Why and how murphy barrels are a nifty way to uprise potato ! Make your own spud barrels in an afternoon and plant them . Here ’s how and why potato barrelful are a capital way to grow spuds ! .
Choosing a Barrel
The first step is selecting an appropriate container Ideal cask should
Be at least 18 - 24 inches marvelous to accommodate potato tooth root and soil
Have a bulk of at least 10 - 15 gallons
Have drainage holes in the bottom for excess water to escape
Be sturdy – potatoes get grueling so flimsy containers will collapse
Allow air flow – avoid barrels that seal tightly at the top
pop options admit :
Wooden whiskey barrels
Plastic drums or depot bins
Metal chicken feed cans
Fabric murphy planter bag
conducting wire mesh cylinder line with landscape painting material
Built - in gardens lined with hardware cloth
Just debar treated Mrs. Henry Wood like railroad line tie that can leach chemicals . check that your container has n’t held anything toxic . Give it a good clean before planting .
Selecting Seed Potatoes
Seeking out good seminal fluid potatoes is key to winner :
Purchase certified disease - free potato from garden centre or seed catalog .
Choose other season assortment like Yukon Gold , Red Norland or Superior .
If using food market store white potato , pick organic type and check for sprouts .
permit potato sprout indoors 3 - 4 week before last spring frost .
Cut large tubers into smaller clod , each with at least 1 - 2 eye .
remedy saucily cut seed 4 - 7 days until skin toughen . Dust with agricultural atomic number 16 if needed .
Planting Your Potatoes
Once your container and seed potatoes are prepped , you ’re ready to plant :
make full the bottom 4 - 6 in with calibre pot soil .
Space seed potatoes 6 - 8 inches apart in the soil , eyes facing up .
Cover tubers with another 4 inch of pot mixture .
As sprouts maturate , keep add together mix , leaving just the top leaves exposed .
Stop when you strive within 4 - 6 inches of the barrel rim .
Water when soil dries out 1 - 2 inches rich . Avoid overwatering .
For maximum yield , add soluble fertiliser every 2 - 3 hebdomad .
Place bbl in full sun – spud need at least 8 minute daily .
Caring for Potato Plants
Proper tutelage while potato grow include :
Check soil moisture every few days . water supply when Earth’s surface is dry .
Once flowering beginning , water deeply – tubers are bulge up .
Alfred Hawthorne grime around halt whenever they look above intermixture .
Monitor for pests like aphids , beetles , worms – use constitutional treatments if found .
Weed drum diligently so potato are n’t competing for nutrient .
Stake or coop works if maturation is excessive and top profound .
Harvesting Barrel Potatoes
In about 65 - 80 days after planting , leaf will get yellow indicating tubers are matured .
For infant new potatoes , harvest when plants get down flowering by gently dig around the base .
For full sized spuds , cut back all foliage and allow barrel sit 1 - 2 weeks . hide will toughen before harvest .
Tip barrel obliquely and carefully gather Solanum tuberosum as they roll out of the mix .
utilise soil tongue to loosen any persist white potato vine still lodge in soil .
Brush off soil , freestanding tiny “ chits ” and cure harvests 1 - 2 weeks in nerveless , dark emplacement .
Now you know the key footstep for white potato winner in containers . With minimum effort , you’re able to develop mound of homegrown spud adapt perfectly for balconies , patios or little space food garden .
Sourcing Plastic 55 Gallon Barrels:
Dave used cast off off 55 plastic barrelful drums he was given for free . Keep your eyes opened and you could incur them free or very cheap .
Look at recycle store , service department and acres gross revenue and the local FB interchange . Craigslist and your local paper often have free columns . occupation often have barrels they no longer need .
If you do adjudicate to buy your Plastic 55 Gallon barrel Amazon can get you set off . There are many eccentric of food dependable barrels available .
formative barrel are relatively lightweight and easygoing to thin out with a acquisition saw . We do NOT recommend using metal barrels for this project . The cut edges will be acute .
Metal barrels are easily rust and unmanageable to play with . You could use them to plant potatoes in a small vertical outer space for one time of year . They are trace , and there is no signboard of erosion .
The in high spirits barrel meridian wee it concentrated to implant and hard to irrigate evenly . And very heavy and hard to reap . This apply to plastic barrel as well . Cut them in half for best results ! .
Prepping Potatoes for planting:
How to Grow Potatoes in a Barrel – DIY Project Turns One Barrel into Two Grow Tubs
FAQ
How many white potato vine does it take to grow in a barrel ?
How do you acquire 100 pounds of white potato in a barrel ?
What month do you plant potatoes ?
