Growing potatoes in a barrel: basic methods

Potato

In addition to the usual methods of growing potatoes in the country, there are several alternative ones that are unusual for the average gardener. Most of them position themselves as ways to get a record harvest in a small area.

One of the most famous methods of non-traditional cultivation potatoes is growing in a barrel or bag. How does this method work, what results does it give and how labor-intensive is it? Let's look at this topic in more detail.

Content:

How to prepare for landing?

Before you proceed directly to planting potatoes, you need to do a number of preparatory work: Find or purchase a container in which the potatoes will grow. This could be an iron barrel, a wooden tub, or even a very thick plastic bag. The bottom of the barrel needs to be removed.

This is done so that excess moisture can escape, as well as for free access for earthworms, which perfectly loosen the soil, preventing it from compacting.

Small holes need to be made in the walls of the barrel, no more than 1 cm in diameter. This is to ensure good access of oxygen to the root system of the plant, without which it will not be able to fully develop and produce a good harvest. Prepare priming. The ideal would be a combination of ordinary soil from the garden with turf soil in a 50/50 ratio.

The positive aspects of growing potatoes in a barrel

Opinions about this method vary widely, some like it, some don't. You can form your own opinion. And here we will give only the positive aspects that you will definitely see:

  1. The harvest may not be huge, as described in some articles, but it will be 3-4 times larger than usual, that’s for sure.
  2. Using this method, you don’t need to put in so much physical effort: planting, hilling, weeding.
  3. Space saving. This method is especially relevant for those who have a small piece of land under landing vegetables
  4. Water is saved significantly, since it goes directly to the roots of the plant, without moistening the ground around the bush.

How to properly plant potatoes in a barrel?

After the preparatory stage is completed, you can proceed directly to planting potatoes in a barrel. This is best done in warm spring, at the same time when the rest of the potatoes are planted in the usual way. The tubers are planted at a distance of approximately 20 cm from each other.

If the container is round, it should be planted according to its diameter; if it is square, it should be planted in a checkerboard pattern. Depending on the size of the barrel, quite a lot of potato tubers can fit in it, so it is recommended to place a hose twisted in several turns at the bottom.

Potatoes in a barrel

Tightly plug the hole that will be located below, make several large cuts along the entire length. Next, gradually remove it out of the barrel. This is done to avoid oxygen starvation of the plant.Once a week you will need to attach a pump to the hose and make several pumps of air. In this simple way you can enrich soil oxygen at no additional cost.

The first tubers should be placed on the prepared soil and sprinkled with a small amount of soil on top. After the first shoots hatch, you need to immediately fill in the next layer of soil. You need to continue this until you reach the top of the barrel.

Optimal care: watering, lighting

In order for potatoes to grow well and bear fruit, it is important to water them regularly, maintaining a moderately moist environment in the barrel. In addition, by the beginning of summer, the potatoes will take all the useful substances from the soil in the barrel, and they will need additional feeding. For these purposes, it is best to use fertilizer in the form of a mash, which should be used at least once a week.

Video on how to grow potatoes in a barrel:

As for lighting, daylight will be quite enough; additional potatoes do not need it. It is better to place the barrel with potatoes in the sun. With this care, according to experts, you can collect about a bag of fruits from a 1x1 meter barrel.

Care immediately after landing

No special care is required immediately after planting. You just need to follow the simple care rules described above:

  1. Provide ventilation for the barrel and blow out the soil several times a week using a rope cut in some places.
  2. Be very careful that the sprouts that appear from potatoes, did not grow upward. Otherwise, they will immediately turn green, and all forces will no longer be directed to the formation of the root system, but to the trunk and leaves of the plant.
  3. Water the potatoes regularly and periodically fertilize them.
  4. Place the barrels in a sunny place with access to direct sunlight.

Cultivation and care activities

To improve growth and yield, it is recommended to periodically carry out certain activities aimed at improving the condition of the plant.

Fertilizer. By mid-July, the nutrients in the soil will have dried up, but the growth of the plant will not stop. Therefore, to improve the condition of potatoes, it is better to feed them with fertilizer - mash. It is prepared as follows: take a 200 liter barrel, which is 1/3 filled with diluted preparation EM-1 and turf soil in a ratio of 50/50, the remaining 2/3 is topped up with non-chlorinated clean water, and left for at least a day.

Potatoes in a barrel, growing

After this time has passed, you can water the barrels with plants, after mixing the fertilizer. This mash should be used at least once a week, but if you have the opportunity, use it 2-3 times.

Watering. Potatoes that grow in a barrel should be watered generously 3-4 times per season. Watering should completely saturate the ground to the very bottom, simulating a very heavy rainfall. With this level of moisture, you are guaranteed large fruits. Thus, having applied strength once to prepare for landing potatoes you will undoubtedly get a large amount of fruit. Whether you use it or not is up to you, but the fact that such a method has a right to exist is for sure.

Potatoes in a barrelPotatoes in a barrel, growing