How to Grow Shallots, Potatoes and Onions in Pots

Onions and Shallots

• 1

  Fill a 5-gallon pot with a soilless potting mixture, leaving a 2-inch space at the top. Use a pot that is wider than it is deep and one that has drainage holes in the bottom.

• 2

  Mix 2½ tablespoons of a 5-10-5 blend fertilizer with the potting mix. Water the mix until it is moist throughout but not soggy.

• 3

  Plant the onions or shallot sets in the soil. Plant onion sets 1 inch deep and 4 inches apart. Plant shallot sets 2 inches deep and space them 4 inches apart.

• 4

  Water the soil when the top inch feels dry, as often as once daily during dry or hot weather. Allow the excess moisture to drain from the bottom of the container after irrigation.

• 5

  Harvest the onions or shallots when the foliage begins to yellow and die down. Onions take three to four months to mature, while shallots take two to three months.

Potatoes

• 6

  Fill a 10-gallon pot half full with a soilless potting mix. Use a pot that is as deep as it is wide.

• 7

  Mix 2 tablespoons of 5-10-5 fertilizer with the potting mixture.

• 8

  Plant the potato seed pieces 1 inch deep and space them 6 inches apart. You can usually plant five to six seed pieces per 10-gallon pot.

• 9

  Water the potting mix when the top inch feels dry, using the same methods used for onions and shallots.

• 10

  Cover the soil with a 2-inch to 3-inch layer of straw mulch when the plants reach 6 inches high. Continue adding additional mulch as the plants grow so only the top leaves of the potato plant remain above the mulch layer. Stop adding mulch once the the mulch layer reaches the rim of the pot.

• 11

  Harvest the potatoes when the plants yellow and die back. Potatoes take between three and five months to reach maturity, depending on the variety.