Planting Potatoes in Bags Is the Quickest and Easiest Way to Harvest Your Own Homegrown Spuds – Here's How to Do It

Planting potatoes in bags is an excellent solution for small space gardeners who only have a patio, porch, or balcony where they can grow. Traditionally, potatoes are grown in a big area, like a sprawling garden on an impressive piece of land. But though almost everyone loves potatoes, not everyone has a spacious backyard for a potato patch. That’s where grow bags come in.

In yesteryear, you practically had to have a small farm to cultivate a hefty crop of potatoes, since each seed potato requires 16-18 inches (40-45 cm) of growing space on all sides. Today, you can start growing potatoes in containers like grow bags in small spaces, like on patios, balconies, or even fire escapes.

You can make your own potato grow bag or purchase them. We recommend these 20-gallon grow bags from Amazon, which have a harvesting window to let you check on your potatoes and harvest them with ease. Learning how to grow potatoes in a bag is a space-saving solution as well as a fun gardening project for any level gardener.

Benefits of Growing Potatoes in Bags

If you’ve never heard of a potato grow bag, it may sound like a silly idea or a child’s project. But really, there are myriad reasons to give grow bags a try.

Home gardeners traditionally "hill" potatoes to encourage them to produce lots of roots and, hence, lots of tubers. This method takes some space and there is a high probability that you won't get all the spuds out of the ground when you harvest.

Compared to the traditional growing method, the advantages of planting potatoes in bags are phenomenal. Here are some of the biggest benefits:

• Potato bags save space. No need for a huge garden. You can grow a crop in whatever sunny corner you have available.
• Potato bags can be moved easily to follow the sun or to avoid a hailstorm.
• Potato bags are so easy to use – no digging holes for each seed potato, no measuring spacing to be sure each planted potato has sufficient room to grow mature potatoes.
• Potato bags provide their own drainage, so you’ll never get rotting potatoes from standing water.
• Potato bags eliminate the search efforts when harvesting. Harvesting is as easy as tipping over the bag.

Choosing a Potato Grow Bag

The first thing you need to grow potatoes in bags is a bag, of course. The grow bag you choose should let the plant spread out its roots and let you add layers of soil as the plant grows.

The reason for layering soil is the same as hilling. Potato tubers send out roots at the eyes, which branch out in the soil. The more you cover the top of the root zone, the more roots they send out. More roots equal more potatoes.

When picking a potato grow bag you have a lot of choices. You can buy one of the many different grow bags currently available in stores or online, like these grow bags from Amazon. Purchased grow bags require less work, are typically inexpensive, and easy to use. They have been designed for this very purpose and offer excellent drainage and handles to pick up containers for easy moving.

Choosing a bag to buy can be hard since the range is overwhelming. You’ll see felt bags, fabric bags, plastic bags and even smart bags. And each type comes in a range of sizes. If you are just getting started, go with a 10-gallon (37.8 L) felt or fabric bag. 5-gallon (18.9 L) bags are about the smallest you can get away with.

The other option is to make your own grow bags. Making your own bag takes more time, but costs less.

DIY Potato Grow Bag

Some of the easiest bags for growing potatoes are just old burlap sacks with the tops rolled down. You can also sew or staple together durable fabric or even weed barrier fabric, which can be purchased on Amazon, into the appropriate shape. Leave enough fabric at the top to unroll as you hill the potatoes inside. You are not limited to growing potatoes in bags, however.

You can set out an old tire and fill it with soil and seed potatoes. As the plants grow, add more tires. One easy method is to cut off the top of a bag of compost and grow directly in the soil bag. Dump out all but the bottom few inches (8 cm) of compost and roll or fold down the top of the bag.

Plant in the bottom of the bag, adding compost as the plants grow. Just be aware you’ll need to poke plenty of drainage holes in the bottom section. You can even use a cardboard box, too!

When to Plant Potatoes in Bags

The ideal planting time for potatoes is about two weeks before the average last frost date. Potato sprouts can handle a light frost, but a heavy frost or freeze will set growth back. If your plants have sprouted and a freeze is predicted, you can always move your bags to a protected area until danger of frost has passed.

