Growing Potato

Solanum tuberosum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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

(Best months for growing Potato in Australia - sub-tropical 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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02 Jan 14, kagiso (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
how do i get potatoe farms to supply me in south africa and how do i grow my own and get land
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31 Dec 13, jeremiah masomera (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Hie. What's the general fungicide application frequency that is recommended during the course of growing potatoes. Is there a sort of timetable to be followed?
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16 Dec 13, albany (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
What deseases are associated with potatoes and what are the remedies? From Swaziland highveld region.
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21 Nov 13, Peter Bean (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
What, Why, How are green potatoes poisonous? If the plants have died off and the potaoes are not harvested. What will happen to the tubers
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23 Jan 14, Kit (USA - Zone 4a climate)
Green ends are not good and shouldn't be eaten. It means the potato has been exposed to the sun and light too much. It can be cut off though,
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14 Nov 13, Fred (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
I may be wrong but I took it to mean that planting potatoes in tyres opened up vulnerability to you consuming the absorbed heavy metals which the tyres are said to leach, or release into the soil. I hope this gives help, even if only an alternative perception.
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25 Sep 13, Joerg (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Hi Potaoeplanters! I live in North East Namibia and here the potatoe supply by the two supermarkets is very poor. Could someone maybe give me an advise where i could order which seedlings for this area? Thank you for your time and effort Cheers Joerg
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27 Jan 14, sue (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
livingseeds to buy potatoes. Find them on the internet
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07 Jan 14, penelope (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
you can get seed potatoes by mail from www.livingseeds.co.za , hope this helps!
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03 May 13, Tessa (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
In SA it is quite common for people to grow vegetables in old tyres. This would also work really well with potatoes because you can just tip them over and harvest the potatoes very easily. I know this article say you shouldn't, but has anyone tried?
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Showing 101 - 110 of 113 comments
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This is my second year at growing potatoes near Kalgoorlie. Although it gets hot quickly as long as you keep the water up to them they seem to thrive. All I added last year was some blood and bone and a bit of hay for mounding them up. I've got heavy red loam ground here and the first year I grew enormous potatoes but many were derformed from the rocks in the ground. This year I decided to build a raised bed and use a mix of the red loam, potting compost and hay. I didnt plant till late September because of late frosts but already plants are really high and flowering. Unfortunately I didnt keep up with mounding them up as quickly as I should have and maybe they will not produce as many spuds because of this. I have read that you have to keep mounding them so that only one inch of stem is out of the ground. If the main stem becomes too long and exposed to the sun it no longer grows side shoots and spuds - is this true?

- Jan

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