[dig4victory]

Due to space constraint this year, we decided to grow our earlies in large pots and do the layer up with soil method when the shoots pop through each time.  We've seen plenty of gardening shows doing it, also with tyres.

What a disappointing yield! We grew Swift - the yield was poor.  They did get caught by that late frost in May...

...any thoughts?

Thanks! 

[Christine]

Lack of water? Potatoes are a thirsty crop.

[solway cropper]

I agree with Christine. Water and more water. As an experiment I'm growing some in flower buckets this year and tipped out the first one last week. Two pounds of lovely clean Charlottes but I watered them every few days during the dry weather. Not as big a yield as the ones grown in the ground but they take up less space.

[andy135]

I was also short of space so I used three plastic dustbins which I had.
I drilled drainage holes in the bottom, lined them with fleece to stop bugs getting in and then put 3" of rotted manure in the bottom. 3" of Been and Queue'd potting compost then place nine Lady Chrystl in the bottom and covered with compost. I also mixed in a good quantity of FBB.
After 12 weeks I got 3lbs from the first bin. It's now 15 weeks and I've just got 16lbs from the second bin. I'll wait for the third bin for a few weeks more. 

[sarah-king]

I only planted earlies, different types in flower buckets, and got 1 large pan full from 4 buckets and one of these bags, and that's it, very disapointed they were watered every other day and fed :-(
to make things worse the more expensive seed potatoes( from reputable supplier ) produced ones with scab !! :-(

[mumofstig]

Scab is the result of soil conditions and nothing to do with the quality of the seed potato.

[potatogrower]

i heard ikea do these huge bags, could you grow them in there? i would assume that as the potato's grow they displace the soil around them? if that is the case then the bag can allow easy expansion sideways if the soil is not compressed to hard. i had really clay like soil which meant all my root vegetables in the 1st year did not grow properly but i really worked in bags of cheap compost, sand and manure and now the root veggies are growing well.

worth a try?

[dig4victory]

Thanks for replies - we did water them everyday, though may need it both morning and evening.