How to Successfully Grow Patio Potatoes

Even if you haven't got a plot of land around your home that's large enough to plant a garden in, you can still learn how to successfully grow patio potatoes. In fact, growing patio potatoes instead of planting them in the ground will save you lots of time and energy. You won't need to disc the ground, plow the ground, hoe the garden to keep the weeds down or dig the potatoes up once the crop has matured.

The best time to grow patio potatoes in the north is in the early spring when the winter weather has passed, and the temperatures are now just cool. If you live in the south, or anywhere the winters are milder, you don't have to wait for the season to end. You should be able to plant your crop in the latter part of the winter.

First, you'll need several seed potatoes. You can plant store-bought potatoes instead, but they're not as reliable. I've planted this type to have them just sit and rot in the ground. Seed potatoes, which can be bought by the pound at your local garden store, sprout better.

You can plant whole seed potatoes if they're small in size. If they're medium or large, it's best to cut them in quarters. Just make sure each quarter has at least a couple potato "eyes" in it. If you're going to cut the potatoes, do this a day or two before you plant your patio potatoes.

Then, you'll need to round-up a clean five-gallon bucket to plant your potatoes in. Drill several holes in the bottom of the bucket so your potato plants will have adequate drainage. Then, put four or five inches of good, clean, rich soil in the bottom of the bucket.

To grow patio potatoes, make mounds of three or four seed potato quarters in the bottom of the bucket. Place the "eyes" of the potato quarters so they are pointing up. You should be able to plant four or five mounds in the bucket. Space them evenly apart. Then, cover each potato mound
with additional soil so they are just covered up.

Prop the five-gallon bucket up with some bricks or pieces of wood in a sunny spot on your deck or porch so excess water can run out the drainage holes. Water your patio potatoes whenever the soil feels dry.