Potatoes in Bags

This will be my third year to plant potatoes in the potager. So far I have had very limited success. In the past two years I have used potato bags from Gardener’s Supply, filling them with compost and top soil. The potatoes were very good, but pretty scarce. This year I used Mel’s Mix (equal parts of compost, vermiculite and peat.) I used the bags again, but also experimenting with the “high rise” method described on the Square Foot Garden web site. The high rise is an open ended 12-inch square box; it can be 6-12-inches deep. Directions for planting potatoes using this method, as well as the traditional method of “hilling up” are in the Square Foot Gardening book or click on the web site at the bottom of this page.

from 2008 garden

I had chosen some potatoes from a garden catalog that were $7.95 plus shipping for 3 pounds. Fortunately before I placed my order I was in Tractor’s Supply and found the same seed potatoes for $6.95 for 5 pounds. Now this is way too many potatoes for my potager but much less expense (no shipping.) If you are interested in trying to grow potatoes, I will be happy to give you my extras.

Taking my dad’s advice, I planted peas today, St. Patrick’s Day. Since he was a champion gardener in his day, I am expecting a bountiful crop!
Already planted are lettuce, bok choy, cabbage, spinach, Swiss chard, arugula, broccoli and beets. This completes the early spring planting.