How To Grow Potatoes

Learning how to grow potatoes is so easy to do. With just a few simple steps you and your family can enjoy your own homegrown potatoes.

I used to be intimidated by potatoes in the garden. For some reason I thought that growing them in the garden was just too complicated.

This all changed a few years ago when I decided to pick up one small bag of seed potatoes and try it.

I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was and my only regret was that I didn’t plant more that year.

What I did discover that year was how fun it was to harvest them and of course how delicious they are when they are grown right in your backyard.

If you haven’t tried growing your own, I hope you give it a try this year and enjoy the process as much as I do!

When To Plant

Potatoes can be planted as soon as your soil can be worked in early spring. You can also know that it is the right time to plant if you see dandelions growing in your yard.

However once your plants start growing leaves, they should be covered if you get a frost.

What To Plant

When planting potatoes, it is best to start with certified seed potatoes. You can find these at various home and garden stores or you can order them online at many of your favorite seed companies.

If you are in a pinch and you can’t find seed potatoes, you can use some from the grocery store. I would recommend using organic since potatoes at the grocery store may be treated with sprout inhibitors.

Overall it is best to use seed potatoes when possible. This also gives you the opportunity to grow a number of varieties that you can’t typically find in your local grocery store. You will usually find the more uncommon varieties at your favorite online seed companies rather than the home and garden stores.

Preparing For Planting

Before planting your seed potatoes, you want to prepare them for planting.

The first thing to do is check for eyes on all of your seed potatoes. If they don’t have any eyes or haven’t sprouted yet, place them in a bright room in your house for about a week.

Once your seed potatoes have sprouted, you can cut the larger ones into smaller pieces. If they are about the size of a golf ball, they can be planted whole. If they are larger, cut them into smaller pieces about the size of a golf ball. Each piece should have at least 2 eyes or sprouts on it.

Once you have cut your seed potatoes into smaller pieces, they should be set out with the cut side up for a day or two. This allows the cut side to heal. This helps to avoid rotting in the soil.

Planting Potatoes

To plant your potatoes, dig a trench about 8-10 inches deep. Each trench should be about 2 feet apart.

It is a good idea to add some compost to the bottom of each trench and mix it into the soil.

Place the the seed potato so that the eyes are facing up and the cut side is facing down. Space them about 1-2 feet apart along the bottom of each trench.

Cover each seed potato with about 3-4 inches of soil. In a few weeks, the plant will start to appear above the soil. When this happens, add another 3-4 inches of soil. As the plant continues to grow, you will continue this process a few more times. You will continue until the trenches are completely filled in and there is a small mound of dirt around each plant.

Harvesting

Once you see flowers, you can start to harvest new potatoes. However, you don’t want to harvest all of your potatoes when you see the flowers.

The potatoes are fully mature and ready to harvest once all of the leaves have completely died back. If you are planning on storing them, it is a good idea to leave them in the ground for 2-3 weeks after the leaves have died back. This helps the skins to be less fragile which allows for better storage.

I typically will dig up one plant at a time and use them as needed until I am ready to harvest all of them.

Curing Potatoes

If you are planning on storing your potatoes you want to cure them in order to increase their storage life. Brush off any large pieces of dirt on the potatoes, but don’t clean them with water. Next, spread them out in a cool, dark place and let them sit for about two weeks.

When I cure my potatoes I set up some folding tables in my basement, cover them in newspaper, and spread the potatoes out on the newspaper making sure that they are not touching.

Storing

Potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark place like a basement or root cellar. They should be stored in something that provides ventilation.

I store mine in milk crates and I cover them with an old towel to keep the light out.

Can You Succession Plant Potatoes?

Succession planting is planting the same crop every couple of weeks for a continual harvest.

You can succession plant potatoes. This is a great idea for planting, especially if you want to store your potatoes.

Most potatoes will be ready for harvest in about 120 days or less. That means that you can continue to plant potatoes through late spring or early summer depending on where you live.

My first frost date in my area is around October 15th. So I need to allow about 120 growing days depending on the variety I plant, plus an additional two weeks to leave them in the ground after the leaves die back.

That means that I can plant potatoes all the way through the end of May in my area. I can start planting them in a cold frame at the end of March in my area. So if I plant some at the end of March, I can plant two more succession crops. One at the end of April and one at the end of May.