Growing Potato

Solanum tuberosum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
      P P              

(Best months for growing Potato in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Plant seed potatoes
  • Plant tuber. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 12 - 16 inches apart
  • Harvest in 15-20 weeks. Dig carefully, avoid damaging the potatoes.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Peas, Beans, Brassicas, Sweetcorn, Broad Beans, Nasturtiums, Marigolds
  • Avoid growing close to: Cucumber, Pumpkin, Sunflowers, Tomatoes, Rosemary

Your comments and tips

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08 Jan 16, Ange (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It could be the 28 spotted potato ladybird with out seeing a picture it is hard to say. There are some ladybirds that will eat away at powdery mildew if there is none of that I would most likely say it's the potato lady bird. It will be 6-10mm long, a orange colour with 26-28 dark spots. With the skeletal looking leaves it would be its eggs. There are no chemicals registered for control of the leaf eating ladybirds in home gardens. You will have to remove by hand and squash the larvae and egg clusters. Natural predators that will kill them are parasitic wasp, birds & assassin bugs. So might be wise to encourage these into your yard. Remove any weeds you have in the garden as well. Other plants they will attack are cucumbers, eggplant, pumpkin and tomatoes and some weeds such as nightshades.
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19 Aug 08, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Joey, you can certainly plant a variety in one plot. The Sept/Oct 2008 ABC Organic Gardener magazine has a guide to a 'bumper crop of potatoes' - maybe they list some suppliers?
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18 Aug 08, Joey (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
where can i buy organic tubers - can I plant a variety of spuds in the one plot?
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11 Aug 08, Caron Blenkhorn (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
What time of year do I plant pink eye potatoes?
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17 Aug 22, Irene Bollerman (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I am noticing coppery (pearlescent brownish) marking on the leaves of otherwise healthy looking potato plants, planted in potato grow bags. I've been monitoring the soil temperature and it had reached 30C until I placed cardboard and bubblewrap insulation over the black fabric bags. It is currently mid-August. I'm in Brisbane. The coppery leaf markings surround the veins rather than being on the fringes of the leaves. The markings do not look like the brown/black spots of wilt. Any thoughts from you potato growers out there??
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17 Aug 22, Irene Bollerman (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
keep the tubors (potatoes) covered
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31 Aug 16, Norman (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
The main article states:"Potatoes exposed to light will go green, so keep them covered up with straw and soil as they grow." Does this mean I need to cover the complete foliage or just hill up the plant? Thanks.
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13 Apr 15, Derek Harris (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
how long does it take for potatoes to reach harvest time
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23 Dec 12, Gran Gran (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Caron around sept oct
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08 Jan 16, Ange (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
What time of the year can you plant pink eyes in a sub tropical area? I'm on the Gold Coast. Thank you
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People say you can't plant this after that or plant tomatoes in the same area for a year or two. There is a cycle of how you plant different veggies after each other to best use the soil. BUT you can plant things differently if you like. I have a garden bed approx. 13 m long and it varies from 4 to 7' in depth. Now in the shorter rows I mainly plant lettuce, radish, beetroot, shallots etc and the longer rows corn, tomatoes, snow peas etc. I plant 2 crops per year (autumn and spring) and mix it up a bit - like I will follow radish with lettuce or tomatoes after snow peas. So year after year I plant like this. As long as you give the soil a top up with compost and or fertiliser then you can plant whatever you like. I don't have heaps of diseases etc. My main problems are birds eating young plants (lettuce snow peas) early in the growing season, grubs eating cabbages/broccoli after rain and beans being killed by some worm or something growing into winter. Am going to grow beans in the spring this year - see how that works.

- Mike

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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