Growing Potatoes

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Potatoes

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Our Potato Growing Guide covers planting, growing, and harvesting one of our favorite vegetables! Also, see tips on how to store potatoes to keep them fresh—and some homemade potato recipes.

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

When 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. New potatoes should not be cured and should be eaten within a few days of harvest, as they will not keep for much longer.
For mature potatoes, wait 2 to 3 weeks after the plant’s foliage has died back. The tops of the vines need to have completely died before you begin harvesting. 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.
Toughen up potatoes for storage before harvest by not watering them much after mid-August.
Dig up a test hill to see how mature the potatoes are. The skins of mature potatoes are thick and firmly attached to the flesh. If the skins are thin and rub off easily, your potatoes are still too new and should be left in the ground for a few more days.
Potatoes can tolerate light frost, but when the first hard frost is expected, it’s time to get out the shovels and start digging potatoes.

How to Harvest Potatoes

Dig potatoes on a dry day. Dig up gently, being careful not to puncture the tubers. Avoid cutting or bruising potato skin. Damaged potatoes will rot during storage and should be used as soon as possible. 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.
Don’t leave the potatoes that you have dug in the sun for long after they have been dug up from your garden, otherwise your potatoes may turn green. Green potatoes have a bitter taste and if enough is eaten can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Small spots can be trimmed off, but if there is significant greening, throw the potato out.
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 potatoes in a cool, dark place, preferably 45 to 50 °F, with good ventilation. When properly stored, potatoes will remain fresh for up to a month. Throw away potatoes that are shriveled, green or have many sprouts.
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.

Potatoes
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!

Reader Comments

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how can store pottos for

how can store pottos for about 6 months of so, can I store them in my storm cellar?

Here are tips on how to store

Here are tips on how to store potatoes from the University of Idaho extension: Store in a dark, cool, unheated place that is 42 to 55 degrees F. A garage is a common place. Do not expose to any light. Potatoes need high humidity as well as air flow so put them in a perforated bag that is not tightly sealed. Do not wash the potatoes before storage.

Every year I have a problem

Every year I have a problem with aphids on my cole crops I have tried almost everything to get rid of them.Last year I bought an organic mite,thrip and aphid spray that worked pretty good but it was not cost efficient. Another gardener friend suggested I buy lacewing cacons. What do you think?

Every year I have a very bad Aphid problem with my cole crops. So much so that I have thought of not planting any. But that would be a shame. A gardener friend of mine suggested I buy some lacewing eggs. I have tried most all the recommended sprays and only one worked to keep them under control but never eliminated them completely. This product was expensive considering the amount I had to spray repeatively.
What do you think? I'm open for suggestions.
How and when do I use the the Lacewings?

I was told that if you plant

I was told that if you plant Dill plants near those plants that aphids go after that the aphids will rather attack the dill than the other crops. Hope this idea helps

Have you tried covering your

Have you tried covering your cole crops with row covers? They come in different weights so there are light ones than can be used the entire season. Sun and rain penetrate but the insects don't. That is a better method in my opinion than spraying.

K Mueller

I had read in an organic

I had read in an organic gardening site that planting garlic in my veggie garden and around my rose bushes would get rid of aphids, so I tried it.

100% eradication!

Good Luck!

Thanks Debra I certainly

Thanks Debra I certainly will
give it a try.

The best practice to prevent

The best practice to prevent aphids is to keep the leaves dry - only water the dirt!

I am interested to learn from

I am interested to learn from your experience regarding the age of potato tuber after planting or sowing when it can be harvested to use as seed for next crop. You can relate with size of tuber and age of tuber in days

As recently as 2/3 weeks ago

As recently as 2/3 weeks ago I planted potatoes in 4 seperate containers in shallow soil intending to top the soil up as they grew. When I looked again they had all sprouted leaves but the soil is too shallow to accommodate much potatoes. Can I cover the leaves and what will happen or will I have to transplant into deeper soil? Thanks in advance.

When the plant grows to about

When the plant grows to about 6 inches tall, you can cover the lower leaves and stalk with a few inches of soil or straw. Leave the top group of leaves alone (although for the first hilling, the plant can recover fine even if all leaves are covered). As the plant grows another 6 inches, add more soil or straw to the base. When you reach the top of the container, you should have a nice mound of soil or straw in which the potatoes can grow. The plant will produce stems and leaves above the soil/straw level.

Thanks a million. Much

Thanks a million. Much appreciated. :)

Hello fellow farmers! Am a

Hello fellow farmers! Am a firt timer in potato growing and am trying to find out which could be the very best variety to grow in Ndola, Zambia!

