Has anyone used Polypropylene bags to grow potatoes? A local brewery gets their hops delivered in these they gave me a few empty bags, and they seem like great candidates for grow bags. The pic is of a 15 gallon felt bag that I used last year as a size reference, a burlap sack that held coffee beans, and the polypropylene bag.
The poly bag is about 20 inches wide, burlap is about 14 inches, and the felt is about 16 inches (very rough measurements). Last year I grew 3-4 potatoes in the felt bag, so I’m guessing the burlap will safely hold 3 potatoes. But how many potatoes should fit in the poly? Does 6 seem like a good amount?
I plan to start with about 8-10 inches of dirt on the bottom, place seed potatoes, and then add 4-5 inches of soil on top, hilling up as needed throughout the summer. Still not sure if staggering the potatoes in the soil is a good idea or not – currently doing some research on best practices and there’s lots of conflicting info out there.
For those curious, here’s are the varieties for this season:
French fingerling
Magic Molly
Makah Ozette
Uca tuber < – new for this year
Amarosa Fingerling Pink < – new for this year
Red potato that grew last year from the compost
by kittyfeet2
3 Comments
No reason why it shouldn’t work. Only caveat is to make sure the water can drain. Just pour a gallon of water inside and see what happens. Might need some small holes poked in the bottom.
The poly bags might last one season, but that’s about it – they aren’t UV stable and eventually break down into tiny microplastics. 🙁
Those should be fine as long as they have good drainage.
I use fabric grow bags and beds for mine. For each bag I plant 4 seed potatoes about 3oz each.
I fill mine up about ⅓ to ½ way. Put 2qty 3oz chitted potatoes…1 north…1 south…along with some bone meal. Then put another 2 inches of soil…then put 1 east…1 west. Bone meal. Then about 2 inches of dirt. Then when the leaves get about 2-4 inches above the soil…cover up to about 2 inches from top. Once the leaves pop through the final layer and get about 4 inches tall…cover in about 1½ inches of mulch.
I have a decent soil with raised bed mix, worm castings, compost, manure, vermiculite and a little perlite. And I’m in Northern California 9b.