Bags, Buckets or Ground? My Belt-and-Braces Potato Method
Updated: Jul 16
ones use first store in cool place small ones wash and cook whole good for salads
Don’t ask what varieties these are, ‘cos I got ’em mixed up. But there’s 4 types and one or 2 Asda potatoes that had started growing in the back of my cupboard.
You do not need an allotment to grow proper potatoes.
If you have a patio, a yard or a couple of big tubs by the back door, you can still pull a decent crop. If you do have an allotment or a big veg bed, even better. You can go full spud chaos and fill a whole row.
I am Dave, The Messy Gardener, and this is how to grow potatoes in the UK in bags, in the ground and without losing your mind.
What you’ll need
Start with the right spuds and a bit of basic kit.
Seed potatoes
You will see three main types.
First earlies
Fast and early.
Small new potatoes.
Great for bags and small spaces.
Second earlies
A bit later.
Still good for new potatoes.
Happy in bags or in the ground.
Maincrop
Bigger plants and bigger tubers.
Best in the ground or very big containers.
Good for baking and storage.
Use proper seed potatoes, not supermarket ones. They are cleaner and less likely to bring disease into your soil.
Kit for bags and containers
Strong bags or tubs at least 30 to 40 cm deep
Old compost bags, big buckets or proper potato bags
Multi purpose compost
A bit of garden soil to add weight if you have it
General fertiliser for planting
Tomato feed for later
Drill or sharp tool for drainage holes
Copper tape if slugs are a problem
Kit for growing in the ground
A fork or spade
String and pegs if you like straight rows
Compost or well rotted manure for poor soil
A hoe for weeding
Nematodes or pellets if slugs are bad
Golden rule: whatever you grow in, it must drain well. Bags need plenty of holes. Soil needs to be free draining. Sitting in cold, wet muck is how you get rotten spuds.
Chitting – wake them up
Chitting is just waking the potatoes up before they go outside.
When
Start chitting in the UK from February to early March.
How
Put seed potatoes in egg boxes or shallow trays.
Eyes up. The end with the most little buds faces the ceiling.
Keep them on a cool, bright windowsill. Not above a hot radiator.
You want short, stubby green or purple shoots, not long white noodles.
How long
About 4 to 6 weeks.
By late March they should be ready to plant.
Forgot to chit? Plant them anyway. Chitting helps, but it is not a deal breaker.
Planting – two messy ways
You have two main routes. Bags or ground. Both work. Pick what suits your space.
Option 1: In bags or containers
When
In most of the UK, plant from late March to April.
In colder spots, lean towards mid to late April.
Prep the bag
Add plenty of drainage holes in the bottom and lower sides.
Put 10 to 15 cm of compost in the bottom.
Mix in a small handful of general fertiliser.
Water so it is damp but not soggy.
How many per bag
For a 35 to 40 cm wide bag, plant 3 seed potatoes.
Smaller bucket, 1 or 2.
Too many means lots of marbles, not many meals.
Planting depth
Lay the seed potatoes on the compost, shoots up.
Cover with another 10 to 15 cm of compost.
Water gently.
The bag should only be about one third full. You will build it up later.
Option 2: In the ground
When
Again, plant from late March to April for most of the UK.
On heavy, cold clay, wait until the soil is not sticking to your boots.
Prep the bed
Remove big weeds.
Fork over the soil to loosen it.
Add compost or well rotted manure if it is poor.
Do not add fresh manure right before planting. It is too strong.
Spacing
First and second earlies
30 cm between potatoes in the row
60 cm between rows
Maincrop
40 cm between potatoes
75 cm between rows
How to plant
Make a trench about 10 to 15 cm deep.
Sprinkle a little fertiliser in the bottom.
Place seed potatoes in the trench, shoots up, at the right spacing.
Cover with soil and firm gently.
Neat rows or wiggly lines. The potatoes do not care. They just want soil, space and water.
Earthing up – the secret to more spuds
Earthing up means pulling soil or compost up around the stems as they grow.
More buried stem = more potatoes.
It also keeps light off the tubers. Light makes them green and that bit is poisonous.
In bags and containers
When shoots are about 10 to 15 cm tall, add more compost around them.
Leave the top couple of centimetres showing.
Repeat every time they grow another 10 to 15 cm.
Stop when compost is 5 to 8 cm below the top of the bag.
In the ground
When the plants are 15 to 20 cm tall, pull soil up around the stems to make a low ridge.
Leave some foliage showing.
Repeat once or twice as they grow.
You want a decent ridge along the row.
If you skip earthing up, you get fewer spuds and more green ones near the surface. Skipping it is a fast track to wasted potatoes.
