Advertisement

Planning to Grow Potatoes at Home? Here's Everything You Need to Know

Photo credit: Anna Kurzaeva - Getty Images
Photo credit: Anna Kurzaeva - Getty Images


“Hearst Magazines and Verizon Media may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.”

Potatoes, we love you! You're delicious in so many ways: Mashed, boiled, baked, sauteed, fried, you name it! This versatile vegetable is nutritious, too, containing vitamins B6 and C, potassium, and fiber at only 110 calories a pop (just don't load 'em up with butter!). Potatoes are just as welcome at weeknight dinners as they are for big holiday events. In fact there are crowd-pleasing potato recipes for every occasion.

If you're a gardener (or aspire to be one!), potatoes actually are not that difficult to grow. They do well in raised beds, large containers, fabric grow bags, or planting beds, so you have lots of options for growing them. And it's actually a lot of fun to dig your crop out of the earth when they're ready to harvest.

Here's how to grow potatoes in your own back yard:

  • Exposure: Full sun (6 or more hours per day)

  • When to plant: Early spring, as soon as the ground is 45°F. Typically mid-March to early summer

  • Pests and diseases to watch out for: Flea beetles, Colorado potato beetles, scab

  • Recommended varieties: Purple Majesty, Yukon Gold

How to Plant Potatoes

Potatoes are planted from "seed potatoes." Buy these from a nursery or online plant store for best results. You can try growing them from any spud that's past their prime (like those ones shoved in the back of your pantry), but that's not always successful because they may have been treated not to sprout or they may be harboring disease without showing signs.

When you're ready to plant, cut the potato into two inch or larger chunks, making sure each has one or two “eyes” or buds. Then set them out somewhere warmish and sunny for at least a couple days, until they cure—although this step isn't always necessary (Read more on curing here.)

When planting, you want loose, fertile soil that drains well. Prepare the bed by using a tiller or garden spade to turn over the soil in your potato beds thoroughly and break up any clumps. Dig holes 4-6 inches deep and space pieces 10-12 inches apart. Place each piece in a hole with the eye facing up. Cover the piece with two to three inches of soil. Add the more soil, "hilling" around the plant, whenever the vines grow about six to eight inches.

How to Plant Potatoes in a Container

The most important step? Use a large container. A five or even 10 gallon bucket is ideal, but containers should be at least two feet deep. Place four to six inches of soil in the bottom of the container, then add your potato, then top with two to three more inches of soil. Continue to add soil as the plant grows and pokes through the dirt about 6 to 8 inches. You want to keep them covered with soil because they will turn green and bitter if exposed to air. Container potatoes generally will be smaller, and the yield slightly less.

How to Care for Potatoes

Potatoes like mildly acidic soil, so look for a basic balanced fertilizer to add at planting time, and then give them regular water — typically, this means about an inch of water per week. You want to keep plants consistently moist, especially when they're flowering, because this is when the tubers form. Avoid adding too much nitrogen because this will cause lush foliage, but smaller tubers. If any potatoes pop out of the ground when growing, cover them up with soil to prevent them from turning green.

Can I Plant a Potato from the Supermarket?

You absolutely can grow potatoes from the store, but be aware that not every grocery store spud will work: Sometimes potatoes are treated with chemicals to inhibit sprouting. If they do sprout, the crop likely will be small, but you'll usually get something out of your efforts. However, for best results (because who has the time, energy, water or garden space to waste?), buy untreated "seed potatoes" which have been certified to be disease-free at a nursery or online.

Photo credit: Eddie Phan
Photo credit: Eddie Phan


How Long Do Potatoes Take to Grow?

Potatoes grow quickly, maturing about three to four months after planting. Different types have different maturity times, so read the description so you'll have some idea about when your crop will be ready.

How to Harvest Potatoes

You can begin to harvest some as tender “new” potatoes about 60 days after the plants emerge, but leave the rest of the potatoes in ground for about two more weeks to cure. (The skin toughens up a bit so they’ll keep longer.) To harvest, use a small digging fork or spade to gently lift up the plant and loosen the potatoes from the soil. For maximum yield, wait until the foliage begins to die back. Any potatoes you bruise with your shovel should be eaten right away because they'll spoil fast.

Do Potatoes Have Any Pests?

Though potato plants tend to be fairly tough, there are a few pests that you may need to deal with such as wire worms, aphids and Colorado potato beetles, which can decimate a crop almost overnight. (Here's what they look like.) The best pest control method is attention, so be sure to inspect your plants every few days.

Colorado potato beetles are your biggest enemy, emerging in late spring and early summer to munch on foliage. They are yellow-ish with black stripes, and the larvae, which are dark red or orange with black spots, also eat the potato foliage. Look on the underside of leaves, too, for their clusters of bright orange eggs.

Flea beetles are minuscule black or brown bugs about the size of a sesame seed. They chew tiny holes in plant leaves and can kill young plants. For flea beetles, prevention is key: Use fabric row covers to protect young plants. Mature plants are less susceptible to their damage.

If you use choose to use pesticides, read the label to ensure they're safe on potato plants. Another tip: Plan to rotate the types of products you use to prevent pesticide resistance, which is common with potato pests.

“Planting in hills or long trenches and scooping soil on top in stages as they grow yields more potatoes,” says Colin McCrate, founder of Seattle Urban Farm Company, author of Food Grown Right in Your Own Backyard and High-Yield Vegetable Gardening, and producer of the Encyclopedia Botanica podcast. Some people use straw instead of soil to top the plants as they grow. Tubers still set but they’re easier and cleaner to harvest.”

You Might Also Like