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 - temperate 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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03 Dec 12, mehmet kolgu (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi there I planted keflex potatoes early SEpt. they flowered now they are going yellow and dieing. How do I understand that, that's harvest time regards M
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19 Oct 12, Linda Heenan (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Are Agria seed potatoes available in Australia yet? If so, where can I buy some?
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05 Oct 12, mehmet kolgu (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi; Do I need to use mulch over the potatoes, at Sydney area. cheers M
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02 Oct 12, MattyJ (Australia - temperate climate)
Quite a lot of people eat raw potato (me included) - and i have been advised by doctors that its quite healthy to do so
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26 Mar 13, Ido (Australia - temperate climate)
Matty, It is not healthy to eat row potato, row eggplant, green tomato, green capsicum, as they all belong to the Solanum family and contain Solanum which is a poison. The heat of cooking, frying, etc. destroys part of the Solanum poison (as it destroys, also, part of the good staff in the food ) and makes the food more healthy. When the tomato and capsicum are red, they are ripe and contain less Solanum and in this stage they are more healthy to be eaten. The seeds of row capsicum, row tomato, row eggplant contain a higher concentration of Solanum and are less healthy to eat. The doctors are right when they recommend to eat row food but this advice is not applies to food items which contain some poison. Ido.
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01 Oct 12, peter dell (Australia - temperate climate)
I live in Sydney in the west. Is it ok to plant potatoes now?
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02 Oct 12, tigger (Australia - temperate climate)
yes
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04 Sep 12, Greg (Australia - temperate climate)
How much time between planting seperate potato crops to give a constant supply over a 6 month period .
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24 Jul 12, Catherine (Australia - tropical climate)
I would like to grow potatoes in Tropical North Qld. Is there any sort that will grow up here (apart from sweet potatoes etc)
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23 Jul 12, wayne (Australia - temperate climate)
I wish to plant potatoes but want to spread the time that the crop will mature. Can any one suggest some varieties to use. my space for this is approx 1.5m by 10m. this is a no dig style cause im lazy :-)
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Hi fellow spudsters, I grew my first crop of potatoes last year. I had two lots; some I grew in hessian sacks and some I planted in the ground in a patch of soil/horse manure/compost mix. The sacks I kept topping up with a mix of potting mix/horse manure and staw - each time the stalks grew up I covered them. The spuds in the ground I more of less just left, every now and then I covered them with an extra bit of straw. Into both lots I shook some vegetable fertilizer specific for potatoes (can't remember what it was called but it look a bit like big white salt crystals). Both ways of growing were very very successful - very many spuds and very very yummo! I had about four or five different types of spuds and pulling them up was a great surprise because I just bunged them all in together and have no idea which was which but they were all really really lovely. Genuinely better than any I have every bought from a shop. I guess the ones in the shop must be stored for quite a while. I harveted that lot in March this year. The bags seemed to be a lot of work though, so this year I have planted spuds (a month ago - 20 September) in the vegie patch (mix of vegie potting mix, manure - sheep pooh I think and lucerne mulch) and covered them with pea straw. As they sprout all I plan to do is throw a bit of potato fertilizer about and cover the green parts with straw as they grow. These ones I have actually marked which is which. Lessens the surprise I guess but will be fun knowing which one I am eating.

- Mary

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