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EmailBotanical name: Solanum tuberosum
Plant type: Vegetable
USDA Hardiness Zones: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Sun exposure: Full Sun
Soil type: Sandy
Soil pH: Acidic
This half hardy vegetable is a culinary staple, and yet is overlooked by many backyard gardeners. The taste and texture of home-grown potatoes are far superior to store bought, especially the early varieties. They need a cool climate, and also need to be watched to prevent sunburn. Potatoes can be grown as a winter crop in warmer climate zones.
Planting
- Plant seed potatoes (pieces of whole potato or a small whole potato, with at least 2 eyes per piece) 0-2 weeks after last spring frost.
- If you are cutting up potato pieces for planting, do so a 1-2 days ahead of time. This will give them the chance to form a protective layer, both for moisture retention and rot resistance.
- You may start planting earlier, as soon as soil can be worked, but be aware that some crops will be ruined by a frost.
- Spread and mix in rotted manure or organic compost in the bottom of the trench before planting.
- Plant seed potatoes one foot apart in a 4-inch deep trench, eye side up.
- Practice yearly crop rotation.
- See our video on how to grow potatoes in a trash can, the easiest ever container garden!
- Before planning your garden, take a look at our plant companions chart to see which veggies are compatible.
Care
- Potatoes thrive in well-drained, loose soil.
- Potatoes need consistent moisture, so water regularly when tubers start to form.
- Hilling should be done before the potato plants bloom, when the plant is about 6 inches tall. Hoe the dirt up around the base of the plant in order to cover the root as well as to support the plant. Bury them in loose soil. The idea is to keep the potato from getting sunburned, in which case they turn green and will taste bitter.
- You will need to hill potatoes every couple of weeks to protect your crop.
Pests
- Aphids
- Flea Beetles
- Leaf Hoppers
- Early/Late Blight
- Potato Scab: Most likely cause by soil with high pH. Remember: Potatoes like acidic soil (do not plant in soil with a pH higher than 5.2). Dust seed potatoes with sulfur before planting.
Harvest/Storage
- Dig potatoes on a dry day. Dig up gently, being careful not to puncture the tubers. The soil should not be compact, so digging should be easy.
- New potatoes will be ready for harvest after 10 weeks, usually in early July.
- You should harvest all of your potatoes once the vines die (usually by late August), or the potatoes may rot.
- Make sure you brush off any soil clinging to the potatoes, then store them in a cool, dry, dark place. The ideal temperature for storage is 35 to 40°F.
- Do not store potatoes with apples; their ethylene gas will cause potatoes to spoil.
- Whether you dig your own potatoes or buy them at a store, don’t wash them until right before you use them. Washing potatoes shortens their storage life.
Recommended Varieties
- ‘Irish Cobbler’ is an early variety.
- ‘Viking’ is a red skinned potato, regular season variety.
- ‘Chieftan’ is resistant to potato scab.
- ‘Elba’, ‘Rosa’ and ‘Sebago’ are all somewhat resistant to blight.
Recipes
Wit & Wisdom
Potato promoter Antoine Parmentier convinced Marie Antoinette to wear potato blossoms in her hair.
What I say is that if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.
—A. A. Milne, English writer (1882–1956)
Comments
I'm growing my spuds in old
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By Lanny Biehler on June 16
I'm growing my spuds in old tires and in a raised bed as an experiment. Is it helpful to trim the blossoms in order to strengthen the growth of the tubers. I haven't read where people have tried this, o I as just wondering.
Hi I live in Texas and I have
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By Les Lorimer on June 16
Hi I live in Texas and I have never grown potatoes before. I started early spring even had one frost after planting. The plants did very well they grew and grew I kept mounding soil tell they bloomed. Now the leaves are turning brown as though they are being eaten what can I do to help prevent this? Seven dust?
If you have potato beetles on
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By Almanac Staff on June 17
If you have potato beetles on your plants (eating your plants!) you should be able to see them. If so, you can treat with sevin dust and/or pick them off (again and again and again).
