How to grow potatoes in cardboard box
It is easy to grow potatoes in your home and homegrown potatoes are way tastier compared to those brought in stores. There are several benefits of growing potatoes in cardboard boxes. Growing potatoes in cardboard box is a great solution when you have a small garden. It’s also a great way to reuse cardboard boxes.
Photo by Lars Blankers on Unsplash
Growing conditions for potatoes
Potatoes are cool-season crops that can tolerate light frost. You can plant your potato seeds 3 weeks before the last frost date. The ideal temperature for potatoes to grow well is 16 to 19°C. For growing potatoes, you will need a cardboard that is at least 15 inches deep and wide.
How to grow potatoes in cardboard box.
Before planting your potatoes cut them into small chunks. Make sure that each chunk has 2 growth nodes or eyes. Keep them outside for a few days and once they develop the callus you can plant them in the soil.
Take a cardboard box that is closed in the bottom and fill it with 70% compost, 20% coarse sand and 10% garden soil.
Plant potato seeds with eyes facing upwards then cover them with 2 inches of soil. Place your cardboard box in a location that gets 4 to 6 hours of sunlight every day.
Potatoes will start to germinate within 14 days.
You can fertilise them with liquid fertiliser once in 3 weeks. Fertilisers rich in potassium and phosphorous help in improving yield. You must cover the surface with some compost or soil to protect the potatoes that are growing underground. This is known as hilling. Piling up soil at the base of the plant as it grows. This protects the potatoes that are growing below from getting too much exposure to sunlight.
You can harvest your potatoes when the plant has flowered and the foliage has dried up. Depending on the variety it can take about 80 to 120 days.
Read More:
- How to grow radish in containers.
- How to grow spinach in containers.
- How to grow tomatoes in containers.
- How to grow eggplant in containers.