I'm a first time potatoe grower this year.  In the past, I had the impression they were hard to grow, susceptible to a lot of diseases.  This year I did some reading up, plus searched the I'net for information.  Decided to give them a try.  From yahoo.answers answers.yahoo.com I read about a person who grew "fool-proof" potatoes in cardboard boxes and bags, with layers of mulch, straw, dirt, and newspapers.  So I'm trying this.  I did buy certified Red Pontiac seed potatoes locally.  They sat out (some are still on my counter), and I planted when they had sprouts.  Since we're still prone to frost, I close the box tops at night, and also lay a tarp over for protection.

Are there any experienced potatoe growers out there?  Do you have preferable types and tips on growing?  Has anyone tried this cardboard box method?

I'm not sure if Red Pontiac will store well.  I wanted new red potatoes and wondering if I can harvest from time to time to get smaller potatoes.

CharlieB, would you mind linking the yahoo.answers question about the cardboard boxes & bags, please? I remember reading somewhere you can grow potatoes in a bag on the porch, but I can't seem to find it again.  We have limited room for a container garden, and we eat a lot of potatoes, so it would be cool to give it a try.

 I don't have any advice for you, except good luck! Let us know how it goes

I really like your idea for planting potatoes.  I haven't ever grown them, but am also interested in trying this year.  The idea I was going to use was a potato cage.  A description of how it works can be found here:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2240028_grow-potatoes-wire-cage.html

Has anyone ever tried this approach?  Does it work particularly well?

 I've grown potatoes off and on for years by just putting them in the ground, never in boxes or bags. I've even had potatoes grow at the edge of the compost pile from parings. Best storing potatoes are usually the whites or something like Yukon gold. 

Potatoes need a loose soil to grow best. I've read about growing them in straw but never tried it. You're smart to protect them from frost, but they'll usually do OK in cooler weather - a couple of weeks before your last frost date. 

You can get new potatoes about the time the plant begins to flower. Use your hand to feel for small potatoes and bring them up without disturbing the rest of the plant. Or you can designate certain plants to be dug early for new potatoes and leave the others alone. 

arianasilver:

CharlieB, would you mind linking the yahoo.answers question about the cardboard boxes & bags, please?

Ariana, tried finding the link, but couldn't.  Luckily I had copied and pasted the post into a Word doc.  I'm pasting the info below from my Word doc.  I guess if I had reread it before I posted, I would have found the info on harvesting early.  ; )

For perfect, fool-proof potatoes, you don't need to dig trenches -- I grow mine above ground in cardboard boxes or plastic bags -- but the methods are the same: Lay some dried and moist vegetation (grass clipping, leaves, hay, etc.) at the bottom of your box (with a layer or dirt) or trench. Add some shredded newspapers. Place your potatoes. Add two layers of dried, then moist vegetation, shredded newspaper, and a thin layer of dirt (like a lasagna). As the potatoes start to grow, add another lasagna layer. Then, for every 2 inches in growth of the plant, add one layer of material excluding the dirt (you won't need the dirt any more). As the material starts to naturally decompose, it will lose height, so you will need to add materials to keep mounding up your compost pile.

Potatoes love the warmth the composting material creates, the moisture in fresh clippings or weeds protects against drought and under-watering, and it is an environment the worms love. And, if you do the boxes method, you reduce bug infestation and disease dramatically. This composting method also makes it a snap to get potatoes, particularly those wonderful new ones -- just peel away the compost, pluck, and the rest of the plant is undisturbed to keep producing. And, at the end of the season, you have some fabulous left-over "dirt" that gardeners call Black Gold.

Water in the early morning, well before noon. Plants grow at night and absorb water and nutrients during the day, so watering at night is a waster of water, is of no benefit to the plant, and opens the door for fungus and disease.

Pat:

I've grown potatoes off and on for years by just putting them in the ground, never in boxes or bags. I've even had potatoes grow at the edge of the compost pile from parings. Best storing potatoes are usually the whites or something like Yukon gold. 

Pat... what are the potatoe plant's roots like at the end of the season?  A small clump?  I've also planted a seed potatoe in one of my chicken scratch bags with some holes cut in the bottom for drainage.  But I wondered if they were big enough for the root system.

Saver101's link to the chicken wire cages made me wonder about gophers now!  Hope they don't burrow into my cardboard boxes.  I wasn't sure about leaving the bottom of the box in tact or not, so I cut them out (a slight mound of dirt is at the bottom).  Just left the sides and top flaps and kind of pushed dirt against them so they don't blow away.

CharlieB:

what are the potatoe plant's roots like at the end of the season?  A small clump?  I've also planted a seed potatoe in one of my chicken scratch bags with some holes cut in the bottom for drainage.  But I wondered if they were big enough for the root system.

The root system is spread out and fairly shallow. You can miss potatoes by not digging far enough away from the plant. If you plant potatoes in a feed bag with the bag lying down (splitting the center of the bag) it should be wide enough. If you planted with it upright, it's going to be rather narrow. You'll probably get a crop, but not as good a one than if you'd planted with more width than depth - just from my experience.

Mother Earth News has a pretty good article that might help: When and How to Plant Potaotes 

I grew them for the first time 2 years ago. (I didn't grow them last year)  had found a link (can't remember where) about growing them in bushel baskets. It worked out ok for a first time. What you do is fill your bushel basket part way with dirt. Then you plant your seed potatoes in it and put a tomato basket inside, line it with newspaper and fill with some leaves. (I got those from my neighbor, who bags them in the fall to put against her basement windows for insulation) As I remember, as the potatoes grow you cover the plants with more leaves until the basket is completely full. Supposedly if you keep the above ground plant covered it encourages the plant to sprout more potatoes. Since I planted them late I didn't get a great crop, but it was fun for first time potato growing. I got enough for a few meals, mostly new potatoes. It sounds as though your method is much the same. I have heard of growing them in barrels with much the same method you are using. Since we are in the same neck of the woods I will be very interested to hear how you are doing with it. I am also thinnking of trying again, but wasn't sure if it was too late.

Kathy

Thanks CharlieB!

 I planted my potatoes in a row...this is my second year...I just mounded up the dirt around them and added a few leaves and grass clippings....but I had one old tire that I'm trying to plant a hill in....I planted the potato in a hole, then I filled it with dirt...then I put the tire around it...when it grows I will add some dirt or straw that I hope to get this year for mulch...as the plant grows, I will keep filling the tire up to the top and make a mound on top....I'm anxious to see what it will do....there is articles on the web about growing potatoes this way...they even go as high as piling 3 tires on top of one another....but I have just the one tire.....Last year I planted red potatoes...they were good...got about 3 nice sized potatoes and 2 or 3 smaller ones from each hill....This year I planted, red, gold, and white....and quite a few more.....