Hi there, I'm in Ireland. I

Hi there, I'm in Ireland. I planted seed winter potatoes in large tubs in the garden. The plants grew really well and grew to over two feet tall when all the foliage / vegetation suddenly died and rotted away. I went to empty the containers a few weeks later and found quite a few perfectly formed baby potatoes. I don't know what killed the plants, probably blight, but the tubers look perfect. Is there any reason I can't eat them?

check that your bag was

check that your bag was draining water well.that may be the cause.thx

I used large pots with drain

I used large pots with drain holes, not a bag. Thanks anyway.

Although there seems to be no

Although there seems to be no conclusive study that indicates a blight-infected potato is harmful to eat, there was an investigation a few decades back that raised the question of whether blighted potatoes were linked with certain birth defects and therefore expecting moms should avoid them; however, this theory is still inconclusive. Even if there were no risk from blight, however, there is a chance that a blighted potato may also contain other diseases that might indeed be harmful, so it might be best to just throw the entire potato away. (And, no one should eat a green potato.)

If you want to take a chance with the tubers from your blighted plants, then check to see if the potato itself looks healthy. If it does, it likely would be OK to eat. If there is any sign of corky dry areas, scabs, etc., on the tuber, then you can cut that part out and eat the rest, or just throw the whole potato out. If there is any slime or mold, throw the potato out. If it has an odd flavor, also throw it out.

If your potato tubers show any sign of disease, do not use them for canning--even the good parts.

We have grown potatoes for

We have grown potatoes for several years,but this year we had a problem we have never had before. We planted both a red and abrown potato. They are all very dry. They do not make good bakers,French fries, or mashed. About the only way they come out good is as hash browns. Does anyone know what makes a dry potato?

A dry potato can be due to

A dry potato can be due to variety (such as russets vs. more waxy types), or cultural/environmental disorders or disease problems. If your potatoes showed any discoloration inside, or sunken or hollow areas, you might look into a disease such as fusarium dry rot, or a cultural or environmental problem. For more information, see:

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath...

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath...

http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/p...

Check your soil to make sure it has the nutrients that potatoes need (not too much/not too little), and be sure that the crop has the proper amount of water, consistently. Consider environmental factors that might be coming into play, such as chemical damage from nearby areas, heat or cold stress, etc.

my potato plant has been

my potato plant has been growing since summer. I already dig out most of the potatoes. Now there are some new leaves came out from branches's split ends (with litter bud-like joins). should I keep the plant? will it produce potatoes again?

FYI: I live in northern CA.

thanks
e

Often, one can make the final

Often, one can make the final harvest after the plant has died back, unless you desire a smaller sized potato, in which case the main harvest would be earlier, when most tubers have reached the desired size. If you do not have frost in your area, the plant still has plenty of green leaves (along with the new ones), and the plant is not starting to die back (turning brown), then you can certainly let the plant continue to grow and see if it survives to form more tubers.

Iplanted 220 bags of potatoes

Iplanted 220 bags of potatoes my problem is that at what stage did i put top dressing fertiliser and how to haverst

side dressing should be did

side dressing should be did when the plants are 4-6" high I preferr to till between rows and with a hoe about 4" from bot. of plant make small trench both sides apply 10-10-10 fert. then hill the potatos. works every time.

I live in Hardiness Zone 8B

I live in Hardiness Zone 8B is there still a way/type of potato that I can still plant?

Potatoes can be planted as

Potatoes can be planted as soon as the ground is workable but not too wet. This is often 2 to 3 weeks before your average last frost date. The soil temperature should reach 45 degrees. If you're not sure of your frost dates, see our Frost Charts: http://www.almanac.com/frostdates

My wife is Filipino and LOVES

My wife is Filipino and LOVES to plant ANYTHING she can get her hands on. We live in the Bay area of CA. She planted an Ube potato and it has grown into a fairly nice bushy plant and the vegetation has not started to die off yet. Can we expect any kind of a "crop" from this planting??

If you have prepared the

If you have prepared the ground well before planting,you maybe able to harvest a good crop. Just like any potatoes, Ube needs well drain, loose soil and of course good soil (composted manure mix with sand will do the work) to be productive. Keep the soil moist but not soggy, and don't let it dry.

We live in eastern Oregon

We live in eastern Oregon where they grow a lot of potatoes. In the fall the go over the rows with a roller and kill the plants. Then they water them like crazy for days before they harvest. Why do they do this?

At potato harvest, they are

At potato harvest, they are killing the vines to terminate the growth of the tubers to control their size and set their skin which reduces bruising during harvest. This process also reduces insect issues and disease. They are probably applying an herbicide to help vine kill which is best applied at dusk with high volumes of water. This allows the product to penetrate the leaves and stems before being activated by the sunlight the following day. Hope this helps answer your questions!

won't the herbicide enter the

won't the herbicide enter the potato? that sounds like a bad thing to do