I was going to call this one how to grow hydroponic potatoes but I think the process still needs a little work. The pattern of growth was pretty impressive though!

Grow details
Red Norland Potatoes were grown from Home Depot seed potatoes in a Kratky Method Hydroponics setup.
27 Gallon tote from Costco
1/2 inch PVC frame to support Agribon summer fabric
3 inch net cups
I made homemade rock wool croutons by cutting up 1.5 inch Grodan rock wool starter plugs
Plants grew in about 5 hours direct sunlight with afternoon shade February 4th – April 9th
Southern California USDA hardiness zone 10a
Temperatures were mild 60s to high 70s during day, mid 40s or higher at night

Nutrient Recipe – for each gallon water
2g MasterBlend Tomato 4-18-38
2g Calcium Nitrate 15.5-0-0
1g Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate)

Tubers couldn’t form properly because they were crammed up in the net cup. Tubers did form on some stems that escaped the cup but those were undersized and suffered from blossom end rot due to weak transpiration. If the potato can be suspended deeper in the container without a restrictive net cup, I think they could grow quite well.

Music is excerpts of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (yes, some of it is… performed by me)

Artwork is The Potato Harvest by Jean-François Millet, 1855 (Walters Art Museum) and The Potato Eaters by Van Gogh, 1885 (Van Gogh Museum)
Video Rating: / 5

Check out the amazing growth pattern of this hydroponic potato!

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20 Comments

  • Dr. Obvious Real

    Jeb I did not like your videos at first. I've only been gardening and learning about it for about 4 months. You happen to be one of the First videos I clicked on and I was confused a little bit. I thought maybe you were slow. You seem very deliberate and your delivery is very metered. As a hyperactive entp I couldn't get through the video. But of course when I was ready I came back now you're my favorite Gardner on YouTube tide with Curtis the Urban Gardener and John from growing Your Greens. Keep up the good work!!!!
    But I do want to mention that I do watch your videos on double speed unless I'm watching in bed.

  • rapskallion

    My wife has raised beds with very good soil. Much of it is store bought compost in huge bags of which only two will fit in the bed of my full size pick-up with the tonneau cover over them. She then takes a few store-bought potatoes that we' have had too long and are too soft and ugly to eat and she cuts them into small pieces and buries them in the soil. A couple of months later we have potatoes approximately the size you grew but not one sign of a disease on any of them. Nonetheless, I will never stop watching Jeb's informative, entertaining, and therapeutic videos. She already planted some in January(?) which we harvested and ate about ten weeks later and she has another crop that are probably ready now (it's June now). We happen to garden, like Jeb I believe, in Southern California (Orange, to be specific) which does help immensely.

    Jeb:

    Are you related to Chauncey Gardener by any chance?
    watch?v=TYeVQzTVyLk

    Because I think Rafael gave him a message to give to me.
    watch?v=NLuXod8bR0Q

    Edit: For clarification of who gets the message.

  • deucedeuce22oz

    string?… have the plant grow on the bottom with a lid that can be raised as the plant grows taller? (Like a perfectly square box with a lid that can fit inside it, so it can be slid up a little at a time, so the bottom of the plant can grow and remain under the lid). Appreciate you doing the research (and screwing up), so we can all learn. Even failures are valuable.

  • Stephanie McConnon

    Jeb, I didn't read threw all the awesome responses, but did you figure out your next try? Would panty hose/tights work? The leg is long enough to keep moving it down as needed. Just wondering.
    Thank you for reading my comment.

  • Paleis Heuwel

    what if you suspend it from tooth pics or something of that sort? no basket, similar to how people start up avocado pits? the rest of your rig could be the same as in the video, and sure you could put some of that sterile medium stacked on top/over it or alternatively place a cloth of sorts over to block sun hitting the tubers

  • Lucy Kelly

    Use black boxes or paint them black to stop light getting through. Then your roots wont be green.

    Also I heard somewhere that too much nutrition fosters early growth like roots and leaves and that this somehow lessens devotion to tubers later on. It would also bind your potatoes into the tangle of roots. Try using less nutrition.

    I want to use natural soil replacement. I want a suitable homemade fertiliser for potatoes that will work with hydroponics.

  • aj mac

    I would suggest a larger grow medium area , a reusable one like clay balls which can be used more than once , also when the roots have hit the water reduce the depth of the water so as to leave a gap so this is a little bit more air around the roots

  • jesterthehashking

    Jeb, can you try doing potatoes but instead of using a plastic cup just sort of cradle the seed potato in two intersecting pieces of string in an ''X''. Leave enough string you can loosen it off as the potato starts to grow and adjust the water level so that it doesn't rot.

  • Throws Machete

    what if you put some rock wool in a little pouch of cheese cloth and suspended it into the water? that might solve your issue with the net cups

  • russ1618

    I think the underwater stems are where it's at. Maybe make the lid of the tote more opaque (cover with foil?) just before the potatoes begin to form, so they do not sprout or turn green. I think the taters in the net pots might be doomed to be ugly, but I'm sure they'd make fine seed for the next cycle.

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