Growing Potatoes

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Potatoes

Age-Old Wisdom meets Modern Tools

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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.

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

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

“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.
For mature potatoes, wait 2 to 3 weeks after the plant’s foliage has died back. The tops of the plants 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 (especially in moisture-laden soil).
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 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.

How to Store Potatoes

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 (7° to 10°C), 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.

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

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

Check out our recipe archives to find potato recipes that range from plain to fancy!

Reader Comments

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Yes—your seed potato will

Yes—your seed potato will have a stalk coming out of one end. If you plant pieces of potato (pieces with "eyes") the seed portion will be the one with the flt surface where it was cut before planting.
Don't eat the seed potato. Put it into your compost; it has done its job.

I'm wondering if you've ever

I'm wondering if you've ever tried or know about planting short season potatoes in the garlic plot (after garlic has been harvested in early July) for a fall potato harvest. I live in MA and am trying to make the best use of raised garden beds.. If I base last frost date on your chart, it's the first week of October. If the first comes earlier can I cover the plants at night? Thanks!

There are potatoes that can

There are potatoes that can be planted in late summer and will mature in about 120-135 days. Katahdin, Kennebec, Bintje and fingerling potatoes are all suitable. You can cover the tops if you get an early frost.

I have 1 potato plant in a

I have 1 potato plant in a container. 2 weeks ago I took a few delicious ones out and reburied the plant. Now it's original growth is almost completely died off. A shoot from the base of the plant has now grown to equal size of the original and just flowered. If I wait to harvest all at once will the original ones be rotten? Should I harvest now and have the newest ones be too young?

I bury my kitchen scraps

I bury my kitchen scraps which often contain potato peelings. I choose a place in my yard that I think I might eventually plant flowers. Several years ago I noticed a plant in my garden that I didn't recognize - lo and behold upon pulling it, potatoes appeared in the dirt........golf ball sized and just a little larger. This year I have potato plants all over in my garden beds!! I'm going to harvest all the plants in a week - and enjoy the "fruits" of my labor! No seed potatoes were buried/planted......potato skins only! Does this surprise anyone as much as it does me? btw, the potatoes are absolutely delicious - Irish potatoes delicious.......creamy tasting!

same experience as you

Hi there,
I'm having the same experience as you. I buried all kinds of organic waste (including potato peels) from our kitchen in a area of my small veggie garden. Like you i witnessed this strange plant which I had not planted spring up all over the show. I've just found out they are potatoes... So I'll see what comes up in about a month and half or so... I'm excited and curious ;-)

i am a smol companay of

i am a smol companay of planting potatoes, how i can mix npk with the time of planting potatoes

I am growing potatoes in a

I am growing potatoes in a bin. They have grown almost as tall as me and haven't yet flowered. However One did have a small flower on it which has now turned into a tomato like berry. Can you explain what this is and whether it is edible?

This is not edible it and is

This is not edible it and is actually toxic. The pod contains seeds of the potatoes plant.

Vacation worries! I live in

Vacation worries! I live in Southeastern Michigan and I planted my potatoes (mostly yukons) in early to mid June. Some have finished blossoming, some are still in blossom, and some have not blossomed at all the plants are green and only just barely starting to lean over. I have even had some new potatoes already. However I am fighting what appears to be early blight on both a few tomatoes and potato plants leaves this year, even with rotation. I am also fighting pests including potato beetle with beneficial insects. I think I have caught it early by pulling the infected leaves and/or plants. However, I am worried because I am going away for a several weeks. Should cut my losses and harvest my organic garden potatoes or leave them and hope for the best?? Please help!

Hi, May: Well, this is really

Hi, May: Well, this is really a question of your personal tolerance for risk--and desire for potatoes. We personally would undertake a 3-step plan: (1) Early in the morning of vacation departure, do one last careful physical removal of any visible pests and their larvae. (2) Then apply a normal dose of a good organic insecticide per directions. (3) Then go away and have a good time and not worry about it. It is what it is, and our guess is that you won't find things much worse, if any, when you get back. Have fun!

I live in Massachusetts and

I live in Massachusetts and planted 55 hills on June 1. Luckily all are doing well. I've hilled them, but they are growing beyond the top of my hills. Can I just keep piling up the dirt dirt, and if so, for how long? (I see just a few buds but no flowers yet.)

Can I store my newly

Can I store my newly harvested potatoes in my basement refrigerator? I keep it about 45 degrees and open the door only seldomly.

i was wondering if i could

i was wondering if i could use the little potatoes that i found as seeds even though they have no spuds on them ????or should i leave them in a dark spot till they grow them?

Are you asking whether the

Are you asking whether the smaller potatoes harvested from a potato plant can be used as seed potatoes? And if so, do their eyes need to sprout shoots/roots first? If so, YES, once you harvest your crop of potatoes for the season, you can save the smaller potatoes (about egg size) as seed potatoes, providing that they look healthy and undamaged. Let them dry for a few hours in the sun, then set on a windowsill in indirect sun for a few days to cure. Then place them in a dark, cool, dry area, as mentioned in article, to store until next year. Monitor them over the winter and discard any diseased ones, or those that sprout prematurely. In early spring, take them out. Each seed potato section should have about 2 eyes.

