'There are few more important foods in the world than the potato. Its history goes back to the early days of man—a past spanning feast and famine. Potatoes were discovered by pre-Inca Indians in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in South America and archaeological remains have been found dating from 400BC on the shores of Lake Titicaca, in ruins near Bolivia, and on the coast of Peru. Now the potato is the staple food for two thirds of the world's population.' Although we live on a corner block and have a reasonably large area of front garden and a kitchen garden just off the lane at the rear of our home, we have no back yard as such (just a large courtyard). So the year before last Peter and I began experimenting with container gardening en masse. Growing potatoes in a half wine barrel was among our projects, which included planting a number of fig trees, citrus fruits, a grapevine and olive trees in pots. Each of these has so far proved to be successful and we have already harvested small crops of home-grown olives, Isabella grapes, Meyer lemons, Kaffir limes and potatoes. Our first figs are currently maturing as well and we can barely wait to taste them. We were particularly happy with our 'no dig' potato project and will continue to grow our own potatoes in this manner. As such, I have been wanting to share our experiment with you in the form of a photographic essay, but this has been on the back burner for some time as I fell ill with pneumonia in April 2013. I'm telling you this, dear readers, as I strongly suspect (and my doctor agrees) that I possibly contracted pneumonia because I wasn't mindful of wearing gloves, eye goggles and a face mask on every single occasion when I worked with potting mix. There are manufacturer's safety instructions on bagged potting mix for a good reason. Legionella longbeachae, a bacteria commonly found in potting mix, causes a rare form of atypical pneumonia and it is potentially deadly. I learned my lesson the hard way and this is one of those 'do as I say, not as I do' messages, folks. Please make sure you are extra cautious at all times when using potting mix. On a more positive note, container gardening is most enjoyable and yields surprisingly good produce. In the fullness of time, I will share with you our other success stories. Potatoes are easy to grow and you don't need to have a large area to grow them in. We live in a cool climate area, so we followed the advice provided by Gardenate and planted seed potatoes in mid October. By Christmas, they were almost ready to harvest. So, let's see how our project progressed from start to finish... Getting started... you need a half wine barrel This half wine barrel previously held a mop-top Catalpa, that we had transplanted to a larger tub when it became root bound. Note the drainage holes drilled in the bottom. The chap at the garden centre advised that we bleach the inside of the barrel and wash it out thoroughly before re-using it. Remember, wear gloves and a mask for this job. Spread a 10-20cm layer of potting mix and compost in the base... Arrange the seed potatoes over this layer of soil, leaving space in between. Then spread another 10-20cm of soil and compost mix over the top, and water in well. As the shoots start to appear... Cover the growth with additional layers of soil and compost, so that the tips are just visible through this new layer. Repeat until you reach the top of the container. Always ensure that the soil is regularly watered, but not to the point that it is excessively wet. As the plants grow, add more soil and compost... These loose layers of soil and compost give the potatoes a nice mounded environment in which they can grow. You can also add a layer of pea straw mulch in between the layers of soil to ensure that the tubers are well covered. Soon, the plants will flourish and start to flower...Getting ready to harvest... When the leaves on the potato plants begin to die down, it's time to harvest (around 30 days after flowering). Allow the soil to dry out before you harvest the potatoes. A pile of perfect potatoes... These perfect little potatoes in the image below are store bought, because the spuds we grew were eaten and enjoyed before I could take too many photographs of them. While they may not look quite as pretty, home-grown potatoes often taste much better than store-bought specimens... and, of course, they are free from chemicals! Cooking with potatoes a la Lizzy...If you enjoy cooking with potatoes, you might like to try my Scalloped Potatoes Gratin Dauphinois, my Swabian sour potato wheels, or my Hasselback Potatoes (a retro dish that I still love to make). One of my favourite and more unusual potato recipes is a Potato Torte, which is a gluten free sponge cake made with cooked mashed potato. It's deliciously different and has been part of my repertoire for decades. Tell me, do you grow fruit or vegetables in containers? What has been the most successful for you? Have you ever grown potatoes in a pot?
Andrea
11/1/2014 11:34:59 am
Just loved this post, we have been growing fruit trees on containers for awhile now, some success, have olive tree, blood orange, assortment of lemons and limes, column apple, nectarine and apricot! We were a little sad this year because the winds blew away a lot of the fruit! There is nothing better than picking your own blueberries and mulberries from the bush ! We do have pototoes in an old laundry tub, but am rather taken with the idea of pototoes in a wine tub, looks fabulous! Next, chickens!!!
