This subject has been covered before but as there is more than one way to skin a proverbial cat, similarly there is more

than one way of growing potatoes in containers. Additionally, quite a few of you ardent gardeners have requested information on this.

Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables and as home-grown ones beat commercially-produced ones in taste, they are also one of the top five vegetables people like to grow for themselves.

If you don’t have ground space, potatoes can easily be grown in pots and containers

Not everyone though is lucky enough to have a proper place to grow them in but, happily for all concerned, they can be very successfully grown in a wide variety of containers placed on verandas, balconies, along driveways, in courtyards and also on rooftops. Here, friends and gardeners, are suggestions on how to go about it.

The container: Potatoes must have adequate space in which to develop their root system and plants must have plenty of air circulation if potential problems such as blight and mildews are to be avoided.

Keeping these requirements in mind, the perfect container for just one potato plant should measure approx 18 to 24 inches across (not in diameter but directly across), be 24 to 36 inches deep and have lots of drainage holes in its base.

Furthermore, the container should be placed on bricks or something similar, to create a space between the bottom of the container and the ground surface beneath: this helps ensure that the drainage is unobstructed.

There is absolutely no need to spend huge amounts of money on specially-designed buckets, etc. If you don’t have something suitable/recyclable on hand, large black bins — the strongest ones you can find to enable reuse time after time — are perfect.

Growing medium: An ideal mixture is 25 percent sweet earth, 25 percent organic compost, 25 percent old, well-rotted, preferably organic, manure and 25 percent chopped straw (bhoosa). Combine these together and, as only part of it is initially used, keep a sack handy to store the rest until it is needed.

Planting: Place a layer of the mix — about six inches deep — in the base of the container. Sit a single potato, medium to large in size and preferably already beginning to sprout, in the centre of this, sprouts facing upwards as much as possible, and cover with just another four inches of the mix. Water it but do not flood it: the soil should be moist but not overly wet. Keep the container in full sun to very light shade.

Care: Germination should begin within seven to 14 days depending on the time of year. Once shoots/leaves are about two to three inches tall, cover them over with some of the reserved soil mix. Each time shoots/leaves come back through the soil mix and attain a height of two to three inches, cover them over and repeat until the container is full. This system encourages the plant to form more and more roots and thus more and more potatoes.

Harvesting: The plants will probably flower after eight to 12 weeks of growing. Leave the flowers to bloom and then to gradually die back on their own. Plant leaves will, after flowering, also begin to naturally turn yellow and die. As the leaves die, the plant sends all of its energy down into its roots and the growing potatoes, which plump out and fatten up.

Wait (patiently please) until the plant has completely died before digging up your crop of potatoes. After digging them up and before storing, lay the potatoes — sticking bits of soil included — out in the sun for three or four days to cure the skins.

Do not wash potatoes until you are going to use them. Washing them prematurely removes a natural enzyme that helps them keep in storage without spoiling.

Planting times: In Karachi and surrounding areas, the best times to grow potatoes are from September to November and February to April. However, with climate change impacting planting times more and more, potatoes can possibly be grown throughout the year except for the very hottest/most humid months of the year. Results may be mixed but experiment and find out which time of year has the best results for you.

In Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar and surrou­nding areas, the periods of February to April and then September to October are recommended as it is necessary to work around the bitterly-cold winters and incredibly hot and humid summers so commonly experienced across these regions.

Note: There is no need to purchase special ‘seed potatoes’, simply use ‘old’ potatoes from the bazaar.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location — this is important. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, EOS, May 21st, 2017