Growing Potatoes

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Potatoes

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.

Potatoes can be planted very early in the gardening season—as you soon as the frost is out of the soil and you are able to work the soil!

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.

See more information about planting potatoes below.

Planting Dates for POTATOES

Planting Calendar for all Plants

Planting

When to Plant Potatoes

Potatoes prefer cool weather.

In Northern regions, some gardeners will plant the first crop of early-maturing potatoes in early to mid-April, 6 to 8 weeks before the average last frost date or as soon as the soil can be worked; they can survive some cool weather but the threat of frost is a gamble. If there is a threat of frost at night, temporarily cover any sprouted foliage with mulch or an artificial covering such as old sheets or plastic containers (and be sure to remember to remove the coverings in the morning).

To avoid frost, consider starting potatoes 0 to 2 weeks after your 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 overly wet soil.
The soil, not the calendar, will tell you when it’s time to plant. The temperature of the soil should—ideally—be at least 50°F (10°C). The soil should also not be so wet that it sticks together and is hard to work. Let it dry out a bit first. Like other seeds, potato seed pieces will rot if planted in ground that’s too wet.

In Southern regions, potatoes can be grown as a winter crop and planting times range from September to February. Where winters are relatively mild, you can plant a fall crop in September. In central Florida, gardeners plant potatoes in January; and in Georgia they plant in February.

See our Planting Guide for the best dates to plant by zip code or postal code.

Preparing the Planting Site

Potatoes grow best in cool, well-drained, loose soil that is about 45° to 55°F (7° to 13°C).
Choose a location that gets full sun—at least 6 hours of sunlight each day.
Grow potatoes in rows spaced about 3 feet apart.
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.
Spread and mix in fully-rotted manure or organic compost in the bottom of the trench before planting. (Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.)

Man planting potatoes. Photo by tanyss/Getty Images. — *Preparing seed potatoes for planting. Photo by tanyss/Getty Images.*

How to Plant Potatoes

In each trench, place a seed potato piece (cut side down) every 12 to 14 inches and cover with 3 to 4 inches of soil.
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.
The best starters are seed potatoes. Do not confuse seed potatoes with potato seeds or grocery produce! Select seed potatoes which have protruding eyes (buds).
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 yourself, 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” and is explained more here.).
After the potato plants have emerged, add organic mulch between the rows to conserve moisture, help with weed control, and cool the soil.

Check out this excellent video to see how to plant potatoes.

Care

How to Grow Potatoes

Hilling Potatoes

A critical part of growing potatoes is to not let their tubers (i.e., the potato crop) be exposed to sunlight for too long. Exposed tubers will turn green and produce a toxic compound called solanine, which makes them bitter, inedible, and potentially nausea-inducing.

To combat this, we employ a technique called hilling.

Hilling is simple: As a potato plant grows, it produces a main stem with leaves and flowers aboveground. Meanwhile, underground, tubers form on secondary stems that branch off from the main stem. In order to prevent shallow tubers from being exposed to sunlight and to encourage the plant to keep producing more tubers, a few inches of soil are periodically “hilled” up around the base of the stem. This is typically done three to four times during the season.

Tips for growing and hilling potatoes:

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 aboveground part of the plant is at least a foot tall. Hoe the dirt up around the base of the plant in order to cover the tubers as well as to support the plant.
Practice yearly crop rotation with potatoes.

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

Regular potatoes are ready to harvest when the foliage begins to die back. (See each variety for days to maturity.) The tops of the plants need to have completely died before you begin harvesting.
- “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 than that.
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

Cut the brown foliage off and leave the potatoes for 10 to 14 more days before you harvest. This allows the potatoes to develop a thick enough skin. Don’t wait too long, though, or the potatoes may rot (especially in moisture-laden soil).
Dig potatoes up on a dry day. Dig up gently, being careful not to damage 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 due to the presence of solanine, 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.

Curing Potatoes

Allow freshly dug potatoes to sit in a dry, cool, dark place (45 to 60°F / 7 to 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.
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.
After curing, do not put potatoes near apples; the apples’ ethylene gas will cause potatoes to spoil and go bad.

Storing Potatoes

If you’re buying potatoes to eat within a few days, storage is not an issue. You can store anywhere.

For long-term storage, potatoes need the following conditions: ventilation, cool temperatures, high humidity, and no light. Storing potatoes in your home isn’t easy unless you have a root cellar. Most home temperatures are kept at 65 to 75 degrees F and potatoes need be stored at cool temperatures to avoid sprouting.