If, however, as you say, your plants have bloomed and now the foliage is dying back, it might be time to harvest. Dig around and pick out one or two spuds and see what you think. If they look good, give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy this great treat. Small, "new" potatoes are delicious. Cook them anyway you would prepare regular potatoes.
I didn't rotation my crop of
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By Ethelean on June 16
I didn't rotation my crop of potatoes and this year the plants look like the rotten at the roots. Is there any thing I can do?
Hate to say it, Ethelean, but
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By Almanac Staff on June 17
Hate to say it, Ethelean, but your "practice" proves the rule: crop rotation is essential to success. It's probably small consolation now but we have a feature—and very helpful chart—on crop rotation in the 2014 Old Farmer's Almanac, which will be available for purchase in most place by end of August, everywhere in September. In the meantime, put this behind you and patronize local farmers markets.
I have planted four varieties
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By Edward Shipp on June 7
I have planted four varieties of potatoes in my garden this year and interwoven tomatoes, onions, potatoes and radishes having been told that interplanting can balance out soil pH usage. My potatoes were planted about April 4 and my latitude is 38 in Kansas. Weeks ago one of them started flowering. Personally it has been years since I grew potatoes or an outside garden. Last one was successful but only one variety of potato. I was wondering if I should continue to wait until the plants die like you suggested and wondered about making them green potatoes and bitter. Am I headed for disaster? It looks good so far and another site said I can harvest when the plant flowers but leave the small potatoes to grow on until frost or plant dies.
Edward, We recommend waiting
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By Almanac Staff on June 10
Edward, We recommend waiting until at least the flower die and the vines are tending to. Then, pick a couple of potatoes and check them: "New" potatoes—the first ones of the season typically about 1.5 inches in diameter, should be used immediately. They do not store well.
Leave a portion to harvest when all of the vines have died back (to a point in your question, the key word there is "died"). "Cure" (thicken the skin of) those before putting them away for storage by putting them in a space with temp of 50°F to 60°F and relatively high humidity (85 to 90 percent), such as a basement, for two weeks. Remember, too,not to store potatoes with apples or other fruit. Ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas, which encourages the tubers to sprout. Wishing you a hefty harvest!
My potatoes have been growing
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By Blake W on June 7
My potatoes have been growing like wild this year, well, this is the first year I have tried to grow potatoes. I did the trench style and have been hilling them up all spring and summer. My plants sprouted May 8th, it is now June 7th and my plants are 2.5 feet tall from the bottom of the trench and still growing like a wild fire. I am averaging an inch a day right now. My concern is I have lots of growing season left but if they do not slow down I will have a mountain in my garden. Should I keep hilling or let them go? I am growing Yukon Golds in Nebraska.
Blake, keep in mind that some
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By Almanac Staff on June 10
Blake, keep in mind that some trenches are 7 to 8 inches deep, which should require less hilling. A relatively shallow trench of about 4 inches would need 6 to 8 inches of hilling. How deep was your trench? Also remember that part of the reason you hill is to keep keep the spuds moist; the soil helps with that. When you reach the desirable height, consider mulching. Potatoes need at least 1 inch of water per week. We hope this helps and that you have a hefty harvest!
My trenches started out about
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By Blake W on June 11
My trenches started out about 12 inches deep. After filling in the trench I continued to hill up another 18 inches, giving me 2.5 feet of covered plant. They have slowed in growth a bit and have a few buds up top that should pop open soon which I think is a good thing. I too hope for a great harvest, thanks for the input everybody.
Hi, I've had tons of
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By Kathy Shiplett on June 9
Hi,
I've had tons of experience growing potatoes, and my advice is to hill up to about 18 inches; sounds like you ought to be about there if you've been hilling all along. By the time I've hit 18inches, I've always run out of any more soil to hill anymore! Harvest when the tops of the plants die. My plants usually get to be about 3feet tall before they start to die. Good luck!
We placed a potato in a bowl
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By Tspaulding on June 4
We placed a potato in a bowl of water with toothpicks and it started to grow sprouts.. well now we put it in a pot of soil and it has taken off. It has grown tall, like a tomato plant.
My question is can we place it in the ground?, so it can continue to grow? What do we need to do?
