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

11 Sep 14, Jean Bittkau (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
You can cut off a piece of potato with 2 eyes . Let the cut dry out for a day or two. This helps seal in moisture and prevents rot setting in.
05 Aug 14, MBUSO (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Hi can you please assist i have 1.5 hectors which i want to plant potatoes in the rural areas of White River Mpumalanga. i want to know is it a good place for potatoes or not? Water is also not enough in the place. Where can i buy seed that will adapt to my place conditions.
04 Aug 14, (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
what is the best way to control potato disease,weeds etc?
26 Jul 14, Victor (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
I have been growing my own potatoes,for house use,successfully for a couple of years.Never realy got nice big tubers but they where eatable.
19 Jul 14, Vincent (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I have never planted potatoes before. do you have any places for workshops in Gauteng?
01 Jul 14, (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Is it possible to grow potatoes relying on rainfall
19 May 14, leseli (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Dear Sir/Madam I'm leseli like to plant potatoes in August 2014 im in Matatiele Next to Kokstard in Estern Cape What i really need on is all the tips that u can give me is my first time to plant potatoes and im willing to make it. where to get the right seed my ph on the siol must be.
11 May 14, mapula (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
hi lydia I am Mapula in limpopo want to plant potatoes.Were can i buy potato seedsin limpopo or gauteng. thanks
04 Mar 14, kenneth Ntshingila (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
have 3hactors land,good deep soil available for potatoe planting.can get 3000 litre of water per hour is the water enough .What is the best seed to plant in Randfontein area
26 Jan 14, Siya (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Can i plant potatoes in late january in pietermaritzburg
Showing 91 - 100 of 114 comments

Technically you don't HAVE TO HILL any variety of potatoes. Here's how it works: you plant the seed potato (which is an extra small potato saved/stored from last year's harvest -- or a piece of a larger potato that you stored/saved from last year) -- the DEPTH THAT you PLANT that SEED POTATO determines your LOWEST POINT -- GENERALLY, and I do mean GENERALLY (like 95% of the potatoes) the potato plant will not create tubers LOWER than the depth you planted the seed potato at (so your seed potato is the BOTTOM of the plants tubers/potatoes). Which is why some people think the very bottom potato always rots, when in reality it is the seed potato and is expected to grow and will appear rotten. Which means if you don't hill up as your potato plant grows and you planted the seed potato shallow, there is not that much ROOM for the potato plant to put it's tubers, and larger tubers will usually "pop" out of the soil and turn green due to sun exposure. If you don't want to hill up, plant your seed potato deeper than recommended -- yes it will be fine -- the reason you plant shallow and mound up is because the potato plant will be able to get leaves into the sun sooner if it's seed potato was planted shallow, which means it will grow quicker because it is collecting light sooner -- then you mound up to offset that you planted the seed potato shallow, but you always leave lots of leaves exposed to the sun so the plant can collect sun and grow. It's a lot of extra work work to mound up soil-- and maybe speeds up the process "brings in the harvest" by 10 days or so.... My experience is planting seed potatoes a foot deep ((30cm) is fine -- yes the plant takes a little longer for it's leaves to surface -- but it's fine and you should not experience any problems - provided the soil is nice and loose. (hopefully that makes senses). I think in the future I will plant two potatoes side by side -- one deep, one using the mound method and record the progress and final outcomes... I have never done a tandem planting -- BUT I HAVE had potatoes spring up from deep down Once as I dug out one of these "self planted potatoes" I realized it was down about 30" (70cm) -- it was in a potato planting tower (old full size garbage can full of 3" holes all over) which I dumped and collect the potatoes from the year before, then just put the soil back, week by week, as I composted kitchen scraps directly into the soil... so no surprise that a potato was so deep -- it grew -- it put out potatoes and it's crop was average good... it spent a lot of energy growing up -- and perhaps I harvested too early based on the other potatoes-- but it made it and did OK, good size potatoes, good quantity. I would not recommend placing your seed potatoes that deep, but a foot (30cm) should be fine.

- Celeste Archer

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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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