Poor/no yields in growbag potatoes - Ask Extension
I have tried everything I can think of to get a modest potato yield from grow bags. Every year is the same result.....plant April 1st...beautiful fu...
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Poor/no yields in growbag potatoes #892111
Asked January 30, 2025, 10:12 AM EST
I have tried everything I can think of to get a modest potato yield from grow bags. Every year is the same result.....plant April 1st...beautiful full perfect foliage throughout. Irrigated as needed. no signs of wilt, insect damage. When plants wither the tubers are the size of golf balls or absent. Using only certified seed sources, I have tried early varieties, late varieties, low nitrogen, high nitrogen, special potato formulations advertised in seed catalog.
Not worth the work. Any suggestions.
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Hi- you are not alone. We have yet to see yields from containers that equal those from potatoes planted in the ground or in raised beds.
This is an excellent web page detailing the reasons people are usually disappointed with potato towers and often unhappy with the yields from more typical containers:
https://www.cultivariable.com/potato-towers/
A blog article about a project that used 10-12 gallon grow bags (yielding about 3 lbs. of potatoes per bag):
https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2020/03/20/potatoes-grow-in-bags-at-project-spudnik/
If you want to continue growing potatoes in containers, select containers <18-in. high, use a compost-potting soil mix, keep the root zone consistently moist, fertilize every 2 weeks with a complete (contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) liquid fertilizer, or twice with a granular fertilizer (at planting and 30 days later; more often if needed).
Jon
This is an excellent web page detailing the reasons people are usually disappointed with potato towers and often unhappy with the yields from more typical containers:
https://www.cultivariable.com/potato-towers/
A blog article about a project that used 10-12 gallon grow bags (yielding about 3 lbs. of potatoes per bag):
https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2020/03/20/potatoes-grow-in-bags-at-project-spudnik/
If you want to continue growing potatoes in containers, select containers <18-in. high, use a compost-potting soil mix, keep the root zone consistently moist, fertilize every 2 weeks with a complete (contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) liquid fertilizer, or twice with a granular fertilizer (at planting and 30 days later; more often if needed).
Jon
