Planting Instructions:
Step 1
Pre-sprouted potatoes are ideal for growing in a bucket. If your seed potatoes don’t have sprouts yet, place them in a shallow box or an egg carton to pre-sprout.
It’s important to keep some distance between the potatoes so the delicate sprouts don’t touch and break. In a bright, cool place, the first shoots should appear quickly.
Step 2
Once the potatoes have enough sprouts, take a simple bucket and drill a few holes in the bottom. This allows excess water (from watering or rain) to drain freely.
Step 3
Next, fill the bucket with about a 10 cm layer of drainage material (pottery shards, expanded clay, or gravel). This prevents water from accumulating, as potatoes do not tolerate waterlogging.
Step 4
Mix potting soil with compost and fill the bucket to about one-quarter full with this mixture.
Step 5
(For a 10-liter bucket, place about three potatoes with the sprouts facing upward on the soil.)
Make sure the potatoes don’t touch each other. It’s best to space them about 5 cm apart. Then cover them with about a handful of soil and water thoroughly.
Step 6
Place the bucket in a warm, sunny location. This can be in the garden or on a balcony. If you have neither, you can place it directly in front of a window.
Step 7
In summer, it’s advisable to water the potatoes once a week. In hot weather, you should water them several times a week.
You can easily check if watering is needed by sticking a finger a few centimeters into the soil. If it’s still moist, you can wait before watering again.
Step 8
As soon as the first potato plants grow about 8–10 cm above the soil, cover them completely again with substrate. Repeat this process until the bucket is fully filled with soil.
From time to time, you can fertilize the potatoes. Coffee grounds work very well, but you can also use a liquid vegetable fertilizer.
Step 9
Finally, once the potato plants have finished flowering and the leaves begin to wilt, you can harvest your first potatoes. Simply dig them out carefully by hand.
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