If you are looking for a really cheap way of growing potatoes, then why not try buckets? These regular builders buckets are really cheap, I picked these up for less than £1 each, but they are available for even less if you shop around.
What’s more, with a little modification, they make the perfect container for growing lots of spuds in. So with no further ado, let’s look at how to grow potatoes in buckets!
1. Drill Some Holes
As buckets are actually meant for carrying stuff around in they have a severe lack of drainage, but we can easily fix that.
Get a drill and a medium-sized drill bit and then go to town and add plenty of holes to allow water to drain out. This is essential, if you don’t add drainage holes your potatoes will drown and rot!
If you don’t have a drill, then you can heat up something round and metal and push it through to make the holes, but a drill is much easier!
2. Add Compost To the bottom
Now it is time to add some compost, any compost will do for potatoes, they aren’t too fussy. To add a little extra oomph to my compost, I add some 6X chicken manure.
This isn’t essential, but it just adds a little more food to your compost and in theory, should lead to a bigger harvest.
Don’t fill the bucket with compost, just about a third full is what we are aiming for. This is because we will continue to add compost as the potatoes grow – a process known in gardening circles as mounding up.
- 6X The 100% Natural Fertiliser
- Ideal for all flowers, shrubs, vegetables, lawns, outdoor pot plants, trees and roses.
- 6X boosts garden life and encourages the earthworm population.
- 6X is thoroughly composted, heat sterilised and milled to produce a weed and bug free, loose texture which is pleasant and easy to use.
4. Plant Your Seed Potato
Now pop your seed potato on top of the compost with the sprouts facing up. If it hasn’t sprouted yet, then just pop it in any way up, the shoots will find their way up in time!
Now you can cover the potato with compost, again don’t fill the bucket up, just add enough to completely cover the spud.
5. Cover As it grows
As the potato grows it will send up green shoots, we want to cover these gradually with compost whenever they appear.
you want to leave the tips above the surface of the compost, but nothing else. Just keep it looking like the photo above where just the tip of the shoots are showing.
Keep doing this throughout the summer as the plant grows and until the bucket is full of compost.
Once it is full just let the potatoes grow, it will soon be harvesting time!
David Bourne
Wednesday 19th of April 2023
Very interesting to hear potatoes aren't fussy about compost type.. Can I use used compost from last year to earth up but have good New compost as the first layer with added feed.?