Watering and feeding
This is where a lot of people mess it up.
Bags and containers
Bags dry out fast.
In spring, water once or twice a week.
In warm weather, check daily.
If the top few centimetres are dry, water until it runs from the holes.
Do not leave them sitting in a tray of water for days.
In the ground
Roots can reach deeper, so you water less often.
In dry spells, give a good soak once a week, not a sprinkle every day.
Aim for water down at root level, not just damp dust on top.
Feeding
When plants are about 20 to 30 cm tall, start feeding.
Use tomato feed in your watering can.
Feed every 10 to 14 days.
Follow the bottle. More feed does not mean more spuds. It means stressed plants.
Slugs
Around containers, a band of copper tape can slow slugs down.
In beds, tidy up hiding spots and use nematodes in spring if you are keen.
Lift bags on bricks so slugs have fewer damp corners underneath.
When to harvest – take what you need
Here is the treasure hunt bit.
First earlies
Ready in about 10 to 12 weeks from planting.
Often around June to early July if you planted in late March or early April.
Fancy a few early spuds without wrecking the whole plant? Once it’s flowered, have a feel around in the compost or soil near the stem. Just pull out enough for a couple of days, don’t dig them up. Leave the little ones and the plant to keep growing. You get new potatoes in June. Plant carries on like you were never there.
Second earlies
Usually ready in about 14 to 16 weeks.
Often July to August in much of the UK.
You can lift the whole plant or bandicoot a few if you are gentle.
Maincrop
Usually ready September to October.
Wait until the foliage has yellowed and started to die back.
Spuds keep better in the ground than they do in your cupboard. Leave them in and dig as needed, or lift all if blight threatens.
Harvesting bags
For earlies, tip the whole bag out on a sheet or in a trug.
Pick through the compost and grab every spud.
For maincrop, cut the foliage off and leave the bag for about 2 weeks. Then tip it out. This helps the skins set.
Harvesting in the ground
For earlies, lift plants carefully with a fork, starting a bit away from the stem.
For maincrop, cut the tops off, leave tubers in the soil for about 2 weeks, then lift and store.
Do not leave potatoes in the sun. Green bits are poisonous. Eat or store only firm, ungreened tubers.
Messy Gardener’s tips – over the fence chat
Here is the neighbour chat bit.
Blight
Looks like brown, greasy patches on leaves and stems.
Often appears in warm, humid weather.
It spreads fast.
If you see it, cut all foliage off at once.
Bag it and bin it. Do not compost.
Leave tubers in the soil or bag for about 2 weeks, then harvest.
Often the spuds are still fine if you caught it early.
Frost
Late frost can scorch young shoots.
If frost is forecast, cover rows with fleece or an old sheet.
For bags, fold the top over or drag them against a wall and cover.
If they get hit, they usually regrow, but it slows them down.
Reusing compost
Do not grow potatoes in the same compost next year.
Use old potato compost for flowers or shrubs.
This helps avoid disease build up.
Storage
Only store sound, undamaged maincrop potatoes.
Do not wash them. Let them dry and brush off loose soil.
Keep them in paper sacks or hessian bags.
Store in a cool, dark, frost free place.
Check now and then and remove any that are going off.
Varieties for bags
Charlotte, Nicola, Jazzy all do well in containers.
They give a good crop without needing a field.
Do not be tidy, regular water/feed matters more than straight lines.
FAQs – Spud Problems Sorted
Why are my potatoes green?
Sunlight. If your spuds pop up through the soil and catch light, they go green and produce solanine. That’s toxic – tastes bitter and can give you a dodgy stomach.
Fix: Earth them up properly. Keep covering the stems with soil/compost as they grow so tubers stay buried. If you’ve got green bits, cut them off completely. If the whole potato is green, bin it. Don’t risk it.
What are the green things growing on the stem? Can I eat them?
Those are potato fruits – look like little green tomatoes. That’s because potatoes and tomatoes are cousins.
DO NOT EAT THEM. They’re full of solanine too and poisonous. Just admire them, then ignore them. All the good stuff is underground.
Belt-and-braces rule: If it’s green and it’s a potato plant, don’t eat it. Stick to the tubers, and only the non-green bits.
If you give this a go, tell me how you get on in the comments. Share your monster spuds or your best container tricks so other messy gardeners can nick them.
Dave’s Comment Promise
I read every comment myself – usually within 24 hours. If I’m knee-deep in compost down the allotment, give me a bit longer and I’ll get back to you with grubby hands. 👨🌾
Happy digging, Dave – The Messy Gardener 👨🌾🥔
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