Lizzy
11/1/2014 02:38:37 pm
Andrea, thank you kindly.... a blood orange, how delicious! An old laundry tub is a great idea too! I will send you the link for the olives post! : )
Lizzy
11/1/2014 02:37:52 pm
Maureen, sounds like you were hugely successful with the tyre version. I tried that once many years ago. Great idea, huh!
Lizzy
11/1/2014 02:37:22 pm
Liz, thank you... I have grown spuds in tyres in a previous lifetime, but not in the wine barrel. We were delighted with it. Yes, do try your tomatoes in them. 11/1/2014 06:02:29 pm
That's odd about the potting soil. I worked in greenhouses for years and handled that stuff by the ton without any safety equipment and never heard of anyone getting sick.
Lizzy
11/1/2014 06:22:52 pm
Edward, my immune system may have already been compromised, as I ended up with glandular fever on top of it. My partner, Peter, also had a very bad cough around the same time I fell ill and he had done the same as I had with no gloves or mask. The link in my post takes you to a Government web site that clearly states the warnings. I have also heard of a friend's friend who had some very nasty bacterial infection in his lungs from mushroom compost, he almost died. 12/1/2014 06:47:24 am
I can believe the mushroom compost. Most mushrooms are actually poisonous and when you disrupt the fruiting body, you are releasing spores into the air.
Lizzy
11/1/2014 06:46:52 pm
And, to quote the Health Minister's media release, 'the ingredients and moistness of potting mix make it the ideal breeding ground for the bacteria'.
Michael
11/1/2014 07:43:36 pm
hi Lizzy, great post. We have a front yard bigger than most backyards and decided to container garden until we worked out where to put things. 3yrs later, I just harvested figs, mini tomatoes, snow peas, beets, capsicums and any day now apples.
Lizzy
12/1/2014 06:56:30 am
Michael, that sounds wonderful! There is so much pleasure to be gained from gardening, no? 11/1/2014 08:04:35 pm
I once threw some chopped up bits of old sprouting potatoes (each chopped up bit had a sprout growing) into a big black plant pot with some well composted soil - and promptly forgot about them. To my surprise very healthy plants grew & looked after themselves - which was good, because i promptly forgot about them … again! At one stage there was more weed than plant happening … so i forgot about them again. Then the plants died. Eventually i thought i'd plant something else in the pot and dug up my accidental (and forgotten about) crop of gorgeous potatoes … they were the best i'd ever tasted. Now you have me on a potato planting mission, misses! Thanks for the prompt. Lovely photographic essay.
Lizzy
12/1/2014 06:57:21 am
Rachel, I think that's the best thing about potatoes... they grow so happily. Great story, thank you for sharing... and happy gardening xo 12/1/2014 12:42:24 am
I have a sweet potato to plant and will think of you when I do so. I must read the bag of potting soil I have. I am going to plant a lime and lemon tree in a wine barrel this year :)
Lizzy
12/1/2014 06:57:54 am
Sounds wonderful, Tandy... my lime and lemons are going really well in their pots. Happy planting xo
Lizzy
12/1/2014 06:58:19 am
Now that sounds like a plan, Karen. Happy planting : )
Lizzy
12/1/2014 06:55:43 am
Edward, I am in awe of your health. Good for you. Until recently, I wasn't afraid of exposing myself to infection... but now, that's a different story... until I can repair my immune system, if ever. It's a long, long tale, but many years of almost unfathomable stress has brought this on... that's what happens sometimes in life. Thanks for stopping by. 12/1/2014 08:25:00 am
Good for you putting the outdoor space that you have to such great, tasty use. Beautiful pics too.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:36:35 pm
Andrea, thank you very much! Lovely crop of potatoes. I must look at your previous potato recipes. Yes, although I have plenty of space in my vegie patch, I always grow potatoes in a container. The problem with growing them in garden beds is that they leave baby potato seed everywehere and make the soil unsuitablle for future crops such as tomatoes. I do mine in a similar way to yours, but once the green starts to shoot, I keep covering them with more soil /compost and continue this to the top when the shoots reappear.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:37:23 pm
Francesca, good to know you do this you. So the way you say you do the planting, adding layers of soil is exactly how I do this, and is what I said in do in the post. : ) 12/1/2014 10:07:11 am
G'day and WHAT a great idea Lizzy, true!