What You Will Need

In order to get started growing potatoes in potato bags, you’ll need to gather these items:

• Potatoes: Use seed potatoes you buy at the garden store rather than potatoes from the grocery store. Store-bought potatoes are often treated with products to prevent any sprouting. Seed potatoes are not treated to prevent sprouting and they are certified to be free of disease. Select seed potatoes that work well in your region.
• Grow Bags: As mentioned above, you can make your own grow bags or buy grow bags online and at the garden store.
• Soil: Choose a loose, well-draining potting soil blend that contains compost, coco coir, and perlite or vermiculite. Our editors love this Miracle-Gro potting mix.
• Fertilizer: Pick a balanced fertilizer, like this organic option from Jobe’s.
• Trowel: A simple trowel, like this one from Fiskars, will be of great assistance in planting.

Prep Potatoes for Planting

You can plant small seed potatoes whole, but it’s best to cut larger ones into chunks the size of limes for planting. As long as seed potato pieces have one or more “eyes,” they should grow into new potato plants.

Another optional prep step is chitting. While it's not essential, you may want to chit (or pre-sprout) your seed potatoes two to four weeks before planting. To chit your potatoes, lay them in a single layer in a warm spot with indirect light.

A good way to prevent rot during this stage is to place your potatoes in egg boxes or seed trays, like these ones from Amazon. Once your potatoes put out shoots that are 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, they are ready to plant.

Planting Potatoes in Bags

Mix potting soil and organic compost to prepare a growing medium. You can add a little granular fertilizer to the mix, but not too much since potatoes do not like rich soil. Moisten this soil, then put about 4 inches (10 cm) of the soil in the bottom of the bag.

Place the seed potatoes or seed potato chunks – three to five per bag – on the surface of the soil, spacing them around evenly with their eyes facing up. Fill with just enough potting medium to cover the tops of the tubers, typically about a 4-6 inch (7-10 cm) layer of soil, on top.

Water to moisten the soil. Then place the bag in a site with at least six hours of direct sunlight per day.

Caring for Potatoes in Bags

Water potatoes in containers every two or three days. The young sprouts will not thrive in dry soil, and during the hot summer days you may have to water several times in one day to prevent dry out. The plant should grow vigorously and blossom during the summer.

Keep an eye out for common vegetable garden pests, especially chewing insects which can affect the vigor of your plants. Occasionally unearth a small tuber and check for any damage to the young potato. If you use clean, new compost, you are unlikely to have any major soil-borne insect problems.

While grow bags take care of a lot of issues, potato plants do have a few other needs. New tubers must be kept covered by soil to prevent greening or sunscald. This is called hilling.

Hilling Potatoes in Bags

If you’ve ever grown potatoes in the backyard, you know all about hilling. Since potatoes develop the best flavor when they grow in darkness, you want to watch for potato growth above the soil. The basic idea of planting potatoes in bags is the same.

Mound up soil and compost in containers to keep everything covered except the very top leaves. Keep the soil mix evenly moist and continue adding soil to cover the sprouted potatoes as they come up. Every week or two, or once plants reach about 6-8 inches (15-20 cm), add more soil. You want all but the very top leaves covered in soil.

Keep on doing the same thing until the bag is almost full and keep watering. Once the soil is at the top of the bag, allow the plants to flower and die back, then it’s time to harvest your potatoes.

Harvesting Potatoes in Bags

As summer wanes, the plant's leaves will begin to wilt and turn yellow. At that point, the potatoes are ready to harvest. This usually takes between 2.5 and 5 months after planting.

Harvesting potatoes in grow bags is easy and causes less damage to tubers – just dump out the bag to see what your plant yielded. First, lay down a plastic sheet or newspapers for easy cleanup, then dump, and pick out your spuds.

The potatoes may be smaller than they would have grown in the ground, but you are likely to have more of them. And besides, small potatoes are more tender and perfect for grilling. Let potatoes cure for a few weeks in a cool dark place like a basement before eating.