Potatoes are one of the fun vegetables to grow. In this post, learn how to plant, grow, and harvest potatoes.
Choosing Your Seed Potatoes
First, choose the right variety for your garden and you. Think about what variety you want to eat, and when you want to harvest your potatoes. Potato varieties are typically labeled early, mid, and late season to indicate the time of year they’ll be ready for harvesting (how long they take to grow).
Look for seed potatoes at your local garden store. Seed potatoes are potato tubers that look like regular potatoes, but usually with a few wrinkles and possibly a few sprouts (eyes). If you don’t seen any sprouts growing from the potatoes, look for tiny dimples. The sprouts will form in those dimples.
Typically, in late winter or early spring, your local garden store will sell the seed potato varieties that thrive in your region. You might also have success using organic potatoes from the grocery store if the potatoes are certified organic or haven’t been chemically treated.
Then, follow these steps on how to plant, grow, and harvest potatoes.
Preparing To Plant Potatoes
About a month before planting, remove the seed potatoes from their packaging and place the seed potatoes in an empty cardboard box. Keep the empty potato package in the box. This will help you remember the variety you’re growing and other details.
Place the potatoes in a cool, well-lit area (but not direct sunlight) to encourage sprouting. This process is called chitting. If you bought bulk seed potatoes, you won’t have any packaging (hurray, you!). Instead, label the potato box with the variety (name) of the potato. Also write down if it’s a determinate or indeterminate variety, and if it’s an early, mid, or late-season potato. If you know the name of the potato variety, and nothing else, that’s okay.
If you have any large seed potatoes (the size of a baseball or bigger), after the potatoes have chit, you can cut the large potatoes into pieces. This is optional. Cutting larger potatoes into pieces should give you more potato plants because each piece will grow into one plant. If you cut your seed potatoes, make sure each piece has at least two eyes. Allow the cut pieces to cure for a day or two so they can form a protective layer before planting.
Choosing A Location And Preparing Your Soil
Plant and grow potatoes in an area where potatoes weren’t grown the previous four years.
Like most vegetables, potatoes need full sun.
Grow potatoes in soil that has good drainage. Raised beds are typically a good option because they help with drainage and warmth. You can grow potatoes in any soil. However, slightly acidic soil will help protect the potatoes from scab.
Add organic matter like compost or well-rotted manure to the soil to improve structure and fertility. Or apply an organic, balanced fertilizer to the soil.
Remove weeds, rocks, stones, and any other objects from the planting area. Potatoes need room to grow and debris in the soil will get in their way.
If you can, grow potatoes near alyssum, borage, marigolds, basil, cilantro, beans, celery, corn, garlic, onions, and peas.
Don’t grow potatoes next to asparagus, brassicas (including broccoli, radish, and cabbage), carrots, cucumber, kohlrabi, melons, parsnips, rutabaga, squash, sunflowers, and turnips.
Planting Potatoes
When To Plant
Potatoes can be planted in early spring or when the soil temperature reaches about 8 degrees Celsius. In my region, that’s usually the middle of March.
How To Plant
Dig trenches about 4 to 6 inches deep. Space the trenches 1 to 2 feet apart.
Place the seed potatoes with the sprouts facing up in the trenches, spacing them about 1 foot apart in the trenches. Remember, if you cut any of your potatoes, plant them after they have had a day or two to cure.
Cover the potatoes with 4 to 6 inches of soil.
While waiting for your potatoes to grow, keep the soil moist but not waterlogged.
Label the rows with the name of the potato variety, the date you planted them, and indicate if the potato you planted is an early, mid, or late season variety. Your seed package will have this information, and this is why I suggested you keep the seed potato packaging. If you know if your potato variety is a determinate or indeterminate variety (more on this later), include that information on your labels. Consider writing this information in a garden journal, too.
Growing Potatoes
Early season potatoes take 60 to 80 days to grow. Mid season potatoes take 80 to 95 days to grow. Late season potatoes take 95 to130 days to grow.
How To Hill And Mulch Your Potatoes
As your potato plants grow, you might need to hill the soil around the base of the plants to encourage growth and to prevent the growing potatoes from being exposed to sunlight. Exposure to sunlight can cause them to turn green and become toxic.
So, how do you know if you should hill your potatoes? To hill or not to hill your potatoes depends on whether or not the potatoes are a determinate or indeterminate variety. Determine potatoes grow in a single layer that stays beneath the soil, near the seed potato that you planted. Determinate varieties are early-season and mid-season potatoes. Indeterminate potatoes grow in many layers, and, over time, those layers of potatoes grow closer to the surface of the soil. Indeterminate potatoes are late-season potatoes. If you have an indeterminate variety, hill the soil around the vine as it grows so the potatoes stay covered.
If you don’t know if your potato variety is indeterminate, do some research, or just hill the potato vine anyways.
How To Fertilize Your Potatoes
When the plants start to flower, feed the soil by adding compost or an organic, balanced fertilizer next to the plants and gently scratch the compost or fertilizer into the soil. Not all potato varieties develop flowers. Add compost (or an organic, balanced fertilizer) and a handful of bone meal four to six weeks after planting.
When To Water Your Potatoes
Potatoes require consistent moisture throughout their growing season. During dry spells, water deeply and regularly. To prevent rotting potatoes, don’t water too much. If you’re unsure if you should water your potatoes, poke a finger into the soil to see if it’s dry, and water only if the soil feels dry.
Remember To Weed Your Potatoes
Weed your potato beds regularly so they’re not competing for nutrients.
Harvesting Potatoes
Remember how I said potatoes are one of the fun vegetables to plant, grow, and harvest? The real fun is with the harvesting.
Harvest potatoes when the foliage turns yellow and dies back.
Use a shovel or fork to carefully dig up the tubers. Be careful not to damage the potatoes as you dig.
If you’re planning to store your potatoes, first cure the potatoes in a cool, dark area for a few days. Then, store them in a cool, dry place.
Experimenting
Are you lacking space in your beds to grow more potatoes? Or do you want to try harvesting potatoes later in the year? After learning how to plant, grow, and harvest potatoes, read this post to find out how I grew potatoes in grow bags and harvested them in November.
Planting and growing processes can be a bit different if you’re growing a different variety of the same vegetable. So, if the information here differs from the instructions on your seed packets or packages, always follow what your seed packets or packages tell you.
