Grow Potatoes in a Garbage Bag...

roccman

To use the Garbage Bag method of growing potatoes, all you need is a sturdy garbage bag, like Glad Force Flex, some compost, shredded leaves and seed potatoes. You can purchase certified seed potatoes from a nursery or use sprouted potatoes from your pantry. Seed potatoes are your best bet as they are certified disease free and come in many varieties and colors, from yellow to pink to purple and blue. Cut larger potatoes into pieces that have two or three eyes each. Let potato pieces sit out to dry overnight.

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Cashmere · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Posts: 1971

Sounds like a great idea.

Any concerns about toxins?

While the polyethylene of the bag is inert, are there any plasticizers or other additives that can leach out?

It's particularly important for a tuber, which could absorb any toxins directly.
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greenworm · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jan 27, 2006 Posts: 1369

I'd skip the compost, it will make the potatoes more prone to scabbing, also you will have more leaf growth than root growth. Otherwise, if you live in the city, this is not a bad idea.

I think potatoes are the best way to start a new garden, they don't require much in nutrients and it is a good way to get the rocks out.

FLFireman

Found this on the web:

Stack of Potatoes
Find a well-drained container that's at least 30 inches deep; a barrel, trash can, or stack of tires will do. Put in about a foot of moist soil, compost, or soil mix and lay potato seed pieces, cut sides down, on top. As the potatoes sprout and grow, students should mulch the shoots with more soil mix, sawdust, or straw. Have your keen observers try to figure out where the potatoes will form. (They form above the original "seed piece.") It's important to keep the tubers covered, because if they are exposed to the sun, they may turn green, which indicates the presence of toxic solanine. When the foliage turns brown, dig in or turn the barrel on its side and pour out the contents.

An alternate method is to fill one tire with growing media, plant the potato pieces and cover them with a few inches of soil or straw. As soon as the green sprouts are six inches above the tire rim, add another tire and fill it half full of soil mix or straw. Continue adding tires and covering potatoes in this manner through the growing season.

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Ludi

I have potatoes growing in one of my worm bins, but I don't know if they will put on any tubers....
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kanman · Coal Joined: Dec 31, 2006 Posts: 16

greenworm · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jan 27, 2006 Posts: 1369

kanman · Coal Joined: Dec 31, 2006 Posts: 16

Manure? Agreed, best avoided unless very well rotted.

What you say makes sense, pine needles will create an acidic medium so you're giving the spuds the environment they need to thrive.

Comfrey is an often used organic fertiliser round these parts too.

burtonridr · Intermediate Crude Joined: Aug 03, 2007 Posts: 763

mercurygirl · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jan 29, 2006 Posts: 1195

I tried that and it would have worked well, except that I had to move the bags out of the fenced garden area in order to mow grass (I know, it should be chips or gravel), and the deer ate them.
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pedalling_faster · Intermediate Crude Joined: Dec 10, 2005 Posts: 849

BadAssMom · Coal Joined: Jun 02, 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Virginia

That is a wonderful idea....The Backwoods Home magazine recently had an article about growing potatoes in tires. I am concerned about the stability of the bags. It looks like they might fall over easily or in a bad storm. You should probably support them with something.

These things are great ideas for gardening for people that are dealing with terrible soil types like mine. My house's front yard was leveled with fill dirt. Nothing would grow for the first year and then we finally got clover to grow.
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