Grow Potatoes in Fabric Pots: A Utah Guide

If you’re looking for a fun, space-saving way to grow your own food in Utah, planting potatoes in felt grow bags might be the perfect solution. These breathable fabric pots are ideal for Utah’s climate—offering great drainage, mobility, and temperature control during those unpredictable spring and summer days. Whether you have a backyard, a balcony, or just a sunny spot on the patio, felt pots make it easy to enjoy a bountiful potato harvest with minimal fuss. In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to get started—just in time for Utah’s prime planting season.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about digging into a pot of rich soil and unearthing your own homegrown potatoes—and with felt grow bags, it’s easier than ever, even here in Utah’s high desert climate. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just getting your hands dirty for the first time, growing potatoes in fabric pots is a fun, rewarding project that yields delicious results. Let me show you how to get started!

You’ll need:

• Felt Pots (I got the 10 gallon size)
• Bagged Potting soil mix
• Bagged Garden soil
• Seed potatoes * I listed a few varieties below that work well here in utah. But there are so many varieties! Feel free to experiment

1. Prepare Seed Potatoes

• Cut large potatoes into 2–3 pieces, each with at least 1 “eye”.
• Let pieces dry & callous for 1–2 days.

2. Planting

• Roll down pot
• Fill pot with a few inches of potting soil and a few inches of bagged garden soil
• Place 3–4 seed pieces, eyes facing up.
• Cover with 3–4 inches of soil.

3. Hilling Up

• When stems grow to 4-6 inches tall, add more soil around the base, covering half the stem. Unrolling fabric pot as needed
• Repeat every 1–2 weeks until the pot is all the way unrolled and is nearly full.

4. Watering

• Keep soil consistently moist, not soggy.
• Fabric pots dry out quickly in dry Utah air—check daily in summer.

5. Feeding

• Apply fertilizer every 3–4 weeks following label directions.
• My potting soil has a slow release fertilizer so I never add any additional fertilizer. But it’s up to you!

6. Sunlight

• Place pots where they’ll receive at least 6 hours of sun daily.

Harvesting Tips

• New Potatoes: Harvest ~60–70 days after planting.
• Mature Potatoes: Wait 90–120 days, or until foliage dies back.
• To Harvest: No more digging and losing potatoes in the garden! Simply tip over the felt pot into a garden area and collect potatoes by hand.

Potato Varieties That Grow Well in Utah

• Yukon Gold (early, buttery)
• Red Pontiac (mid-season, red skin)
• Russet Burbank (late, classic baking potato)
• Kennebec (all-purpose, resistant to drought)
• German Butterball (mid-late season, creamy texture, gold flesh, resistant to drought) *I trying this variety this year!

Using Pototoes: One of our favorite ways to use in our potatoes after harvesting is making Homemade Freezer French Fries and Homemade Freezer Hashbrowns!

Growing potatoes in felt pots has become one of my favorite parts of the gardening season—there’s just something magical about tipping over a pot and finding it full of golden treasures. Whether you’re working with a backyard, a balcony, or just a sunny corner, this method makes potato growing surprisingly simple and seriously rewarding. So grab your seed spuds, roll up your sleeves, and give it a try. You might just find that potatoes are the gateway crop to a full-blown gardening obsession. Happy planting, and may your harvest be plentiful!

From my garden to yours! See ya next time!

XO, Carly