What happens when you take your all-time favorite plant — the humble potato — and plant it not in one, not in two, but in seven different ways to answer the age-old question: Is there a best way to grow potatoes?
To set the stage, we chose seven different potato-growing methods — all of them fairly popular approaches.
The first one was planting them in a 5-gallon bucket, a classic for container gardeners.
Next, we planted three potatoes in a grow bag.
Then we moved to in-ground methods, starting with the most classic of all — planting them about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) deep in a trench, spaced roughly 12 inches (30 cm) apart. We planted five potatoes that way — truly the most traditional potato planting method.
Then we decided to test what happens if you plant one potato 12 inches (30 cm) deep, under the theory that maybe you’ll get more potatoes. We also planted one at 6 inches (15 cm) deep to compare the difference.
We also cut one potato in half and planted each half 6 inches deep to see if slicing the potato would give the same yield, more, or less.
After that, we tried a time-tested method called the Ruth Stout method, one that Jac has used successfully before. In this method, you don’t bury the potatoes at all — you simply drop them onto enriched soil and cover them with straw. Then you just forget about them.
Now, full disclosure: we didn’t use the exact same variety of potato for every method, but for similar methods we kept the same variety. You’ll see that in the comparisons.
Also, we didn’t care for them as well as we could have. Some got a little waterlogged from rain, and some we just plain forgot about.
So here’s what happened after just a few weeks.
Three Weeks Later
Alright friends, it’s been about 3 weeks since we started our potato-growing experiment, and let’s take a look at what we’ve got!
I’m super excited — we’ve got sprouting in our trench row, the classic in-ground method. They’re all popping up!
Then we’ve got the two halves — I think it was right here — both sprouting and actually looking pretty good… even bigger than expected.
Next, the one we planted extra deep is sprouting, and we’ve also got growth from the one at 6 inches deep.
Let’s throw it up on the screen because my brain’s starting to mix them up, but the good news is: they’re all sprouting!
The only ones not showing much yet are our Ruth Stout potatoes. So I’m going to do something Ruth definitely wouldn’t approve of and dig a little… oh no — damage! But hey, it’s still growing.
This potato has a few scratches. Maybe a raccoon or opossum had a go at it. But some sprouts are coming out — something’s happening.
So I’ll just leave it — this is an experiment after all, no interference allowed.
The Ruth Stout potatoes are definitely the slowest, which is disappointing. Meanwhile, our container potatoes are doing better.
In the grow bag, where I planted three potatoes, two are sprouting well — perfect timing to try the roll-down trick.
Since grow bags are flexible, rolling the sides down lets sunlight in earlier. If the edge were rolled up, the new leaves wouldn’t get any sun. Just a fun grow bag tip. But only 2 out of 3 are sprouting — a bit curious.
Wait, hold up — there’s a tiny sprout on the third one too!
Now over to our 5-gallon bucket. I didn’t drill any drainage holes in this one (oops), so after it rained, I had to tip it over to dump the water out.
Let me show you — yeah, there’s some nasty potato water in here! But we do have a sprout. It’s coming up.
So, 3 weeks into the experiment, all methods are still alive, which is about the best outcome we could ask for. Ruth Stout is still slowest, and the cut-in-half, shallow-planted potatoes are the fastest so far.
I still have no clear favorite — maybe the halved ones will win out, but we’ll see in another month or so.
A Few Weeks Later…
So here we are with some interesting updates.
Here’s our whole potato planted 6 inches deep. Next to it is the cut-in-half one also planted 6 inches deep. And finally, the one planted at 12 inches.
Naturally, the deeper one isn’t as tall — kind of like the trench ones.
Now surprisingly, a few of the Ruth Stout potatoes still haven’t sprouted completely. One is showing, and there’s another half-hidden under the mesh.
They’re growing, just really slowly. I suspect that since they’re not fully buried, they may not be getting the right signals to sprout properly.
Meanwhile, our container potatoes are doing alright — but slower than every other method except Ruth Stout.
Let’s give them more time and see what happens.
Early May — The Growth Explosion
It’s a beautiful sunny day in early May, and the potatoes are thriving.
The trench method is looking lush and green.
The halved and deep-planted method is taller, with more detailed, textured leaves — though variety differences might explain that.
Now, onto the buckets — and honestly, I’m disappointed. Not because I wouldn’t recommend them — they’re fine for small spaces — but these are clearly behind every in-ground method.
Especially the 5G bucket with no drainage holes — it’s the most stunted. Drilling holes would’ve helped, but even so, it’s still pushing out some growth now.
What shocked me most is that the Ruth Stout potatoes finally sprouted — but very unevenly.
You can see this one just barely came up, and this one is the most developed.
But here’s the weird part — when I checked under the straw, I found tons of pill bugs. Why? Because the dead straw created a perfect environment for them.
And they were possibly eating the potato sprouts, slowing things down.
So yeah, Ruth Stout is less effort than some other methods, but not that much less — and the results haven’t impressed me.
Harvest Day!
The day finally came! I waited patiently until all the potato plants had completely dried up — a tip I got from Potato Taii, a commercial potato grower in Canada.
He said the best way to ensure your potatoes are harvest-ready — and can be stored for a long time — is to wait for the foliage to die back, then wait a few more weeks.
So here we are, and let’s see what’s hiding underground.
First up: the 5-gallon bucket. Not hopeful… no drainage holes, got too wet.
And yep — just three or four tiny potatoes. Honestly, this was a fail. Definitely gardener error — I should’ve drilled holes.
Next, the grow bag. Slightly better. Being porous, it drained excess water, so fewer issues.
We got about 15 small potatoes weighing 12.1 ounces — not great considering we planted three seed potatoes.
Now the Ruth Stout method — that messy pile of straw. No digging needed — just pull back the straw.
We got a mix of potatoes, but many were sun-exposed and sprouting early, not ideal. Some were likely dug up by critters too. Total: 43 potatoes, 2 lbs 13 oz — not bad, but meh.
Next up: our single potato at 6 inches deep. Now this was solid — 10 decent-sized potatoes weighing 2 lbs 7.8 oz. Our best so far!
Now the one planted 12 inches deep — I was pumped for this one. And wow — 24 potatoes, 3 lbs 9.2 oz. Biggest yield of the entire test!
Next, the halved potato at 6 inches deep — decent yield, 21 potatoes, 2 lbs 15.6 oz. Slightly less than the deep one, but still solid.
Finally, the big kahuna — the trench row. Five seed potatoes yielded 72 potatoes, 11 lbs total. Over 2 lbs per plant — almost the same as the deep-plant method but not quite the most.
Final Thoughts
Some quick takeaways:
- 5G bucket: Total fail. No drainage = rot. 100% gardener error.
- Grow bag: Slightly better, but still underwhelming.
- Ruth Stout: Easy, but pest-prone and low protection. Not my favorite.
- Halved potatoes: A great way to stretch your budget, but yields slightly less per piece.
- 12-inch-deep planting: BEST overall single-plant yield.
- Trench method: Reliable, productive, and consistent.
My recommendation? Use the trench method — but plant a bit deeper than 6 inches. That way you don’t even have to bother with hilling, and you’ll give your potatoes more stem space to grow stolons and tubers.
This was a super fun experiment, and if you want more, check out our blog — we’ve got more potato articles coming soon.
Good luck out there, and keep on growing! 🥔🌱