How To Grow Potatoes In A 5 Gallon Bucket

Fresh homegrown vegetables are one of the most affordable luxuries we can provide for ourselves and there are so many tips and hacks that take the uncertainty ad guesswork out of growing your own food, there is literally no reason why we can’t do this ourselves because it’s not hard. I found a brilliant tutorial on Youtube by Hollis’ & Nancy’s Homestead, where the ingenious gardener Hollis takes us step by step through the very best way to grow potatoes in 5-gallon buckets. He explains all of it from sprouting your potatoes to what kind of soil to use and how to make drains in the bottoms of your buckets. I thought that when a potato started to sprout it was time to throw it away, I now realize that it was a very wasteful concept and also very ill-informed because that is exactly how you want your potatoes to look before you put them in the soil. To start this project you will need the following materials.

Materials:

• Starter potatoes
• Food Grade 5-gallon buckets with holes in the bottom
• Peat
• Potting Soil
• Cow manure
• Water
• Sunshine

Directions:

First, place your potatoes in a leftover egg carton and leave them in a warm dark place and let them sprout. When the chits (sprouts) are about 3/4 of an inch they will be ready to plant.

When you plant the potatoes the diagram below explains how much soil is actually in the bucket and explains your potato placement. See video for the entire (very short) tutorial.

I love this idea and I have my starter potatoes sprouting right now!

How To Grow Potatoes In A 5 Gallon Bucket