Five - gallon buckets are often readily usable for free and cast them to another use is a respectable direction to keep them out of landfills . A five gal bucket can make a goodcontainerfor growing a variety of plant , including potatoes . Harvesting is even well-heeled than grow the spuds in the first place .
Why Grow in a Bucket?
One heavy vantage of grow in a bucket is portability . Although potatoes can be grown in any USDA Zone , gardener in the colder regions may not be able-bodied to drudge the soil in early natural spring . you may plant a bucket and move it to take advantage of warm microclimates . A bucket can also be placed on a terrace or deck of cards if you have limited elbow room .
Choosing A Bucket
If your bucket was antecedently used , you should consider if you require that core to come into contact with the dirt for your potato . A bucket that contained something like laundry detergent , for example , could be easy wash out . Dried paint can often be peeled from the shaping surface . If your bucket contained tar or a toxic chemical , do n’t use it for white potato .
Drainage, Drainage, Drainage
The biggest potential problem you have when growing something in container is drain . That ’s particularly true with a five - gallon bucket , because it does n’t have any drainage holes to begin with and you must make them . While something like a hot ten - penny nail will well penetrate the charge card , it ’s better to exercise six hole at least half an inch in diameter around the bottom circumference of the bucket .
Soil for Your Bucket
Since your potatoes will be limited to their environment , make certain you fill the pail with rich , crumbly soil . flaxen loam with additional nutrients in the form of kelp , seaweed meal or greenish sand is a good choice , as is commercial-grade pot soil . spud need soil that is rich in potassium and on the acidic side . A ground mental test will help insure you have what your spud need .
Potato Varieties
Except in strange circumstances , you probably wo n’t be capable to grow enough spud to provide your family with everything they need . Instead , try some of these unusual and especially tasty form :
Harvesting Bucket Potatoes
When potatoes flower , it ’s a signal the tuber are protrude to form . About three week later , you canharvestnew potatoes . Gently plunge your hands into the territory and harvest anything that ’s the size of a hen ’s egg or larger . Once the potato teetotum give out down , wait three week and simply turn the bucketful on its side over a tarp to harvest your crop .
