessive evaporation. The open weave and our hot summers made me aware that more frequent watering would be required.
I would check them every evening and water as I felt necessary. I did surround the bag with other plants in containers to help reduce moisture loss.
The potting mix used was the same as for the 5 gallon self-watering buckets. It was the premium potting mix with slow release fertiliser added. When the growth was powering ahead I applied a foliar spray fertiliser known as Seasol.
This is our top selling liquid seaweed fertiliser. It is highly concentrated so half a litre makes up 225 litres of solution.
Harvesting The Potatoes
Cutting open the bag revealed what I had hoped for, some potatoes!! The plants were quite well grown given that they were confined to a small area. This obviously led to a smaller yield.
I may have been too eager to harvest them and as a result reduced the size and maybe the yield.
The more I scratched around the more potatoes I found. At this stage I was quite happy with my experiment. I will grow them in a self-watering bucket next time.
There was no apparent disease so that was a good thing and they did taste good.
This was the end result, one that I was quite pleased with how to grow potatoes in a hessian bag. Growing your own food can be challenging but always one of great satisfaction.
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