Yes, you can plant any time
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By Almanac Staff on June 7
Yes, you can plant any time after the plant sprouts its first leaves. Transplant it to a pot with potting soil or to the ground. Make sure to remove the toothpicks and transfer the plant carefully from the bowl you do not damage the roots.
when is it to late to plant
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By Kimberly Gibson on June 2
when is it to late to plant potatoes in St Anthony,Idaho?
In your area, potato planting
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By Almanac Staff on June 3
In your area, potato planting starts in early April and goes into middle May. Harvest runs early September through mid-October. However, there are a couple varieties that you can plant late. You just want to make sure that the number of growing days (eg., 100 to 120) allow the plant to get harvested before frost.
I have never grown potatoes
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By sherry ewell on May 27
I have never grown potatoes and wonder if they grow good near salt water...we usually don't have great sucess with our plants Iguess the soil is acidic like we need for potatoes?
We don't have experience
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By Almanac Staff on May 29
We don't have experience growing potatoes near salt water, however, potatoes are relatively tolerant of soil pH. To improve your soil structure and potato production, add lots of compost.
Hello- I live in SC & never
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By scvirginia on May 23
Hello-
I live in SC & never intended to plant potatoes this year. I found some good-looking plants in our compost bin, though, & transferred them to the flower garden before I even knew what the plants were. This was late March- presumably the plants got started in the bin earlier in March. All plants are doing well now- it is late May. One plant in particular really flourished & now has a couple of seed pods after flowering. Another smaller plant has just begun to flower. We've had an unusually cool spring, but summer is heating up. I have no idea what variety of potatoes these are, but I'm guessing there are a few varieties of fingerling potatoes based on what I can remember going into the compost bin. At least one plant has red potatoes. What are your thoughts about when I should harvest?
The traditional time to
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By Almanac Staff on May 24
The traditional time to harvest potatoes is when the foliage has wilted or dried. Poke around for one spud and see if it looks edible. If you like it, pick em!
enedina bernal
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By Anonymous on May 20
my brother wants to know when it is right to pull/dig the potatos out. he had planted them like 3 weeks ago....
It's still too early.
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By mr g on May 24
It's still too early. Typically, you want to wait til the plant dies back. Then dig 'em up and let them set out a couple hours for the skins to harden before storing them in a cool, dark place.
frost
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By Anonymous
I have potato plants that were doing very well in the garden. Until they got frost burnt! Now the leaves are brown dry. Should I pull up & start again or will they snap out & still produce potatoes?
No, leave them in the ground.
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By MN on May 20
No, leave them in the ground. Mine came back after the leaves were all burned by frost. They look great now.
Ditto. We had two different
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By LynnZ on May 25
Ditto. We had two different frosts this spring. Each time the plants withered and dried up, but then new growth came up and they are all alive and well.
Once the frost has got them
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By Anonymous
Once the frost has got them they've had it I'm afraid, re seed within the next two weeks and fertiliser will be necessary as the first crop would have taken alot from the ground to grow that far.
Darn!! Thank you!
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By Anonymous
Darn!! Thank you!
Can I move potato plants once they begin to grow
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By Anonymous
I didn't dig up my potatos last year bc I thought they had all died do to the tomotoes (didn't know I should not put tomatoes and potatoes together) anyway, when I was turning the soil for the garden this year, I had a zillion tomaotes that are now growing, can I move the plants around to spread them out now that they are growing or what should I do?
Sure! Grab those tomato
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By Almanac Staff on May 24
Sure! Grab those tomato seedlings and give them a good home—in your garden or those of your neighbors! They are sprouting from seeds of fruit left in the soil last year. Congratulations!
Why can't one plant tomatoes
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By Edward Shipp on June 7
Why can't one plant tomatoes and potatoes near each other?
raised bed and spuds
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By Anonymous
We live in Minnesota, 20 miles by bird from Canada. I'm planning to construct raised beds in order to raise potatoes, carrots, perhaps onions. How should I space the potatoes? And should I rotate them from bed to bed each year? The last couple of years, we've raised Yukon Golds and Norlin Reds, both of which have done very well.
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