In this video, I show you step-by-step how to plant early potatoes in buckets, perfect for anyone interested in gardening, allotment growing, and learning how to grow your own food at home. Whether you have a small garden, patio, or no allotment space at all, container gardening is an easy and cost-effective way to start growing potatoes and becoming more self-sufficient.
I’ll walk you through the entire process of planting early potatoes in containers, including choosing the right seed potatoes, preparing your buckets, soil selection, drainage tips, and how to maximise your potato harvest. This is ideal for beginners, DIY gardeners, and anyone looking for simple, budget-friendly gardening projects using recycled or free materials.
If you’re passionate about allotment life, vegetable gardening, grow your own food, or want to learn how to grow potatoes in small spaces, this video is for you. Growing potatoes in buckets is one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to get started with homegrown food.
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34 Comments
I don't usually bother with getting rid of woodlice as they only eat dead or dying matter anyway, and if a tuber in the bucket is damaged then they help to prevent the spread of any disease. They sort of take over where slugs leave holes so I just control the slugs (or try to LOL)
I am doing all my spuds in buckets 👍 That new compost looks good
Sowd Charlotte 2 weeks ago in a large half pallet raised bed filled with well rotted horse muck just nipped to allotment this afternoon and they have come through so mulched over with grass cuttings
Super good work mark potatoes planten the potten compost voeding water geven thans the video good Sunday friend 🥔👍🌤🍺🌷🪻🌿☁️💧🌱
Quality content as always, buckets always for me. 👍👍👍
I have done two early buckets of Charlotte (2 tubers in each, both at the same level). They are further on than your earliest earlies 🙂 The rest of my potatoes are in the ground, went in on St Patrick's Day as usual.
The first 2 batches of my Baby Lou spuds are in the ground. The first batch went in approx 3 weeks ago and they broke the surface in the last few days. 2nd batch went in yesterday, and my 3rd batch are still chitting.
I've done spuds in big pots before, but struggled to keep up with watering and the crops were poor. Now I do my spuds in a double pallet collar raised bed, 6 plants to a bed and get very large crops.
The only feed mine get is well rotted farmyard/horse manure which is mixed into the bed 2 – 3 weeks prior to planting.
GET RID of the horrible 'Lefties' ………………………. I WILL be voting REFORM UK
Mark, what is the reason for putting the buckets outside, couldn’t they stay inside? The potatoes would be even earlier, I’m sure I’m missing something quite obvious, but I don’t know what it is!😊🙄
I'm down in the valley here at SQF, so you being "up the coonty" in WL is really helpful. 👍
I've still got some of last year's Charlottes left over, uneaten and chitted, but most are small, so I dunno?
Rather than blend/blitz them up and compost them, I might dot them around the unused bits of the garden to break up the soil etc, and see how they do, before adding more raised beds in those areas at season's end.
I had five 15L grow bags kicking around, so I put 2 each of last year's bigger chitted Charlottes in each of them but nothing showing as yet.
Tomorrow, this year's well chitted seed Charlottes go into my 30L buckets and raised beds.
I've got Cara chitting in egg trays at the moment, and as they're indeterminate (I hope), they'll go into taller bags when ready.
Love your channel, you being quite local-ish is encouraging too.
Other YT channels I watch are helpful too but they're in Cornwall, Wales or the Midlands/SE.
All the best.
Thank you.
I tried growing in buckets the last few years, but the results were not good, so I've decided to go back to the ground this year.
My ground is heavy clay, so I've built some raised beds and put in some decent compost, so only time will tell. They went in last week (RDY), so no sign of them yet.
Not bragging, but planted my first earlies outside on 19 Feb in WR5 and going strong.
💚🥔🌱👍
Growing sharpes express and cara potatoes in grow bags rasied beds and an old bath.
What kind of yield would you expect out of those size containers?