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:37:44 pm
Joanne, thank you very much, that's a good thing. : ) 12/1/2014 10:18:04 am
I have grown potatoes quite successfully in a grow bag before, but not for a while. Really need to do it again. I heard a tip on the radio the other day for dealing with the potting mix. Just slit open the top of the bag and then thoroughly wet the mixture before you start to work with it. This should help minimise the dust, particularly in those bags that are really dry. I am going to try this next time I open a bag as I too am guilty of a lacsidaisical attitude towards potting mix.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:38:46 pm
Hi Tania…. be careful and wear gloves and a mask, as it's the moisture inside the bags of potting mix that makes them more lethal.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:39:10 pm
Thank you Glenda… a 44 gallon drum would be good… and you can use piles of tyres too! 12/1/2014 11:11:50 am
Your home grown potatoes look incredibly healthy Lizzy. Well done. This is a very useful step by step guide!
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:39:23 pm
Jane, thank you kindly : )
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:39:37 pm
So true, Laura. : )
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:39:50 pm
Erin, thank you very much. 12/1/2014 12:37:28 pm
I had no clue potting soil could be so dangerous! Thanks so much for the warning - I'll definitely start taking precautions. Anyway, love your container gardening. We do some of this, but more raised beds (which we treat essentially as a big container). Great post - thanks.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:40:45 pm
John, thank you… yes, the principle is the same as a raised bed with loose soil. And yes, please do take precautions. I was so very ill… two strains of pneumonia… not nice at all!
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:40:51 pm
Thank you so much, Azita!
Eha
12/1/2014 01:48:05 pm
Well, every bag of soil sold in Australia has a big heath warning and I have not always followed it either. I won't touch soil without gloves but do not usually wear a facemask and I should as all of my herb/vegetable gardening along the side of my cottage has to be in pots!! Yes, I have seen this method of growing potatoes and it looks very neat compared to the other way of growing them in big burlap bags: much untidier to the eye!! [Smiling] As I have not eaten potatoes for nearly thirty years [well, 1 Kg per annum does not count!!] I can but look and admire!!
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:41:48 pm
Indeed, do take care with potting mix, Eha. Masks are not too expensive and can protect you from the dangers of illness, or even death! 12/1/2014 03:26:20 pm
Great post, Liz! Like you I'm finding that growing your own is incredibly rewarding! After reading about the dangers that can be associated with handling potting mixes etc I will heed your safety message from now on.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:42:30 pm
Marian, growing your own produce is very rewarding. Yes, please do take care with the potting mix! 12/1/2014 04:26:21 pm
I'm not surprised that all those little treasures were gone before you had a chance to document them...must feel fantastic to eat the things you grow. All I grow in my apartment now is a Christmas tree...:) ela
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:42:51 pm
Ah Ela, a Christmas tree in a pot, how delightful! : ) 12/1/2014 05:02:26 pm
Wonderful post Lizzie, I have grown potatoes in pots and also a large tractor tyer as well as in my garden beds. All work well if the soil is loose and well draining. Home grown potatoes taste so creamy and delicious in comparison to store purchased potatoes. Next year I am planning on planting many many more than I did this year as we have enjoyed them so much (especially cooked as gnocchi)
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:44:03 pm
Gnocchi, how yummy Kyrstie… we like the idea of the half wine barrel as we can grow spuds in our paved courtyard, which is actually quite large, but we don't want loose soil. Home grown is definitely best. First let me start by saying I am SO sorry you became ill, but it makes perfect sense. How often we all say "I'm just going to run out to the garden..." I try to be mindful, but I've gone out without gloves and mask so often, and I know it is truly imprudent. This is a good reminder. I hope you are alright now, and that any residual effects will dissipate. That said, this is one heck of a FABULOUS presentation! I have never grown potatoes, and I am inspired to try this myself. Thanks!
