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Growing Potatoes
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Potatoes
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Potatoes
Wondering how to grow potatoes? We’re here to help! The taste and the texture of homegrown potatoes are far superior to those of store-bought spuds, especially the early varieties. Here’s how to plant, grow, and harvest potatoes in your garden.
About Potatoes
“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)
Potatoes like cool weather and well-drained, loose soil that is about 45 to 55°F (7 to 13°C). In warmer climates, potatoes can be grown as a winter crop.
Folklore offers many “best days” for planting potatoes:
- Old-timers in New England planted their potato crops when they saw dandelions blooming in the open fields.
- The Pennsylvania Dutch considered St. Gertrude’s Day (March 17, aka St. Patrick’s Day) to be their official potato-planting day.
- Many Christians believed that Good Friday was the best day to plant potatoes because the devil holds no power over them at this time.
All of these “best days” suggest an early spring planting! (See more about planting below.)
Planting
When to Plant Potatoes
- Potatoes can be started 0 to 2 weeks after last spring frost. You may plant earlier, as soon as soil can be worked, but be aware that some crops may be ruined by a frost or wet soil. Find your local frost dates here.
- However, if have a “late” spring, it’s not too late to plant potatoes through April (depending on where you’re located). Some folks even plant through June, especially in containers or potato towers.
How to Plant Potatoes
- With a hoe or round-point shovel, dig a trench about 6 inches wide and 8 inches deep, tapering the bottom to about 3 inches wide.
- Potatoes are best grown in rows. Space rows about 3 feet apart.
- Spread and mix in rotted manure or organic compost in the bottom of the trench before planting. (Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.)
- In the trench, place a seed potato piece, cut side down, every 12 to 14 inches and cover with 3 to 4 inches of soil.
- The best starters are seed potatoes from which eyes (buds) protrude. (Do not confuse seed potatoes with potato seeds or grocery produce.) Use a clean, sharp paring knife to cut large potatoes into pieces that are roughly the size of a golf ball, making sure that there are at least 2 eyes on each piece. (Potatoes that are smaller than a hen’s egg should be planted whole.)
- If you are cutting up potato pieces for planting, do so 1 to 2 days ahead of planting. This will give them the chance to “heal” and form a protective layer over the cut surface, improving both moisture retention and rot resistance.
- 12 to 16 days after planting, when sprouts appear, use a hoe to gently fill in the trench with another 3 to 4 inches of soil, leaving a few inches of the plants exposed. Repeat in several weeks, leaving the soil mounded up 4 to 5 inches above ground level (this is called “hilling”).
- After the potato plants have emerged, add organic mulch between the rows to conserve moisture, help with weed control, and cool the soil.
Care
How to Grow Potatoes
- Do not allow sunlight to fall on the tubers, which develop under the surface of the soil, or they will turn green.
- Do the hilling in the morning, when plants are at their tallest. During the heat of the day, plants start drooping.
- Maintain even moisture, especially from the time when sprouts appear until several weeks after they blossom. The plants need 1 to 2 inches of water per week. If you water too much right after planting and not enough as the potatoes begin to form, the tubers can become misshapen.
- The last 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 tubers as well as to support the plant.
- Hilling keeps the potatoes from getting sunburned, which can cause them to turn green and produce a chemical called solanine. Solanine gives off a bitter taste and is toxic.
Pests/Diseases
- Potato Scab: Most likely caused by a high soil 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. Some readers suggest adding pine straw on top of the potatoes when planting for natural anti-bacterial elements.
- Colorado potato beetles need to be hand-picked and predatory birds will often eat them. While they’re in the nymph state, they can be controlled with Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) which is a non-toxic way to control pests in the garden. If they continue to be a problem, a few sprays of Spinosad, an organic pesticide, will get rid of the beetles. Always use products at dawn or dusk to avoid harming beneficial insects.
- Aphids
- Flea Beetles
- Early/Late Blight
Harvest/Storage
How to Harvest Potatoes
- “New potatoes,” which are potatoes that are purposefully harvested early for their smaller size and tender skin, will be ready for harvest 2 to 3 weeks after the plants stop flowering. For mature potatoes, wait 2 to 3 weeks after the foliage has died.
- New potatoes should not be cured and should be eaten within a few days of harvest, as they will not keep for much longer.
- Dig potatoes on a dry day. Dig up gently, being careful not to puncture the tubers. Avoid cutting or bruising potato skin. The soil should not be compact, so digging should be easy.
- If the soil is very wet, let the potatoes air-dry as much as possible before putting them in bags or baskets.
- For the biggest and best potatoes, harvest only after the plant’s foliage has died back.
- Cut browning foliage to the ground and wait 10 to 14 days before harvesting to allow the potatoes to develop a thick enough skin. Don’t wait too long, though, or the potatoes may rot.
- Allow freshly dug potatoes to sit in a dry, cool place (45–60°F/7–15°C) for up to two weeks. This allows their skins to cure, which will help them keep for longer.