Hi Mark i grow like you in the 30L pots for 1st and 2nd earlys but a raised bed for main crop I'm growing Charlotte maris peer sharpes express desiree and sarpo una and sarpo mira, your new compost does look good
Got my first and seconds in not done main yet , top Video Mark
Ive been staggering my potato planting, but 5 buckets of red duke of york are about 2 feet high already 😂
I grew Caledonian Pearl last year for the first time and they are absolutely gorgeous. Best new potatoes I've tasted and pretty productive too. Of course I'm growing them again this year. I sowed my first ones mid March and they are just popping through the soil surface now.
Apart from the Caledonian Pearl I grow Butter Gold which is my favourite potato (saved from supermarket as they aren't available from seed suppliers), Cara – good for jacket spuds – and Pink Fir Apple which I see as main crop salad potato – useful for late summer and autumn when all the Caledonian Pearl have already been eaten.
I have red D of Y flourishing in potato bags, also Foremost, as first earlies. Sown early March. Now the foliage is coming out of the top of the bags. Charlotte as second earlies sown in bags end of March, just starting to peek out, so next layer of compost put in over that. I don’t put all my compost in at once, preferring to add it as the plants grow up. Caledonian Rose, as main crop, will be going into the ground this week. (West Sussex). Compost is basic multi purpose Westland, mixed with some spent mushroom compost and a handful or two of blood, fish and bone. 🥔 🥔 😊
i get the same problem with wood lice and ants here in manchester, mark. i find a handful of diatomacious earth helps. sprinkling it under the pots is where the earth and woodlice meet. i never mix it in the compost.because as soon as you water it disaappears……………..brian
I am north lanarkshire Scotland and haven't planted my main crop spuds in buckets at home do i still have time? Thanks
12 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 8 o'clock maybe !
I always do my potato buckets 01 April but do 50:50 old to new compost + slow release stuff. Never tried re-using all old compost.
The unused old compost is handy for use in other pots – carrots, lettuce, flowers, herbs,….
I've done my first earlies in buckets like you. I'm worried I've put too many in 🙈. I've put 4-5 potato seeds in each. Do I need to replant them and have less in each bucket? Sorry I'm still new to growing potatoes
I started my potatoes on St. Patrick’s day, and I’m doing them in both buckets and raised beds. Im in central US.
Thank you for another great video.
Hi Mark , im way behind in General but as for my potatoes im growing Charlottes 2nd earlies as well as Maincrop Maris Piper , im only growing in 30 litre pots this year , last year i grew Charlottes and Cara in a raised bed and thought 30 Litre pots was the way forward , hopefully will get them out by the end of the week , unfortunately for me my Arthritis is really playing up so i have my fingers crossed , great update by the way 👍
Hi Mark, glad you found a locally sourced compost 😊 great video update. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊
Im doing rocket potatoes in buckets id potted mine about 3 weeks ago. And im trying the earth up technique
i love my mix of manure, perlite or vermiculite and soil for any of my plants., and your right some people are getting to fancy when it comes to growing food. i love my grow bags. i have my 1st ever green house and boy is that handy. Im in Nrth california. Happy growing.
I've had the first of my earlies in 30litre buckets since the end of February and have been adding further buckets since then. My favorites are home guard but they were very scarce this year so im growing another goose called sharpes express, and also alexandra that we're shop bought and spent too long in the cupboard and started to sprout, so I saved them in the fridge from last summer!
Both varieties are doing very well and have top growth upto about 6 inches high.
I like to lift the very first ones at about 12-13 weeks before the skins have had chance to set, they can just be rubbed off and have a superb flavour.
Your early earlies seem to be doing well and the top growth looks healthy x.
Great video, Mark. Thanks as well for featuring our Planter Mix. We love seeing it put to good use in projects like this 😀
I put the first of my potatoes in a month ago. They're still in my polytunnel though as the nights have still been so cold.
I grew Caledonian pearl last year and it was great!
I'm trying main crop for the first time this year and still have some to get into bags yet. I'm only doing one maincrop potato per bucket to see what difference the harvest will be.. I just have a small plot in my home garden.
I’m with you on choosing your own spud planting plan, it’s not a competition to make the most and best – for me it’s all about me learning what suits my soil and weather. Good spud luck for this year… I have some leaves on my spuds 😊 can’t wait to see the produce later in the year.