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:45:16 pm
Adri, thank you kindly… it is taking quite some time for my health to recover to normal… my specialist said it might be 18 months… so this was a tough lesson. And thank you VERY much for your very kind words… I am so glad you enjoyed this post. It has been on the back burner for ages! 13/1/2014 11:25:32 pm
Ever since you told me in an email about what you and your doctor suspected I have endeavoured to be very cautious, as I too have a compromised immune system, but born that way not acquired. Before your horrible incident (and ongoing repercussions arising) I loathed gloves as they interfered with feeling what I was doing. Not anymore. I'm glad to see that you are out and about and growing so many successful crops. Although we have a large back garden (for the UK) as it also houses chickens so we do container gardening in a hidden bit of our front garden. We can see it from our house but no one else can, unless they come to the door. We can't grow quite the same lush crops as you, but I love my dark leafys such as chards, sorrel, beets, kales and herbs. In the summer I always have a go at tomatoes, but without a greenhouse we don't stand a prayer! Potatoes we have intermittent success with but I do love homegrown the absolute best. Lovely post, my dear Miss Liz.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:50:32 pm
Hello Kellie… yes, just like you, I hate working in gloves as I like to feel the earth in my hands. But this has to change now, and I will indeed always wear a mask and gloves. How would you go if you made your own greenhouse type of cover for your tomatoes? Thank you kindly for your lovely compliment. : ) 13/1/2014 11:52:40 pm
What a great idea because I do hate digging! My father in law had a veg plot and the potatoes were so very different from the store bought ones. GG
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:48:18 pm
Hello there GG… home grown are definitely better than store bought… and, yes, this no dig method is great! 14/1/2014 03:05:34 am
I've never seen potatoes grown this way, how interesting!
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:47:30 pm
Hello Gintare, thank you very much : ) 14/1/2014 08:08:52 am
I've often thought about trying to grow potatoes but my husband tries not to eat them. I'm sure your potatoes right out of the garden are so good.
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:47:11 pm
Hi Karen, oh wow… interesting. We don't eat too many potatoes, but home grown are definitely excellent! 14/1/2014 09:56:01 am
What a clever idea Lizzy! I'd love to give this a go because we don't have any gardening space here and this seems doable!
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:46:31 pm
Hi Lorraine, thank you! 14/1/2014 10:07:33 am
I have been thinking of trying to grow potatoes, they look very stylish growing in half a wine barrel too ;-)
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:46:14 pm
Julie, thank you very much : ) 14/1/2014 10:14:58 am
Great job Lizzy! I grow all my fruit trees in wine barrels and have one full of potatoes too! The good thing is if you don't harvest them all they keep reproducing- great for this slack gardener :)
Lizzy
14/1/2014 06:46:01 pm
Hi Bec… sounds great… I am reminded that we have yet to catch up… I'd love to come see your blue house and your garden! : ) 15/1/2014 03:20:33 am
I've always wanted to do this One year I threw in potatoes into my winter garden. They sprouted, I forgot about them. The greens died. I forgot about them. Then in the spring when we were planting our spring garden we found these weird rocks and pebbles in the dirt. Lo and behold the forgotten fingerling potatoes! Kids love the tiny tots. And I never planted potatoes again - ha ha!
Lizzy
15/1/2014 02:28:52 pm
How funny, Laura... seems you are not alone on this... a few of my readers have said similar things. Thanks for stopping by.
Lizzy
15/1/2014 02:28:11 pm
Thank you Janie xo 15/1/2014 06:20:45 am
What a clever way to grow potatoes! I bet you could grow a multitude of vegetables in this type of container. I'm trying my hand at a fig tree as well, except that I have to keep mine in the container so I could move it into the garage in the winter. Last year I had about 5 figs growing on it (first year too) and the damn birds got to it before I could, this year I'm putting a net over it! I also have garlic growing and I have my fingers crossed, hoping the extreme cold didn't kill the bulbs like it did last year. Great tip about the soil, I had no idea!
Lizzy
15/1/2014 02:28:00 pm
Our fig trees are in half wine barrels Eva... they are fruiting for the first time this year They seem happy enough. Moving them into the garage in the cold is a great idea!
Lizzy
15/1/2014 02:27:20 pm
Thanks Celia... funnily enough it seems that the less effort, the better the results! : )
Lizzy
15/1/2014 02:26:57 pm
Hi Aleney, thank you kindly... yes, do try it! : )
Lizzy
15/1/2014 02:26:35 pm
Thank you El, I think I saw it originally on Pinterest, ages and ages ago! Would have been better if I hadn't fallen in! 15/1/2014 02:10:19 pm
what a great post - and great timing! one of my new year resolutions for the kitchen is to eat more potatoes - which makes me start dreaming about growing my own!
Lizzy
15/1/2014 02:26:00 pm
Hi there, thanks very much! I saw your resolutions and smiled when I read about the spuds!
cindy
20/5/2015 07:15:26 pm
Hi Lizzy can I grow two different tyes of potatoes in the same barrel?
Lizzy
20/5/2015 07:42:36 pm
Yes, Cindy, you can! Comments are closed.
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Welcome...Üdvözölöm
Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
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NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
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