Mats,

When to start your containers will depend on the weather. Because you are growing them in containers you will not have as much flexibility temperature-wise as you would growing the potatoes in the ground. At first, your seed potatoes will only be covered by 6-8" of soil, thus they might be more vulnerable to freezing temperatures. You will need to have temperatures consistently above 50F degrees before 8am. 

You do not need to "jump start" the seed potatoes. Large seed potatoes can be cut into pieces that have 1-3 eyes per piece. Cut pieces should be allowed to dry for about 48 hours before planting. The stem of the plant will grow upwards from the seed potato and as it grows taller the rhizomes it sends out will produce the potatoes that you will harvest. 

Be sure to place your container where it will get 6-8 hours of sun per day. If your container will have a south or west exposure you may want to provide some light shade in the afternoon so that your black container will not overheat. (I think we discussed this with your container grown tomatoes last year.) 

So once you have consistent temperatures, fill your container with 6-8" of soil. Place the seed potato or potato piece on top of the soil. In a 15 gallon container, 3-4 seed potatoes or pieces should be sufficient. Do not crowd the pieces because this will affect your harvest numbers. Cover with another 6-8" of soil. As the stem from each seed potato grows you can continue to fill the container with soil. The stem will grow up through the soil and the potatoes will form in the soil. 

Potatoes are heavy feeds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. You can fertilize every couple of weeks with a 5-10-10 fertilizer but a 10-10-10 fertilizer will do as well. Keep your container moist but not soggy. You can test the soil by sticking your finger down about 2" into the soil, if it is dry you should water the container. 

Here is a link to a good article regarding growing potatoes in containers from the University of New Hampshire:
https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2020/03/what-best-way-grow-potatoes-containers

If you have additional questions, please reply to this email. Also would you please send your zip code? I know you are in Aurora but there are multiple zip codes for this area of Arapahoe County. Your zip code will allow to see where in the county our services are used.  

Thank you! I live in the 80013 zip code. 

I read a lot of articles about growing potatoes in containers including articles from my native Sweden where growing up, I really enjoyed the early harvest small potatoes so yield is not my biggest priority. Most articles suggest that even though not necessary, starting the potatoes indoors improves yield and shortens the time to harvest. After reading your response, I looked at the average night temperature in Aurora and it would suggest that I could plant them in the later part of April as long as I protect them from freezing if we get a cold spell. Since it is not that big of a container, I will make a movable, insulated, shelter to help prevent the temperature form dropping at night.

Yes, I asked about tomato containers a year ago and as you suggested, shielded my container from the sun. All 6 containers yielded very good crops and the only thing wrong was that a single support stake does not do the job. For this year, I made 4 legged cages of wood that rest at the bottom of the 15 gallon containers and I will prune the shoots a little more than last year to limit the lateral spread. We'll see how that works. 

Mats

Mats,

Thank you for your response and for sending your zip code.

It sounds like you have made some sturdy cages for your tomatoes this year. The single stake system really only works with determinate tomatoes but even then is harder to provide enough support. I will be interested to hear how your potatoes do this year. 

Happy Gardening!

Thank you!

I have attached a picture of my tomato cage prototype. The other 5 cages have slightly longer horizontal slats. Made from 1.25  2x4-8 to keep the cost down. My bandsaw comes in handy. Rocks in the picture to keep them upright in the wind until I put the soil in the pot.

Mats

Mats,

Thank you for sending a photo of your tomato cage. These certainly look sturdy. I hope they will work well for you.

Here's to a great gardening season!