I also don't know about growing potatoes in your climate, but 4 months is a typical lifespan for a potato plant.

I agree 4 months = harvest time!

I'm curious, at what height on the garbage can did you originally plant the seed potatoes?

And why the plants are all clustered together on one side of the pot? They are way over crowded. How many per pot did you plant and what size is that pot?

Dave

I put about 6 inches of soil in the can before putting the potato seeds

They are crowded together because we had quite a bit of wind. They were originally planted 6 inches apart.

Ok, so then I should hope you have something to harvest in there!

As mentioned above, 4 months would be around harvest time, and potato plants start to flop over and die when they are ready to harvest. You don't want the potatoes sitting in a hot container either, if they are ready to harvest. What variety are you growing?

What do you mean Earthed up? I only went 6-10 inches into the dirt so I am not entirely sure.

It was a mixed variety from Home Depot, Golds, reds, and the purple kind.

Earthed up as in, you planted them, they grew, and you gradually added more soil as the plant grew taller. You clearly must've done that if you originally planted them 6" from the bottom of the cans. Are you opposed to emptying one of the cans to see what you've got in there? I think I might be more anxious to find out than you! haha

I don't see why not. I do have some sweet potatoes to get in there next! I was wondering is it is a bad idea to use the soil from the potatoes for the sweet potatoes?

That's kind of a touchy subject. Most people would tell you not to do that, because it promotes disease, but some people do it anyway. Not only will you have the risk of disease, but it will also be depleted of its nutrients, so you'll have to prep with fertilizer.

What kind of medium are you using in those cans?

Its been a mixture of peat, organic medium and a combination of Miracle Gro's moisture control and their vegetable garden variety.

This point, I would just dump the whole container and see what's in there. The plants are dying, you've really got nothing to lose.

I am going to tip one over today.

Were the spuds found near the bottom of the container where you originally planted the seed potatoes or were they found throughout?

Rodney

Mainly the bottom

Those look great! At least you got something! Do I spy an Anaheim Ducks fan? lol

Yes, hockey is more of a way of life in our family. Haha

"Mainly the bottom"

Yeah, that's what I figured and that has been the same result that most everyone who used this method of growing has discovered. One thing to consider with this method is that late season varieties supposedly take better to this method of growing because they supposedly produce all along their buried stems. Personally, I would just use a container half as tall as the garbage can next time. You would get the same result but you'd be using much less mix.

Oh, you should know that sweet potatoes have a completely different growth habit than regular potatoes. They may share a common name but they aren't related.

Rodney