For those of you that are North Texas Neighbors; It is almost time to plant potatoes! I have mine starting in the darkness of my hall closet; Just waiting till love is in the air to plant. It helps my overloaded brain to pair these planting dates with holidays. Remember I have 3 teenagers in my home right now so I need all the mental helps I can get! Potatoes should be planted by Valentine’s Day here in Dallas Texas(zone 8A). So my loving spouse might find me on my knees planting potatoes the day before Valentine’s Day. Or perhaps, on the very day of that special romantic holiday. (I never put things off. No, not me!) Call me crazy, but I think it is very romantic to spend time together in the garden. I am not at all sure my love feels the same way;)
If you haven’t started your potaoes yet, then go to your local feed store(Roach Feed and Seed in Garland for me) or your natural grocer. You want to be sure to buy organically grown potatoes because most potatoes are sprayed with a sprouting inhibitor(chlorpropham or maleic hydrazide) You don’t want any of this sprayed on your potatoes because you want them to sprout and grow more potatoes!
Sadly, I don’t have room in my garden for potatoes this year!(Last year I grew my potatoes at the community garden, but this year I gave up my plot to bless another gardener) If you have room in your garden see my article Time to Plant Potatoes in North Texas, While Love is in the Air!
If you dont have room like me, plant your potatoes in containers this year!
However I overheard my teen boys talking the other day. The conversation went something like this….
“Boy, my matabolism is running so fast that as soon as I finish eating a meal I start feeling hungry again!” To which his brother agrees. “Yeah, the time it takes to fix a meal I am starving afterwards!”
Carbs and a lot of them is what I need! Let me just drop one phrase in your lap… GLUTEN FREE. Yes, I am blessed and cursed with a son who eats a lot of carbs and is GLUTEN FREE. It is a real thing! He goes through all kinds of intestinal discomfort if he ingests even a kernel of wheat. The answer my friends is potatoes!
This is the first year I am going to grow my potatoes in containers. Here is a link to a video of container grown potatoes that inspired me: https://youtu.be/ThePQs6kDpo
Follow along with me and see how it goes. At this point I have my potatoes sprouting in egg cartons in my closet and I am trying to score as many 5 gallon buckets as I can get. I am a little concerned about how 20-5 gallon buckets will look in my front yard garden?!? Sometimes I really wish I could garden in my backyard! I am blessed with lots of shade in my backyard, which my animals are sooo thankful for. So in the front yard garden it is. I will do a video of every step of my new potato planting adventure. For right now get your potatoes started in a dark closet and shout with me, “FOOD NOT LAWNS!” and hug your gluten free carb eaters!
See how to plant potatoes in containers worked out!
Happy potato planting, Dash & Family
My husband and I live in a condo, so my garden is entirely in containers. I was really hoping to give potatoes a try this year, but I’m not sure I’ll have the room with everything else I’m trying to grow ?. Best wishes and blessings!
I’m lovingly chitting my potatoes too but mine will be going in undercover soon in the greenhouse and row cover. The weather is too unpredictable until end of May!
I know it is hard to make room for everything! Best wishes and blessings to you too!
Oh you must be way up North. You are an overcomer we could all take a page from your book! I love the name Misfit Gardening. I will have to check you out. I have GREAT respect for those who grow food in the North!
I get to plant potatoes on my new farm this year but last year I planted them on my deck in big discarded kitty litter buckets. Bonus .. no weeding. It was a great yield too.
Kitty litter buckets! THAT IS PERFECT! I am so glad I have you guys to knock me out of my one track thinking and open my mind up to different things. Here I have been asking all over town for 5 gallon buckets(which I am not finding) and I could ask my cat lover friends for kitty litter buckets! Thank you. You Rock!
Blessings, Dash
My husband picked them up from the trash route.
I drilled lots of drainage holes, layered them in potting soil. I did find they needed water almost daily. I was considering trying to set up some kind of frugal drip irrigation this year. Other than that they were beautiful and fun to watch. You could almost see them grow inches per day. I planted some today. Wish me luck!
Thank you for letting me know that this method works. I finally got some buckets at Firehouse Subs. They were a good price and the money went to a good cause. I am late planting but kind of glad it worked out that way because we have had sooo much rain here. I think the potatoes might have rotted if I had planted. Did you cut yours into pieces or plant your potato whole? Good luck with yours, Dash