Growing potatoes in a bucket.
By Bert Holopaw
@BHolopaw (176)
Orlando, Florida
January 25, 2021 8:53am CST
I saw a video on YouTube about a homesteader growing potatoes in a bucket. He used store-bought potatoes that had started to chit. I didn't know this would work.
So anyways, a couple weeks ago the wife was making baked potatoes and I noticed two potatoes in the bag had eyes with wilted chits. I placed the potatoes in a box until yesterday. The chits had grown to about 1.5 inches long!
Following the instructions, I mixed 1/3 top soil, compost and peat. I filled the bucket with 4 inches of the soil, placed the potatoes in chit side up, and then filled the bucket with the remaining soil. I can't wait to see if this works.
11 people like this
12 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
25 Jan 21
This works just fine as long as you don't get any frost down there in Florida. A potato is a swollen stem, rather than a root (as evidenced by the fact that they will go green if exposed to light), so the new potatoes tend to grow quite close to the surface and, if you are careful not to disturb the roots too much, you can harvest the bigger ones and leave the smaller ones to grow a bit. You should have some nice little new potatoes by Easter, I should say!
4 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (89882)
• Arvada, Colorado
6 Feb 21
I remember when I did try tho it took maybe 3 weeks to show just one shoot lol
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (89882)
• Arvada, Colorado
7 Feb 21
@BHolopaw Good luck ..let us know how it goes
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (13018)
• Ireland
25 Jan 21
@BHolopaw It worked for me last year. Make sure when the plant gets on a bit you pile more earth around it to prevent light getting in. I use a deeper tub and once I have put down a couple of chitted potatoes and covered them, I start another layer on top then cover that. Really important you keep spill backed up to keep light out.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79858)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Feb 21
That sound interesting and best of luck I hope your potatoes grow.
1 person likes this
@Dena91 (16636)
• United States
15 Feb 21
Good luck with them growing. We grew some tomato's in 5 gallon buckets to keep them on our back porch as we were having some trouble with critters getting at them. I find a lot of helpful videos on gardening for people who don't have a lot of yard space. 
1 person likes this
