The Hydroponic Potato Experiments
This Video is from the Youtube channel: “Hoocho”.
Hoocho experiments with ways of growing potatoes hydroponically!
Time Stamps
00:00 – Intro
00:56 – Original Build
02:54 – Re-Purpose
03:49 – Time-Lapse
04:46 – Preliminary Harvest
09:06 – Whole Harvest
10:50 – Discussion
11:43 – HomeGrow
12:43 – Setup of Second Grow
13:32 – 3D Printable AutoPot Shroud
15:13 – Preparing the System
16:55 – AutoPot irrigation
20:01 – Planting the Potatoes
21:35 – 24 Hours Later
23:05 – Outro
I reckon those rotten spuds you’ve harvested are the initial chitted potatoes from the start of planting. Seeded spuds usually rot out after they establish themselves in the ground. So I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
I did think this might be the case. Though I thought it would be misleading not to mention their existence.
@Hoocho I appreciate you sharing as much data as possible, thanks!
@Hoocho you working through your mistakes (either real or perceived) is totally my favorite part of your channel. keep up the great work!
I like the aussies and kiwis talking about winter, while they’re standing in their garden wearing shorts and t-shirts. Can’t get better than that for everything you do.
Yeah, right? For me, I’m reaching for my winter jacket in spring…
Australia is a big country ranging from great snow fields near Jindabyne to tropics at Cairns and arid at Yulara. It’s easy to forget we nearly have the same land mass as the USA.
Also, kiwis gardening in their shorts are just tougher than you
@GRolla101 That might be true 😀
@SeamusHarper1234 Here in South Africa we sometimes get sub zero temperatures in the interior.
Then our farmers wear two pairs of shorts and they also wear socks with their shoes.
I like your videos before I even watch them because I know they’re going to answer my questions. Thank you so much for your dedication to all this!
Great video, enjoyable presentation and camera angles. I have been an AutoPot user for years and wanting to do potatoes this year. What a well timed video!
Can you make an estimate of the total costs of such a system? I’m guessing the mulch makes the evaporation losses quite small?
Eu fiz um plantio com a base neste seu, a diferença é que eu usei serragem e a minha agua está misturada com o chorume da compostura, obrigado Hoocho.
Thanks for sharing your potato adventures with us. Excellent video!
Great video! I would love some basic info like the number of days of growth and amount of water used.
Could there be any issues using old tomato coco/perlite with spuds re viruses as they are the same family (Solanaceae)? Dirt gardening tends to avoid using the same patch via crop rotation, could the coco/perlite mix carry pests/viruses? I suppose we’ll find out as part of the experiment 🙂 Excellent work again Hoocho, love the channel!
Only downside to this video is having to wait to see the outcome. Brilliant idea and I do believe it was perfectly executed. Gives me an idea for indoor winter grown potatoes
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned; It matters if you are using a determinate or indeterminate variety of potato. Determinate will make all their potatoes at the base of the plant, indeterminate will branch out into mulch cover and make potatoes the whole way up. Great video!
Thanks for that~!
How do you know the difference?
@Andy bilak show Most are not identified, from what I understand. But if yoy know the exact name of the potato, you can google it to see if it is determinate or indeterminate.
Time: 4 months
Yield: 6 kg/m² -> 60T/ha
~5000 kcal so 2,5 days of energy for a human
Basically a good normal yield is 40T/ha per year. Wich is good since maybe you can plant twice more potatoes (3×4 months) if you have a greenhouse and lead to maybe 15-18kg/m² per year. 4 times the usual yield. 60m² would be enough to feed a man (but only with potatoes haha).
Love this.
are there any good companion plants for potatoes?
60 square meters= .015 acer. Not bad at all for feeding a man.
totally useless method. the cost of the substrate is greater than the cost of potatoes
@Mario Suze subtrate can be reused
I’ve been doing hydroponic potatoes for thirty odd years. I build a box, line it with plastic sheet then part fill it with straw. A drip feeder for nutrients and off you go. Just keep adding and mounding the straw up as they grow. Potatoes grow just below the surface.
Exactly like hay bale gardening. 👍
They have to grow in the dirt.
Bonus is the longer season if you’re in zones 6-8 or thereabouts, due to the heat generated in the composting medium. 😊
Oh my god between the autopot float valve and the quick release hose connections you’ve just solved some of the biggest annoyances I’ve been dealing with related to my hydroponics systems at home. Thank you so much.
Hi, great video! Really inspiring. I’ve been watching your chanel for two years and I learn a lot about hydro from you. May I ask, what’s the fertilizer formula you used for potatoes (NPK ratio etc.)? Thanks in advance!
the “rotted” Potatoes were likely the seed potatoes. The dry line ended the growth zone of the potatoes. I saw an aeroponics growing system and their roots were brown. I think watering from the top will grow better quantity of potatoes.
I’m new to hydroponics and excited to try new things. This setup is interesting, but the cost is much higher than I’d be willing to spend. I am growing mine in buckets, and new for this year, I will be growing them under heaps of bark mulch, which I get free at the city yard. Cocoir is super costly, so is perlite. In a bucket I can grow 2 layers. Under the bark mulch, new soil is being made as the potatoes thrive, based upon videos I have watched. Besides cost, I am leary of growing potatoes in hydropinics simply because they don’t like soggy medium… damp, yes, soggy, no. Other growers do it successfully, but you have to watch closely… not my cup of tea. Still, I enjoy watching and learning. Thanks!
Your videos are so great, I think I’ve watched a couple dozen in a few days. Great work man.
Tomatoes and Potatoes are never used in rotation, as they are prone to the same diseases. So, for reuse, not from tomatoes. Great set up x
Might the few rotted potatoes you discovered actually be the seed potato remains from first planting? What do you think?