- After curing, make sure you brush off any soil clinging to the potatoes, then store them in a cool, somewhat humid, dark place. The ideal temperature for storage is 38 to 40°F (3 to 4°C).
- Do not store potatoes with apples; the apples’ ethylene gas will cause potatoes to spoil.
- Never store potatoes in the refrigerator.
- 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.
- Find more tips on getting potatoes ready for the root cellar.
The fruit (metaphorically speaking) of a very happy potato plant!
Recommended Varieties
There are more than 100 varieties of potatoes. Tan-skinned and red-skinned varieties with white flesh are the most common in home gardens.
Early Varieties:
- ‘Irish Cobbler’: tan skin, irregular shape
- ‘Norland’: red skin, resistant to potato scab
- ‘Mountain Rose’: red skin and pink flesh, resistant to some viruses
Mid-Season Varieties
- ‘Red Pontiac’: red skin, deep eyes
- ‘Viking’: red skin, very productive
- ‘Chieftan’: red skin, resistant to potato scab, stores well
Late Varieties
- ‘Katahdin’: tan skin, resistant to some viruses
- ‘Kennebec’: tan skin, resistant to some viruses and late blight
- ‘Elba’: tan skin, large round tubers, resistant to blight and potato scab
Blue Potatoes?
We also love All Blue Potatoes! They’re delicious and, well, they’re truly blue!
See our page on how to choose the best potatoes to grow in your garden for more info!
Wit & Wisdom
- If your garden soil is very rocky, put the seed potato pieces directly on the ground. Sprinkle with a mix of soil and compost. Cover them with straw or leaves, hilling the material up as the potatoes grow.
- 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 most compatible with potatoes.
- Did you know: Potato promoter Antoine Parmentier convinced Marie Antoinette to wear potato blossoms in her hair.
- Grated potatoes are said to soothe sunburnt skin.
Recipes
Cooking Notes
Check out our recipe archives to find potato recipes that range from plain to fancy!
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Reader Comments
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sroring potatoes
I store potatoes in the refrigerator drawer against advice and have no problems.
2nd planting
My first round of potatoes this season are starting to die it’s mid July. Can I plant a second go round of tubers. I’m on the East Coast of MD. and our first frost usually comes in late October early November.
start potatoes now?
It’s a tough call, that’s what makes gardening interesting. Try it. Remember that potatoes like a cool start; they are usually planted 2 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost. They’ll also need 6 hours of sun per day … as the days grow shorter… It will depend, too, on the days to maturity of the variety you plant. Finally, we wouldn’t plant them in the same bed; remember the value of rotation. Test the soil wherever you do put them. And good luck! You won’t know if you don’t try.
Potato flowers
Should I dead head the flowers that have formed on my potato plants?
Potatoes
I planted a white potato and got red potatoes... How did this happen? I mean they are still delicious, but I'm confused on how this happens.
potato mystery
Hmm. We’re stumped on this one! If it was truly a white potato, it should not have yielded red potatoes. Could it be that there was a red potato in the ground in the same area, perhaps one left in the ground from last year, that decided to sprout this year? It’s certainly puzzling!
Potatoes
It was my first time trying to grow potatoes. Will try again next year and see what happens!
Red + white = white?
We planted alternating varieties of red and white potatoes and the all produced white potatoes. It that to say that the white ones were dominant in pollination?
Potatoes sprouting
It is March and I am in zone 4. My potatoes are starting to sprout, how can I delay the sprouting until planting time, Late May, probably?
Starting from seed
Hello, I was given several potato berries and was told I could try planting the seeds for potato plant starts. I see from my customized calendar on your site that I should sow outdoors starting in March after the danger of frost has passed (I am in Seattle), but when should I plant the seeds so that the starts are ready at that time? The friend who gave them to me indicated I could start them inside as early as early as January. Could I start them outside in March as well, with a later harvest? One additional concern is a curious kitty who sometimes gets up where she shouldn’t to nibble on plants. Are these plants poisonous to cats? Thank you!
Potato berries take years
Potatoes are in the same family as tomatoes (Nightshade, or Solanaceous), and the “berries” not really good for anything. They are poisonous to eat, and the seeds inside would take several years to grow, and they would not produce the same kind of potatoes as the parent plant. The only people who pay any attention to them are growers and breeders who hope to produce a new variety.
For a reliable crop, purchase seed potatoes with eyes and look to the calendar for planting time—lucky you, in early March!
You will know when your
You will know when your potatoes are fully grown when they are bottled and cause intoxication
small potatoes
I harvested a lot of potatoes, including a lot of small potatoes, this year from certified seed potatoes. Would it be a good idea to save the small potatoes to plant next spring?
Small Potatoes
Small potatoes are no small potatoes! It would certainly be a good idea to save the small ones for replanting. Look for ones that have plenty of “eyes,” as they should have the best chance at producing.
Request for suitable fertilizer composition and chemicals
Hi,
This time my soil is highly moisture due unpredicted heavy rains. My cultivation is just 18 days old. Therefore I need your assistance to choose the fertilizer composition and chemicals to be used. In Sri Lanka we cultivate a variety called Glanora.
