Small space? You can grow potatoes in sacks

With land for farming shrinking day by day, thanks to urbanisation, there is need to embrace smart solutions. Growing potatoes is one such creative step that works where space is a challenge.

To grow potatoes in a sack, you do not need a large garden. What one needs are reusable sacks to grow potatoes everywhere. With this method, it is easier to monitor the growth of the crop and produce more harvest of up to 20 kilogrammes from a single plant.

Growing potatoes in sacks is simple, provides good yields with minimum cost and causes less damage to the harvest. The method is not labour-intensive and you do not need a large piece of land to grow potatoes.

Selection of the right planting materials

The first and most important step is selection of the right planting materials free from diseases. If possible, dust the potatoes before growing to prevent potato blight.

The plants are grown in sacks filled with soil up to 25 centimetres. Before growing, the seed potatoes are sprout first in a process called 'chitting'.

Lay the tubers in a cool dry place with the 'eyes' facing up to allow them to produce the shoots before they are planted in the prepared sacks.

As the plant grows, more soil is added until the sack is almost full. The advantage of using the system is that moisture introduced to a plant stays longer.

Also the nutrients applied are not lost to the ground. Controlling diseases is easier because disease-causing agents do not move from one sack to another.

More yields can be realised on a very small area as long as potatoes are arranged properly. The method is appropriate for farmers who reside in cities where agricultural land is limited or non-existent.

How to select the sack

The selected sacks must be porous and not coated with plastic. This allows water to drain freely as too much moisture will cause rotting. It is recommended that potash fertiliser should be incorporated for better yields. Do not apply too much nitrogen because this will delay crop maturity. Keep the sacks well-watered.

Control of pests and diseases in potato crops can be achieved using biological, cultural and/or chemical methods. Control is not exclusively dependent on the use of agricultural chemicals and more farmers are gradually appreciating the benefits of an integrated approach, where both chemical and non-chemical treatments are used in an overall control strategy.

Controlling pests and diseases

Thrips are sometimes a problem in potatoes. They are of particular concern in seed crops because certain species are responsible for virus transfer. Risk of virus infection can be reduced through crop management techniques like removing weeds, planting certified seed and maintaining good crop nutrition.

It's hard to judge the size of your potato crop from above, so use your hand to feel the area around the root area. Feel for the tubers, pull out those that have reached the size of a hen's egg, or allow them to grow on to your preference. As soon as the foliage begins to die down, it is also a good indicator that the harvest time is close.

Harvesting potatoes when they mature ensures that they have protective skin which reduces the risk of infection. Delayed harvesting time increases the risk of exposure to pests and diseases like Rhizoctonia.

At harvesting, handle the tubers carefully during harvest to minimise tuber damage because this could be an entry point for diseases. If tubers were very wet at harvest, place them in a drying tent with circulating warm air. Free moisture on tubers increases the risk of rots and of seed piece breakdown.

[The writer is an expert on sustainable agriculture and agricultural solutions]