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 10°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 30 - 40 cm 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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The handbook-which I provided the location to in my prior reply is not very beginner'ish but it is comprehensive covering issues you may never encounter- but you do need the reference material. I have a few thoughts to add. 1. Hilling up while the plant is growing-if you are covering leaves I find this fundamentally wrong. Leaves are specialized and designed to collect light, they are not roots. So I opt to plant my seed potatoes deep enough on day one- however I tend to have the luxury of very well airated, light soil. This means the seed potato has a steady air supply and can sense the heat from the sun even at deeper depths 2. Your seedpotatoes need all their potassium Immediately. Potatoes strangely take up all their potassium that they need really early. -and don't uptake more. If there is not enough potassium in the very early stages your potatoes might have hollow heart (looks like hollow rotting middles). Late application of potassium tends to be useless 3. Potatoes seem to respond really well to the addition of microryzal fungi - in my area we source that under pine trees in a forest- we just take some forest floor duff with a dust pan and add to the potatoe planting soil. To sum up - your seed Potatoes should be about the size of chicken eggs (if larger cut up ensuring an eye on each piece and allow a few days to heal/scab up before planting). You need to chit them(make them sprout-place in dark so they sprout). Plant in soil with Compost, a sorce of potassium and microryzal fungi. If for some reason you cannot source any compost/pottasium/microryzal fungi -plant anyhow potatoes are tough -there is still a good chance they will be Okay -depends on the condition of you soil. In my area I can water deeply once per week. Harvest when about half the leaves have fallen over as if to die. If you harvest sooner you may be compromising on size-because as long as those leaves can collect light they can store the energy in the tubers. Good luck - it is so much easier than it sounds- and all those diseases in the handbook are rare and if the plants are strong (well fed) they can manage just fine, potaoes are pretty tough root crop. In other words- you can grow potatoe.

- Celeste Archer

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