This may sound like a stupid

This may sound like a stupid question, but I read that the seed potatoes aren't for eating. I just pulled up a dying potato plant, and pulled up about five potatoes. Some were the size of new potatoes, but one was much larger. I'm wondering if the one that's much larger was my original seed potato? And should I throw that out? Also there were several smaller potatoes about the size of a dime. Are these any good? The potatoes I'm growing are more purple potatoes. I have white potatoes that have done nothing so far at all except grow.

There are no stupid

There are no stupid questions. Here's what we learned looking into this. The matter of eating seed potatoes has fans in both camps. Some say sure, eat em. Others advise against it and we agree with this side. It is not wise. The reason for your larger-than-the-others potato may be the distance between that plant and the next one (say, more than 12 inches). Larger tubers are sometimes produced at wider spacings—but not every time, every plant, or every potato. It sounds like just that one. As for the 10-centers (the dime-size spuds), sure they're good! Clean em, cook em, and eat em!
We can't tell from here why your white potatoes are not doing as well as the blues, but enjoy whatever you get.

It is the end of June and we

It is the end of June and we are just starting to dig some new potatoes. We are finding many of the new potatoes to be larger than we feel they should be for this time of year, they are really nice size, but many have buds on them? What does this mean?

If the buds (eyes) are

If the buds (eyes) are dormant, this is normal. If they have started sprouting, that's a puzzle. Is the parent plant still healthy and green? If it is dying back, then perhaps the potatoes are much further along than expected and they are somehow acting as seed potatoes. Or, could it be that the potatoes got inadvertently cut off from the mother plant? In which case, it might be that they are now acting as seed potatoes and sprouting into individual plants. If they had been exposed to light, they would turn green.

I'm not sure if this is the case here, since it is early in the season, but there is a condition called heat sprouting in which high soil temperatures (above 75F) cause the natural dormancy of the potato to break early. For more information, see:

http://cropwatch.unl.edu/potat...
http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/pot...

This site also discusses a few other physiological conditions that might cause sprouting:
http://cropwatch.unl.edu/potat...

Hope this helps!

Hi, this is first time I've

Hi, this is first time I've found potatoes in my compost. I threw out some potatoes in the compost back in the winter and since spring they sprouted leaves on top. Today I pulled the leaves up and found baby gold potatoes bout the size of small golfballs and some are even smaller.. None of them are green and they look like the small variety at the store. Can I eat these? Are they poisonous? They look and smell great. I'm just not sure if it's a good idea to cook and eat them.
Please help. Thanks!

Hi, Mom: Perhaps you

Hi, Mom: Perhaps you misspoke. Do you mean to say that you have found some compost in your new potato patch? Cook 'em up! We'll be right over!

Is there any sugestion to

Is there any sugestion to plant potatos in soil ph level 7.5 to 7.9? May i proceed r not on my 4ha

The 1st year I planted

The 1st year I planted potatoes I had an awful infestation of potato beetles. In a conversation with a friend who also grew potatoes she mentioned she had bird houses by her garden and they would eat the beetles. I now have six houses in my garden and have not used pesticides in 4 years. We sit in our porch and watch the birds swoop down into the garden then back up to the houses. They are feeding their babies! We have sparrows and wrens living in the houses. They are occupied every year. They pretty much eat anything that moves in the garden.

What kind of bird houses?

My first attempt at growing

My first attempt at growing potatoes!
They are really growing but there are 2 shoots at each place I planted them. Do I pull one out so there is only "one plant"? I planted them at the end of May.

No. Just let them be and grow

No. Just let them be and grow like crazy! :)

Help, Planted red pontiac and

Help,
Planted red pontiac and yukon gold potatoes in the garden this year. They are growing great. They are about 2-3ft tall and have just finished flowering. Where the flowers were, we now have what looks like small green tomaotes. We have always grown potatoes in our garden and have never seen this before. They are planted next to cabbage with tomatoes on the other side of the cabbage. We are soooo confused. Do you have any idea???
Thank you.

What look like small tomatoes

What look like small tomatoes are actually the botanical fruits (berries) of the potato plant--these are poisonous, though, so don't eat them. Usually, potato flowers will drop off before setting fruit, so gardeners aren't used to seeing these green berries. 'Yukon Gold' is one cultivar that is more prone to setting fruit. Cool temperatures can also promote fruiting. For more information, see:

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm...

https://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PP...

Hi there. My daughter and I

Hi there. My daughter and I shoved about 6 sprouting potatoes in a tote bag filled with dirt, about a month ago. They are growing like crazy buti think there are too many in one bag. I want to split them off into two or three bags. Will this hurt the plant, if I do it really carefully? I haven't checked for spuds but when you look down the inside of te bag there are loads of good roots. What should I do? Let them grow too close together, or splitter off into separate containers?

Out of pure curiosity, I

Out of pure curiosity, I stuck a dozen Russet potato eyes in some potting soil in peat pots. I was amazed, every one of them grew into strong, leafy plants.

Now, behind my trailer at a campground, they are growing incredibly well, for the work of a non-farmer. I feed campground leaves into my "Leaf Eater" mulcher every fall, for my flower beds. I separate the mostly maple leaves from the pine needles before grinding, as I was told by the campground owner the pine needles are quite acid, too much so for flower gardens. Not wanting to waste anything, the pine needles are accumulating (well dried,in heavy sealed plastic bags) Would this pine needle mulch be of benefit to my potatoes, with them liking acid?