I'm planting my potatoes in bags this year (first year growing them) owing to the vegetable garden not being ready (and wont be for a while) - I'm planting my first lot this weekend. I can't decide whether to keep them in the greenhouse to start off or put them outside and move them inside if the weather changes.
Last year when frost threatened I just chucked more soil over our potatoes (took 'earthing up' a bit too literally) and then they just pushed on through when the frost had passed. Maybe you could do that with bags. I have never grown potatoes in bags but am eyeing up a builders bag we have here - one of those they deliver building sand in. Looks like an enormous potato growing bag to me. If they get warm in the greenhouse they might grow a bit faster than you want them to. Also, the more soil and compost you put in the heavier they will get to move. And I have used grass clippings before as insulation. I am a bit rough and ready with potatoes, but they don't seem to mind.
Busy Bee thank you for your advice. We've got some builders bags I did think about using them to plant things in for this year until the vegetable bed is sorted until I realised that to move a ton of soil into the bags would cripple me. Perhaps I can cut them down or only half fill them...
We've plenty of last years grass clippings I can build around the bags if the weather turns bad. I'll be sure to remember that very useful tip!
(I'm not rough and ready - just clueless and ham fisted!)
One year when my allotment was 10 miles away , and therefore too far to justify driving just to cover up my spuds, they were knocked back by a late frost in May ( Hampshire). They had been a good 8" / 20cm tall, but they shot back in no time.
I started my spuds off in bags in the g/h, but moved them out yesterday (I was fed up with tripping over them) If the forecast gets v. bad, will fling some fleece over them.
word of warning about builders bags, water your plants and it pours out of the sides. I built a portable raised bed with the cloth nailed to a frame to grow some deep rooted veg in, mooli. Not a good plan... but you can get cheap spud bags from Wilco which last for ages I've some 5 yrs plus old and still as good as the day bought.
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, having always grown spuds in bags, in the back garden, would have started planting out at the end of March but I've got an alotment now and first year growing...you can pick bags up and put them in GH if there's fret of frost but you can't pick up a rasied bed and carry it home......I'm happy to wait till April...
Planted my 1st earlies, Pentland Javelin & Vales Emerald in spud bags today. Put them amongst other large pots to keep them warmish. Any bad frosts / temp due/ I'll carry them into GH or shed overnight.
Waiting a week or so to plant 2nd earlies. Charlotte.
Zoomer, when I had room I always planted 1st earlies into garden at Easter !!! Now that varies by blinking weeks. Toms always went into final pots in GH on cup final morning. Ditto.
Clari, veg / spud sacks, easily moveable 12" dia x 16" deep couple of quid for 2, from Wilko / and other places, not GC's. !!
p.s. edit. Either I'm dim or a genius if they aren't going to be on "show" put drainage holes in bottom of old multi purpose sacks, reduce height of them to about 16' and put spuds in them. Think I'll do that with my carrots, will keep root fly off them.
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I'm planting my potatoes in bags this year (first year growing them) owing to the vegetable garden not being ready (and wont be for a while) - I'm planting my first lot this weekend. I can't decide whether to keep them in the greenhouse to start off or put them outside and move them inside if the weather changes.
Last year when frost threatened I just chucked more soil over our potatoes (took 'earthing up' a bit too literally) and then they just pushed on through when the frost had passed. Maybe you could do that with bags. I have never grown potatoes in bags but am eyeing up a builders bag we have here - one of those they deliver building sand in. Looks like an enormous potato growing bag to me. If they get warm in the greenhouse they might grow a bit faster than you want them to. Also, the more soil and compost you put in the heavier they will get to move. And I have used grass clippings before as insulation. I am a bit rough and ready with potatoes, but they don't seem to mind.
Busy Bee thank you for your advice. We've got some builders bags I did think about using them to plant things in for this year until the vegetable bed is sorted until I realised that to move a ton of soil into the bags would cripple me. Perhaps I can cut them down or only half fill them...
We've plenty of last years grass clippings I can build around the bags if the weather turns bad. I'll be sure to remember that very useful tip!
(I'm not rough and ready - just clueless and ham fisted!)
One year when my allotment was 10 miles away , and therefore too far to justify driving just to cover up my spuds, they were knocked back by a late frost in May ( Hampshire). They had been a good 8" / 20cm tall, but they shot back in no time.
I started my spuds off in bags in the g/h, but moved them out yesterday (I was fed up with tripping over them
) If the forecast gets v. bad, will fling some fleece over them.
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, having always grown spuds in bags, in the back garden, would have started planting out at the end of March but I've got an alotment now and first year growing...you can pick bags up and put them in GH if there's fret of frost but you can't pick up a rasied bed and carry it home...
...I'm happy to wait till April...
Planted my 1st earlies, Pentland Javelin & Vales Emerald in spud bags today. Put them amongst other large pots to keep them warmish. Any bad frosts / temp due/ I'll carry them into GH or shed overnight.
Waiting a week or so to plant 2nd earlies. Charlotte.
Zoomer, when I had room I always planted 1st earlies into garden at Easter !!! Now that varies by blinking weeks. Toms always went into final pots in GH on cup final morning. Ditto.
Best we can do is guess
Clari, veg / spud sacks, easily moveable 12" dia x 16" deep couple of quid for 2, from Wilko / and other places, not GC's. !!
p.s. edit. Either I'm dim or a genius
if they aren't going to be on "show" put drainage holes in bottom of old multi purpose sacks, reduce height of them to about 16' and put spuds in them. Think I'll do that with my carrots, will keep root fly off them. 
Thanks KEF - I brought some from Wilkos last month in preparation.
Now to work out where I put them...