How do I grow patio spuds?

Hi Finbow

I'm joining the ranks of the home food growers and, given that it never really appealed before, I'm surprisingly very excited about it. Still, I haven't a clue so hoped you could get me started with some advice.

I have a 2.5kg bag of about 20 soft, wrinkly and sprouting (1 to 2 inch tubers) Epicure Scottish Basic Seed Potatoes, Grade EC3, Class A (hope they're not illegal).

I also have a big plastic tub, 16 inches deep, 16 inches in diameter at the top and about 12 inches in diameter near the base.

Do I need to drill holes in the bottom?

Do I need to add stones for drainage?

What kind of soil / compost should I get?

How deep into the pot should I start planting?

How often would I need to earth up?

Does eathing up mean adding more soil / compost?

Is there anything else I should know?

Thanks

David

Answer: 

Hi David,

Your container is OK for one plant so you really need 19 more if you want to plant them all. Yes you need holes in the bottomfor plastic containers a heated screwdriver works well. No need to but in stones as long as the holes are not too big. I am using home-produced compost. I put the spuds in the bottom of the pots and half filled them with compost. When the leaves start growing through I will fill the pots completely and that should be it appart from daily watering until harvest. Good luck.

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