In this video I am harvesting Potatoes. I grew them three different ways.
1. Container
2. Traditional in trenches
3. Ruth Stout / No dig
We’ll harvest them all and do a weigh in to see which way is the winner. You might be surprised. Plus I’ll show you how to cure your potatoes to help them store longer.
35 Comments
Thanks for sharing 😊
We use a garbage can. We start with a small amount of soil and occasionally put more soil around the plants. Then dump it out on a tarp at harvest time.
Just curious if you still just use Kellogg soil for everything, or if you use that and anything else for your soil.
loving these videos as it taught me alot that i never knew before
What about growing spuds in the stacked frames method? In which square wood frames are continually stacked up and filled with soil as the plant continues to upward .
Brian, how many pounds of potatoes did you plant to begin with? Do they double in weight?
We live in a condo with rules about gardens! I use grow bags for the first time and will post my results!
I plant in containers and I use the mound method and my look very good right now. When do you know when to harvest
I've watched several hundred gardening videos trying to find one channel to follow regularly. Brian, you're the winner! I also live in California in 10A, although our elevation is quite different. That, along with your knowledge of garden alchemy that I find very credible, is what led me to choose you.
Plus, I have an obsession with thatched roof cottages, so that sealed the deal! A thatched roof cottage would be my dream home.
This is my first year growing anything. I planted my potatoes in grow bags because gardening was a spur of the moment decision and our ground is hard clay soil, so grow bags seemed like a logical solution. I bought seed potatoes from a big box store and did 2-3 potatoes per 10 gallon grow bag, cutting some of them in half. I harvested my first bag of Yukon Golds a few weeks ago, and from two seed potatoes (one cut in half due to the number of eyes), I ended up with 2.5 lbs of potatoes. The other bag of Yukons is just dying off and my White Superiors, the greens are still going strong.
After seeing how the potatoes grew basically on a single level, I bought some clearance seed potatoes that already had long stems and planted another grow bag with all potatoes in the same bag, planted on multiple levels. The greens are growing vigorously and I'm looking forward to a fall harvest.
I have done the Ruth Stout method for several years. Always works just fine, and I don't have great soil.
Which make bigger potatoes
Definitely staut method! Awesome comparison. Thank you Brian. I didn't have luck with the containers planting either. I tried a couple of years in the row and I will not bother again. Blessings 💞🙏
Three questions: 1) Did you start out with the same amount of pounds of potatoes for each method? 2) Did you plant the same varieties? 3) I've heard to store potatoes you should not wash them….is this true? Love what you're doing with the cottage/chicken coop as well as the gardens around your home. Thank you for your very informative videos.
Two Questions: when do you plant potatoes for fall? I'm in Oregon 8B and could i do the Ruth Sout method in 20 gallon containers?
I've did them all ways and the best for me is in a trench.
My husband and I have potatoes in grassroots bags, some planted traditionally, some Ruth Stout, one batch in a cardboard box, three starts in emptied dog food bags and I see a couple volunteers in the bean row. Harvest yet to be determined :)) I am rewarded twice today as I’m now headed to Next Level Homestead channel. Love your shows!!
Still need to do the "Uncle Marvin's" lawn grass cuttings potatoes. Only using lawn grass cuttings – no hay or straw or anything else. Cut the lawn, rake up into a mound of 3 feet tall x 3 feet diameter. Make multiple mounds, or make into a large and long barrow height and length. This might be 1/4 size of your actual full and half-sized beds you did, so make adjustments.
"Nest" 6 potato plants inside the perimeter of the grass clippings mound (and 3 on the top) – above 6 inches in the "grass cuttings nest." If you do the lawn barrow method, then one can plant spuds on each side (and top !) of the barrow spaced ~20 inches apart for 4 plants per width, continuing down the length of the barrow. When done, LIGHTLY water down the mound or barrow – wet and damp but not soggy. Through the season, pile on more lawn cuttings around the continually growing potato foliage – which means lawn cuttings (big lawn) every week or a small lawn (every 2 weeks). Should really be done in Spring so you have a proper growing season of lawn cuttings and spud growing (of 3-4 months).
