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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24 Apr 15, (Australia - arid climate)
apparently growing in tyres is bad for your health.the tyres put a poison in the soil.
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25 Mar 15, Kate Williams (Australia - temperate climate)
What season do you grow potatoes in SA?
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26 Apr 15, Deb (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Kate I do hope someone answers you soon as i am also in SA ..I will just try my luck by planting this week and see ho things go..i will let you know what happens....Trail and error i suppose...Deb
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24 Feb 15, Garth (Australia - tropical climate)
Can these seeds be kept for any length of time, if so how?.
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09 Feb 15, Ann-Marie (Australia - temperate climate)
I have tried several times to grow store bought kestrel potatoes, and whilst I get a great looking plant. Never one potato, whilst other bought ones produce. I am in SA. Are the Kestrals treated to prevent growth and is there anywhere I can buy Kestral seed potatoes when the season starts Thank you and look for a reply Ann-Marie
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05 Feb 15, Wendy (Australia - temperate climate)
We are just harvesting our potatoes and find that several of them feel spongy but otherwise seem okay. What would cause this and are they okay to eat ?
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28 Jan 15, Diane (Australia - temperate climate)
My potato bushes are starting to turn yellow and I have noticed there are small green berry's growing where the flowers were , what are these???
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16 Mar 15, Maggie (Australia - temperate climate)
Nothing just don't worry about that's what I would say. they are like little seed pods . Cheers Maggie
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30 Jan 15, Tracey (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Diane, the small green berrys are actually seed pods, if you get these on your plants it means the potatoes are very happy where you've grown them and are in ideal conditions. If you use these seeds you can get a really good crop of genetically diverse potatoes unlike those grown from seed potatoes which will only produce clones. Cheers Tracey
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29 Jan 15, Olmec Sinclair (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Diane, Generally when plant leaves turn yellow it can be a sign of nitrogen deficiency. Perhaps you need to feed the spuds with some quick release fertiliser. It may also be that the plants are nearing maturity and dying back.... time to harvest? The green berries are perfectly normal and are the potato seeds. Kind of like a tiny tomato. If you were to plant these you would produce a new, unique variety of potato.
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Showing 291 - 300 of 563 comments
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I live in Zone 7b in Arkansas. It's been an unusually cool and wet spring / summer. I planted four varieties in a prepared bed. (composted manure was tilled in.) The varieties were Pontiac red, Kenebek, Russet and Yukon Gold in roughly equal amounts, purchased prepackaged at a farm store. The seed potatoes were sown in rows 12 -18 inch spacing on Feb 28 by burying shallow, then covering with several inches of composted manure followed by several inches of straw, two bales on roughly 120 sq feet. I did not document when they sprouted but it seemed weak initially but success rate of sprouts was eventually good. The composted manure is weedy and so was the straw, eventually weed pressure was high so I covered with another layer of composted manure. ( I don't remember the date and the plants were 20 inches or so tall, some in blossom. ) Although at the time of harvest the bed was heavy with weeds again that worked long enough to bring in a harvest on June 4th. While harvesting the soil was still quite moist, only two or three potatoes had rotted and the yield was about 2 to 3 nice sized potatoes per plant with up to three small potatoes per plant too. I followed the harvest with a sweet corn. I contemplated a second potato planting but i think it will be too hot. I'm going to make a deep raised bed from pallets manure and straw out in a shady part of my homestead and try a few to see what happens. Hopefully that helps.

- Ross

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