Grow potatoes yourself - it works in the garden, on the balcony and even in the apartment. You don't even need a plant pot for this. A simple bucket is enough.
Potatoes from your own garden are simply something very special. Not only because they taste so much better, but also because you grew them yourself. The great feeling when the harvest turns out to be bountiful is of course the icing on the cake.
Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have a large enough garden to grow potatoes. Or rather, many don't even have their own garden at all. Then you still don't have to do without home-grown potatoes. After all, all you need is a sunny spot to grow potatoes yourself. You don't even need a planter or a raised bed. A very simple bucket, like the one that everyone has at home, is perfectly adequate.
But this type of cultivation is not just the right thing for those who want to grow their own potatoes cheaply and without a garden. But also for all those who only harvest a few potatoes or simply want to save themselves the strenuous digging in the garden. We'll show you how here.
Advantages of growing potatoes in a bucket
There are a number of advantages to growing potatoes in a simple bucket. An overview of these:
◾ Simple buckets with a capacity of 10 liters are perfectly adequate for cultivation. These are also very cheap. A bucket, for example, costs just under 2 to 3 euros.
◾ Because the buckets are so cheap, you can plant several for little money and get a bounty.
◾ Buckets (especially black ones) are ideal for growing potatoes because they heat up quickly. This means that they do not have to be in the blazing sun, which is particularly advantageous for cultivation on the balcony or in the apartment.
◾ The buckets take up very little space. On the balcony, for example, you can get a sunny spot in the corner or on a plant shelf. In the apartment, in turn, you can put them on a simple console table. Of course you can also put the buckets directly in the garden.
◾ If you grow potatoes in buckets indoors, you don't have to stick to the planting season.
◾ When harvesting, you do not need any tools such as a digging fork. You can easily dig up the potatoes in the bucket by hand.
◾ Growing potatoes in a bucket is also a great option for those with some physical challenges. You don't have to use a lot of force with this attachment variant. By the way, this also makes it easy for children to help grow potatoes.
Which buckets are suitable for growing potatoes?
The great thing about this growing option is that you can use the simplest buckets commercially available. Just make sure they have at least a 10 liter capacity. Construction buckets, for example, are ideal for this project. They're usually black (which is great for heating up the soil), cheap, and even available in kits for cheap, so you can grow more potatoes at once. Even in several rooms in the apartment.
It is only important that you drill holes in the bottom before use so that the bucket does not become waterlogged.
Our tip:
Use a cutter knife to cut three equally sized windows in a bucket and then slide this into a second bucket. Thanks to the windows, you can always monitor the development of the potatoes. Such pots (called potato pots) are already available in stores, but why spend a lot of money when you can also make a potato plant pot yourself much cheaper and very easily?
➭ A great alternative: the plant bag
If you don't have a bucket at hand, you can even grow the potatoes in a sack. Simple jute, rice and plastic bags are ideal for this. A real planting bag, like the one you can buy in stores, has the advantage that it usually has an opening. In this way you can optimally observe the formation of the roots and later also the growth of the potatoes. Just like the Potatoe Pot just described.
Which potatoes are suitable for growing in buckets?
Be sure to use seed potatoes for planting. Simply because they are less susceptible to disease and also grow faster than table potatoes. In addition, they are sorted. In comparison, ware potatoes often only deliver lower yields, since after several years of propagation they are often infected with viruses and germ inhibitors also prevent budding. Organic potatoes, on the other hand, areuntreated and suitable as seed potatoes.
The great thing: you can use practically any potato as a seed potato, as long as it is untreated. Among the hobby gardeners without a garden, for example, the “Red Emmalie” and the “Blue Anneliese” have emerged as favorites. But also old potato varieties such as "Bamberger Hörnchen" or the blue "Vitelotte", which are very expensive in the supermarket, can be grown inexpensively in a bucket.
Our tip:
Rely on undemanding potato varieties such as "Princess" and "Linda". They are robust, have low soil requirements and always shine with a large yield.
How to properly plant potatoes in a bucket
Potatoes are actually planted between the beginning of April and mid-May. You can stick to this if your planted buckets are to find a place outside. On the other hand, if you want to grow potatoes indoors, you don't have to stick to the planting season. So you can start growing at any time and even harvest several times a year.
You need for garden, balcony and apartment:
- ripe, undamaged seed potatoes
- a bucket (at least 10 liters capacity)
- Potters of pottery, expanded clay or gravel
- Potting Soil
- compost
Planting Instructions:
❍ Step 1:
Pre-germinated potatoes are ideal for growing potatoes in buckets. If the seed potatoes do not yet have sprouts, place them in a flat box or egg carton for pre-sprouting. It is important that the potatoes have a certain distance from each other so that the sensitive sprouts do not touch and break off later. The first shoots should appear quickly in a bright, cool place.
❍ Step 2:
If the potatoes have enough sprouts, take a very simple bucket and drill a few holes in the bottom of the bucket. In this way you ensure that irrigation water and rainwater can drain away unhindered.
❍ Step 3:
First fill the bucket with a drainage layer of about 10 centimeters made of potsherds, expanded clay or gravel. Irrigation water and rainwater can run off perfectly without damming up. Potatoes don't tolerate waterlogging at all.
❍ Step 4:
Now mix flower soil with compost and fill the bucket about a quarter full with the mixture.
❍ Step 5:
With a 10 liter bucket, you cannow put three potatoes with the sprouts upwards on the soil in the bucket. The tubers should not touch each other, so it is advisable to place them in the bucket about five centimeters apart. Then cover the potatoes with about a hand's breadth of soil and water them well.
❍ Step 6:
Now put the bucket in a warm, sunny place. This can be in the garden or on the balcony. If you have neither one nor the other, you can also place the bucket directly in front of a window.
❍ Step 7:
In summer it is advisable to water the potatoes once a week. On the other hand, when it's hot, you should water the can several times a week.
You can easily test whether you need to water your potatoes again by sticking your finger a few centimeters into the soil. If this is damp, you can wait a little longer before watering.
❍ Step 8:
As soon as the first potato plants protrude about 10 centimeters from the ground, cover them completely with substrate again. Repeat this until the bucket is completely filled with soil.
In the meantime, you can fertilize the potatoes every now and then. Coffee grounds are very good for this. You can also use a liquid vegetable fertilizer for this.
❍ Step 9:
Once the flowering of the potatoes is over and the leaves begin to wither, you can finally harvest your first potatoes. To do this, simply carefully dig up the potatoes by hand.
Here again all the steps are summarized in a video:
By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more
Load video
Always Unblock YouTube