Teenie Tiny Potatoes
I planted my swedish fingerling potatoes about 100 days ago. Tried digging some up to hopefully get new potatoes for dinner & only found one, perfectly formed but hardly bigger than a pea! The plants haven't died back yet so will let the rest grow, but is there any chance they'll get much bigger? I'm in North Dakota so gonna run out of time soon before frost.
Tiny Potatoes
At this point, there’s probably not much chance of them getting bigger before their tops die back, but you could wait a few more weeks to see if that helps any. Sorry for your subpar potatoes and we wish you better luck next year!
Red Potatoes - Are they safe to eat right after harvest
This is my first year of harvesting red potatoes. I live in Northern CA zone, 9. Hot summer this year!! I got a nice harvest. My question is the plant never flowered. They did die back and we turned the container over and had lots of potatoes. It's been about a week, and I don't have a cool place to store them. Are they safe to eat? When will I know if they are bad or toxic?
are potatoes safe to eat
Your potatoes should be fine to eat; sometimes the weather is just too hot for plants and they do not perform as expected. One source we consulted said that some potatoes simply do not flower. But if you have spuds, enjoy them! The “cool” place should also be dark and dry, so a basement is usually good, but a closet or under a bed is fine, in a paper bag, for example—just not plastic. (Notice in supermarkets potatoes are in bags with holes.) They should last a few weeks to a couple of months at least, unless your conditions are really unsuitable. We do not suggest a fridge. Congratulations!
Shrivilling
My potatoes shrivel, or go very limp and then die.nits started from one plant and then went to another. What happened and how can i stop this?
wilting potato plants
Potato plants can wilt for a variety of reasons, from diseases (bacterial, fungal, or virus) or insect pests (which can also spread certain diseases; check for pests like aphids or thrips or leafhoppers), to cultural conditions, including lack of water or hot temperatures.
Disease possibilities include verticillium or fusarium wilt. There is also a bacterial wilt. If leaves are actually curling or rolling lengthwise, then it might be a virus such as potato leafroll virus (often transmitted by aphids) or something like blackleg. Black dot can also be troublesome in certain areas of the country.
Another culprit might be potato blight (early blight and late blight); watch the following video to see if your plants look like the ones discussed. It tells you how to control this disease.
https://www.almanac.com/video/5-ways-control-potato-blight
Here is a publication from the PennState College of Agricultural Sciences that gives a good overview of some potato diseases.
http://extension.psu.edu/publications/agrs-075
For best advice, you might contact your county’s Cooperative Extension service. They may be able to study a sample and give you a diagnosis. For contact information, see:
https://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services
Hope this helps!
Potatoes
My potatoes are always dry and break up when I boil them. It has happened whichever variety I use. Could it be my soil
Thanks
Potatoes
Hi Corrine,
There are a couple of reasons why your potatoes are breaking apart when boiled. Dry spring weather can cause the problem, or under watering in general. A more likely reason is cooking the potatoes too soon after harvest. Leave them be for a few weeks and try to cook them again.
Wet summer and lenticels
Hello, I live is Scotland and we have had the wettest summer i can ever remember. My spud plants are looking great but i lifted a few potatoes up last night for tea and whilst they were big and healthy they were also covered in white scabs which i have read are called Lenticels and are caused by waterlogging. I am growing a type called setanta which ideally would be a maincrop and therefore left a while yet as the plants have not even started to die back yet. My worry is that if the potatoes are showing signs of waterlogging and the weather is not improving is there a risk of rot or fungal infection? should i lift the whole crop early and harden off as best as possible inside or still leave them in the ground till the plants die back? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you
Pinch the potato flowers?
Hello. I was wondering if pinching the flowers from the potato plants will increase the growing time of the plants? I pinch basil for example instead of letting it bloom out and go to seed.
Potato Flowers
Hi Veronica,
Potatoes have been cultivated to the point where it doesn’t really affect the plant much whether or not the flowers are left to bloom. However, there are some who believe that it helps to pinch the flowers back to encourage more growth of the tubers. It’s all up to your own preference. Either way, once the potatoes bloom, it’s time to stop watering them.
How long do you continue to cover th plants as they grow?
Hello we planted our potatoes about 2 months ago. We built a 12' x 3' box. As they have grown we have continued to hill the plants which now are under 18" of soil. When do we stop hilling the plants as they keep growing through? Thanks
growing potatos
My Father-In-Law said to stop watering my potato crop when they flower, it that right?
when to stop watering potatoes
You should have stopped watering by the time the foliage turns yellow and begins to die off. Your father-in-law is not wrong; you can stop when the potatoes flower; the foliage will begin to fade soon after the flowers fade. The goal is to harvest the potatoes in dry ground. If they ground is wet—from handwatering or rainfall—you risk losing the potatoes to rot.
potatoe plants
I have small green balls that have grown on the potatoes vines, not sure what they are?
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