How to Grow and Care for Potatoes in Containers
Intro: Potato plants are one of the easiest vegetable plants to grow in a kitchen garden on the balcony. Just give the potato plant some light, and you should have a small crop of potatoes in two to four months. You can grow these vegetables in a large, deep plant container, a durable plastic tub or even a tall garbage bag. They have clusters of pretty white flowers with yellow stamens.
Scientific Name: Solanum tuberosum
Plant Type: Surprisingly, the potato is a perennial plant – if it is not harvested, the potatoes left in the ground will sprout after the foliage dies off.
Light: Full sun to partial sun
Water: Water the potato plant at least once a week. Don’t let the potting soil become soggy or dry out.
Propagation: Take an old potato with tubers sprouting from it. You can cut the potato in half or leave it whole, and plant it in a deep plant container. We plant ours about 5 inches down.
Misc. Info: Harvest your potatoes when most of the plant has died off. If you’re careful, you can pull out a few small potatoes before the rest are ready. Potatoes actually have a lot of insect pests (such as aphids and tomato hornworm caterpillars) and diseases that will kill the potato plant off or make them inedible. This is one of those plants that should be planted in late summer if you live in a hot area, as they can’t take the heat.
