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Many summer residents are often faced with a situation where there is not enough land to plant what they want. You can save space in your garden by planting potatoes in bags. They can be placed anywhere on the site, the main thing is that it should be well lit. Bags of potatoes make a good temporary hedge, they can divide the site into zones. If you paint a plan for landing in bags step by step, it will look like this:
- The choice of container for landing.
- Planting material preparation.
- Soil preparation.
- Choice of landing time.
- Landing.
- Care.
Each item will be described in detail below. You can watch the video for a visual example.
The choice of containers for planting
The following types of containers are suitable for planting potatoes:
- White wicker bags;
- Special packages with valves;
- Black plastic bags;
- Large “shuttle” bags.
White wicker bags are suitable for the southern regions, in which the soil heats up less. If not new bags are used for planting, they must be thoroughly cleaned.
Special bags for planting potatoes are very convenient, but they are difficult to buy in small towns. In addition, their significant disadvantage is their high cost.
Black plastic bags can be bought at any hardware store, their cost is relatively low.
Many houses have plastic luggage bags, which are popularly called “shuttle bags”. If you do not plan to use them for their intended purpose, you can make a small potato bed out of them.
In bags that do not have holes, holes must be made for ventilation and drainage of excess water.
Preparation of planting material
Most of the old varieties form no more than 7 tubers, some of them do not grow more than 5 grams.
Potatoes intended for planting must be whole, healthy, weighing at least 100 grams.
Soil Preparation
For growing potatoes in bags before planting, it is very important to carefully prepare the soil. Potatoes need a light, nutritious soil for normal growth. In heavy clay soil, the development of tubers is difficult.
The approximate composition of the soil mixture for planting potatoes in bags:
- A bucket of garden soil;
- A bucket of humus;
- 2 – 3 liters of river sand;
- 1 – 2 liters of ash;
- Nitrogen fertilizers or rotted manure.
All components are thoroughly mixed before planting, choosing all large fractions – stones, branches and more.
Terms of planting
To determine when to start planting potatoes in bags, you need to imagine when it will be possible to take them outside. Two months must be counted from this date, as long as the potatoes can spend in bags without sunlight. This time will be needed for the formation of the root system.
If potatoes are planted immediately in the open air, planting begins when the average daily temperature is consistently above 12 degrees.
Landing
Landing begins with the formation of a drainage layer. Drainage is poured into the bottom of the bag, its layer must be at least 15 cm. Gravel, gravel, cobblestones and other materials can be used as drainage. The edges of the bag are rolled up. If the bag is planned to be carried, it is advisable to make a hard bottom so as not to damage the roots during transportation.
20 – 30 cm of prepared soil is poured over the drainage layer, crushing it a little. Two to three potatoes are laid out on the ground. It is advisable to treat the planting material with insecticides.
Potatoes are covered with earth, the layer of which should be at least 20 cm. The earth is watered, but not too abundantly. Tubers do not need high humidity for initial development.
Potatoes should grow at a temperature of at least 15 degrees Celsius. If potatoes are grown in February or March, the bags are placed in a warm room. Potatoes do not need lighting at this stage.
Potatoes that are grown outdoors are covered with a dense dark film to avoid excess evaporation of moisture.
The sprouts that have appeared continue to fall asleep until the height of the bag with earth reaches 50 – 60 cm. After that, the bag is transferred to a bright place, the sprouts need a lot of sunlight for normal development. The whole landing process can be seen on the video.
Care
Caring for potatoes in bags consists in watering, loosening the soil and processing from harmful insects. It is advisable to water the potatoes once a week, pouring the bushes abundantly. It is necessary to monitor the drainage holes, the water should not stagnate. Clogged holes must be cleared.
The soil is usually loosened once a week after watering, when the top layer dries out. To avoid this procedure, you can cover the surface of the soil with mulch.
It is necessary to regularly inspect the bushes in order to notice pests in time. In addition to the traditional Colorado potato beetle, aphids and various types of mites can seriously harm potatoes.
Even if there is enough land for planting, this method may appeal to those who want to grow early potatoes, but do not have a greenhouse.
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