But with your SoCal weather and getting this heat wave coming at us even up in NorCal – if you properly do this with lawn cuttings, not hay, not your hay field, – only lawn grass cuttings with its methane gas (the cut lawn grass smell is methane) – you will grow spuds, spuds, BIG SPUDS, and more spuds. No additional watering, keep away from any massive rainstorms (soggy mound and potato rot). With the latest years of intense heat waves or heat dome events – then one must water down the spuds so that both plants and tubers don't get fried.
Uncle Marvin's potatoes will be big, fresh, juicy, tender, and near-totally clean (no dirt, no hay, only dried and humid grass around them). Reach into mound, locate spuds, snap off from plant (leave plant intact – do NOT destroy the mound), wipe clean, then wash clean for kitchen use. The inner grass mound or barrow will decay and dry out and lose size and height, with internal composting heat – and any dry mold on the grass won't mold or mildew the spuds.
i love the purple ones. ive grown potatoes in ground and containers. I never tried the ruth stout method.
Most of the vids I see about container growing potatoes have drainage holes drilled out. I didnt see that in yours, or was that just poor camera angle?
Would you include grow bags into the next test? They are supposed to have good drainage.
Also, what was your start/seed weight vs harvest weight?
Sense I no longer digg my garden I now use only pots I use the bucket way (for potatoes) and I just pull my fiest potatoes of the season yesterday nice hual from a bucket I still have one bucket to go but they were some weeks behind the first (4) but the bucket way works best for me.
I trimmed sprouts from potatoes I used for dinner and grew them in small pots. 3 out of 4 grew and I placed them in a large planter on top of the soil and filled in with 3 or 4 inches of straw. They are doing fine, but I haven't checked for potatoes yet. The rest of my seed potatoes I planted in one of my newly prepared raised beds in a trench and we got a ton of rain so they could be compost. I don't know yet.
I really love and enjoy your channel and there is only one other that I have to see, MIgardener. There are a few others that I watch, but only when they have a topic of interest. Plus I can never forget your name, because my son-in-law is Brian, too. May the Lord keep blessing you and yours and remember I sure love you and all you do.
I've had some volunteers show up in both the ground and my 5 gallon bucket. We shall see what happens
i have trouble with potatoes… but the method i have found the best is, stacks of old tires…… start with 1 tire, plant in it, as your potatoes grow above the dirt,, fill it in with more dirt as much as you can, leave just the tops sticking out,…… when the tire is full, add another one, fill it in as the plant grows more like the first time,……….. and repeat….. when your done growing them, knock the tire stack over, and collect your potatoes.
my problem is, no matter how i grow potatoes, some time mid summer……. they always just die…… but the tire stack has gotten me the most potatoes.
Did you use the same number/pounds of potatoes for each method? If not, how is the comparison fair?
I plant potatoes in large bags. I almost didn't get to it this year because we had so much winter and spring rain in NorCal. But there were a few potatoes that I had missed from last year's bags that sprouted, so a added a few more to the bags–not ready to harvest yet. I don't expect to got as many potatoes as last year. Last year I got about 4+ lbs for every 1 lb planted. I liked having different varieties of potatoes, especially the purple potatoes.
just in time!! I plan to plant potatoes year round…just bought 5 cloth bags yay us!!!
it's been awhile since I've watched a video. thank you for the videos
How long between planting and harvest for the above ground method?
Brian, this is a bit off topic, but when you grow your spaghetti squash vertically, how many runners do you leave on the main plant? Currently I have three and I would like to get the best yield from the plant and not just grow leaves and vines. -Steve
Around here, the traditional method is to hill them.
Instead of a trench, I like planting potatoes with a bulb auger, power planter.
I have been watching you for 2 years now. Thank you for your excellent content. I am a new Master Gardener withy Penn State ext and have been asked to run the educational children's project at our County Grange Fair. We are planting potatoes withy estimated 500 children that will come through. Problem is I am having trouble finding 500 chit seed potatoes – preferably fast growing and colorful that we can purchase. Any chance you have a contact that can assist?
Loved this experiment!!! And results!!! Thank you.
You've just convinced me to plant purple potatoes – my favorite, by far.
Ruth sounds like a wise woman.
Hi!! I'm so enjoying all your post's. I also tried potatoes in 2 HD buckets. I just took them out yesterday and got a total of 7 potatoes. I think I might not have drilled enough holes because some of the potatoes where mush and had little worms?? The soil down below was very moist. I will try again in the fall when you do yours again…not giving up in Valley Center!