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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02 Dec 09, Graeme (Australia - temperate climate)
Mary, I'm growing potatoes for the first time this year and the heat knocked mine around as well. However, with plenty of watering and the cool change we've had this week, they have come back.
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26 Nov 09, adam synnott (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Teashy, potatoes often resprout after a shock like that, have faith, and they could be okay. In my climate, they often get frosted off completely, but then come back from the dead. Mary, potatoes have a really hard time in the tropics/sub tropics. I think there will be some years when there is just too much against them. This year seems to be a bit hotter than normal, so maybe they have a few too many bugs this year, combined with the unusual heat, it could just be a year to concentrate on other crops. If you plant them in the shade, they will do a lot better. It isn't too late to plant some fresh ones, and don't put them in direct sunlight. They are quite tenacious, and will grow in quite low light. The reason they didn't develop more taters is, as you rightly point out, that they just didn't have the time to grow to their full potential.
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26 Nov 09, Mary (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My potatoes were eaten by the big ladybirds and grasshoppers. The recent heat finished them off. I dug up some today and there was a small number of developed potatoes but not as many as there should be. Is this because they did not get to flower? I grew them in old plastic garbage bins and filled them with mulch as they grew. There was no potatoes until I dug down to the dirt so what is the point of "hilling" them?
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22 Nov 09, Teashy B (Australia - temperate climate)
I have had my potatoes in for maybe 6 weeks or a little bit more, due to the extremem heat we have been having the leaves have died very quickly and all I can see is the dirt underneath. Do I just leave them in and hope for the best or do I pull them up? Any comments or hints would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks
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21 Nov 09, emma (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I am growing potatoes in inner melbourne, in a tiny back yard plot. I planted farm potatoes from ballarat and they sprouted quickly and grew about four very healthy looking plants. I decided to stake them or at least support them and they grew to about 1.2m. I rarely remembered to build up the soil around the stalks. Now green caterpillars are decimating the plants and they are looking terrible. They haven't flowered. Should I leave them in or forget this crop and try again next year?
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19 Nov 09, Gwynneth Grogan (Australia - temperate climate)
Some of my potatoes have curly leaves and the actual potatoe is split, would this be the heat.
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09 Nov 09, pete (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
i grew potatoes this year. kipfer sebago and pontiac. i put heaps of compost into the garden and all my potatoes went really spindly and leggy they had plenty of sunlight and all the potatoes that i harvested were quite small, have i put too much compost/manures in my garden beds? everything else seems to be doing fine...
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08 Nov 09, cons (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Do the tubers grow along the stem or on the roots? A friend says hilling the plants is so that more tubers grow - is this right? How do I know when to lift them? Is it when thee flowers die down?
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09 Jul 10, Tassy Michele (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hiya Cons, The reason you hill-up potatoes is to cover any potatoes that are close to the surface, as these potaoes when exposed to the sun will go green. Green potatoes are inedible as they are poisonous. Cheers
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07 Nov 09, Aaron (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Ryan, A quick Google search returned this: Potatoes are ready for harvesting when the majority of the tops have withered. Early potatoes may be dug for table use at any time but for storage the potatoes should be fully mature. And Adrienne, Seed potatoes should be kept in a bright, warm position when trying to get them to shoot. Keeping potatoes cool and dark will keep them from shooting.
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It depends -- not all potatoes are suitable for towering (layering). Additionally, I have found that the potato plant SPENDS A LOT OF ENERGY GROWING UP, UP, UP, as you cover its leaves with soil (leaves have specialized cells designed to collect light - and why you would want to cover them with soil is beyond me this is not really a good move -- leaves are not roots). My recommendation is: if you have a DEEP PLANTER bag starting at about six inches from the bottom -- in sort of a pattern that looks like the 5 on a die (dice) -- make about 3-4 inch round holes -- and make them on the sides that receive light keeping the holes about 10 inches apart (6 inches away from the bottom and 10 inches away from the top of the bag). Fill the bag with a good soil/compost/manure mix of some kind -- starting from the bottom -- when you are level with a hole, place a seed potato there, level or slight below the bottom lip of the hole, and about 3 inches from the side of the bag (so there is soil between the potato and the hole) -- continue up until the bag is full -- the top layer of potatoes can be planted as usual. Yes, the soil will come out of the holes ... not to worry -- just be sure that the soil covers the topmost holes by at least 6-8inches. That is - each potato planted in the bag should have access to a WINDOW (air and light) OR those planted on the top layer (like a usual planting) should be down about 9 inches or so. The Key to this planting is ALL potatoes need to be able to put leaves somewhere -- they will follow the air and light to find that spot -- all potatoes need water -- so you will be watering from the top of the bag only (like a potted plant) -- but you water DEEPLY, since the water needs to make it to the very bottom potato plants -- so maybe you water every 5 days or so... depends on the soil, temperature, amount of light , amount of wind/air (which whisks moisture away), Additionally, ensure there is drainage at the bottom of the bag .... maybe a two inch hole directly at ground level. It might be better to use a crate of some kind.... rather than a bag...anyhow this set up will work with any kind of potato plant without consideration as to whether or not it can handle towering. Hope this helps. Conversion of inches to cm : 1 inch = 2.5cm

- Celeste Archer

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