Recommendation for Home Storage

Store at cool temperatures (42 to 55 degrees F). Warm temperatures encourage sprouting and disease. Storage options include: an extra refrigerator set a few days higher than normal; an unheated entrance, spare room, closet, attic, cabinet, basement, or garage insulated to protect potatoes from freezing.
The room must have high humidity. Potatoes are 80% water so it’s too dry, potatoes wither and dry out. Options are a damp cellar OR you can elevate humidity by storing tubers in plastic bags that are perforated (with many holes cut in the side) to provide fresh air OR/AND placing large pans of water in front of air source.
Avoid all light to prevent greening. The location must be dark or use dark-colored, perforated plastic bags with many holes cut in the side to allow for air movement.
Potatoes need ventilization. Even after harvest, potatoes still use oxygen and give of carbon dioxide so they must have fresh air. Never put potatoes in airtight containers Use perfermated bags as mentioned in steps above.

Find more tips on getting potatoes ready for the root cellar.

Recommended Varieties

There are more than 100 varieties of potatoes! In the home garden, most people grow tan-skinned or red-skinned potatoes with white flesh.

To chose a potato to grow, think about how you like to eat them.

Russets and long white potatoes are used to make baked, boiled, or fried potatoes.
Round white potatoes are used for either boiled potatoes or potato chips.
Red-skinned potatoes are often used for boiling or for potato salads.

There are also speciality potatoes in many shapes, sizes, and colors, including all-blue potatoes as well as potatoes with red or yellow flesh. We also love All Blue Potatoes! They’re delicious and, well, they’re truly blue!

Early Varieties:

‘Irish Cobbler’: tan skin, irregular shape (great heirloom potato for delicious mashed potatoes!)
‘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 (easiest and most adaptable red potato there is to grow)
‘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

See our page on how to choose the best potatoes to grow in your garden for more information on recommended varieties.

Wit & Wisdom

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.

“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)

Recipes

Cooking Notes

Potatoes are naturally healthy. Not only are they fat-free and cholesterol-free but also an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of potassium.
Check out our recipe archives to find potato recipes that range from plain to fancy!

What do you want to read next?

Purple Reigns! Why Purple Foods...

How to Grow Your Own Salad Greens

Strategic Moves: Tips for Easier...

Houseplant Care Guide

Grow an Indoor Salad Garden From...

More Winding Down a Difficult...

The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans,...

Sowing Seeds in the Vegetable...

When to Water Your Vegetable...

10 Tips to Prepare Your Garden for...

Root Cellars: Types and Storage...

Speedy Vegetables to Plant in...

Reader Comments

Thanks Carol, that's a help.

Is hilling super neccessary

Hilling helps to protect the

Hilling helps to protect the growing potatoes from the sunlight so that they don't turn green and it also helps you get a bigger harvest.

I bought a bag of potatoes

I bought a bag of potatoes that are all green. Are they safe to eat

Green potatoes have a bitter

Green potatoes have a bitter taste because they were exposed to light during growth (not a good idea). You may wish to trim these parts off. If you ate a lot of it, your stomach might be irritated.
Inspect potatoes at the store before purchasing and store them at home in a cool dark place with good air circulation.

I'm growing potatoes for the

I'm growing potatoes for the first time, what does hilling mean and what do I do

We have had a very wet winter

We have had a very wet winter and spring . We live in Virginia Beach, VA. Is it too late to plant potatoes ?

It's not too late. Plant as

It's not too late. Plant as soon as the soil has dried up a bit.

I would like to know how to

I would like to know how to can potatoes via the water bath method. Years ago my grand mother and mother did it that way and I'd like to also I don't care for pressure cookers. If someone out there knows please let me know.

Hi Letta, Here are some good

Hi Letta,
Here are some good reference guides on how to can potatoes:
http://www.almanac.com/content...
http://www.extension.umn.edu/f...

Has anyone heard of the old

Has anyone heard of the old method of cutting up the seed potatoes and coating them with Copper. Letting them dry for a week or so prior to planting ?? I seem to remember me grandfather doing this but I have lost his 1940s gardening book.

I only heard of dusting them

I only heard of dusting them with sulfur but since copper is a fungiside that is possible.You only have to dry them a day or less.

Thank you Carol You are

Thank you Carol
You are correct. It was Sulfur not copper. I found my answer in a 1957 published Gardening book last night.

how to can potatoes ?

Hi Connie, Here's a good

Hi Connie, Here's a good reference guide on how to can potatoes:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/f...

What does dragging off

What does dragging off potato's mean? Thanks in advance

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?