Growing Potato

Solanum tuberosum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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

(Best months for growing Potato in New Zealand - cool/mountain 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 Feb 21, steve (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Can anyone recommend a good place to buy seed potatoes and seeds in general - prices seem to vary hugely
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28 Mar 21, Lyall (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I picked mine up from Mitre 10 Mega - they gave me an excellent harvest, but I don't recall the specific variety (there was more than one variety available).
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03 Feb 21, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Farming produce agencies sometimes have seed potatoes. Research the internet for seed selling companies, they have potatoes also. I have a small family seed seller who charges 1.25 to 2$ for small quantities of seed, other companies up to 3-4-5$
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04 Feb 21, steve (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
thanks
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04 Feb 21, Ruth (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
we have good results with seeds potatoes from taspotatoes.com.au and garden express!!
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26 Jan 21, krissy (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
HI I want to grow my own potatoes? which would be the best type to grow in queensland I want to do a NO dig potato bed.
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27 Jan 21, Anonymous (Australia - arid climate)
Pick the potato you want to grow and grow it. Different potatoes are better for different use in cooking.
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31 Dec 20, max (USA - Zone 5a climate)
Some gardeners keep stacking wood boxes and a light soil mix as the plants grow. It is said that potatoes will fill the whole stack of boxes. My attempts at this have failed. Can this approach be made to work?
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27 Mar 21, Sarah (USA - Zone 5b climate)
I tried the same last season and it didn't work for me either...kept hauling dirt and leaves uphill to potato tower with no results come harvest time. That was my first year growing potatoes. I just found out this morning that potatoes can be determinate or indeterminate. Determinate types supposedly have a smaller plant,, harvest earlier, and only grow in one layer thus do not require hilling(although they should be covered enough so roots don't show). I must have planted a determinate variety last year. because mine only grew in one layer. Check the variety you are planning to grow. I bought seed potatoes this year and am about to plant them. I have more confidence now that I know. what they are and how they behave!
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05 Jan 21, (USA - Zone 8b climate)
Do some research on the internet about how to do it. I wouldn't go more than about 50-60cm high, 20-24 inches. Soil would need to be fertile. Don't over water. Or just do it the normal way and hill the soil up as they grow.
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The handbook-which I provided the location to in my prior reply is not very beginner'ish but it is comprehensive covering issues you may never encounter- but you do need the reference material. I have a few thoughts to add. 1. Hilling up while the plant is growing-if you are covering leaves I find this fundamentally wrong. Leaves are specialized and designed to collect light, they are not roots. So I opt to plant my seed potatoes deep enough on day one- however I tend to have the luxury of very well airated, light soil. This means the seed potato has a steady air supply and can sense the heat from the sun even at deeper depths 2. Your seedpotatoes need all their potassium Immediately. Potatoes strangely take up all their potassium that they need really early. -and don't uptake more. If there is not enough potassium in the very early stages your potatoes might have hollow heart (looks like hollow rotting middles). Late application of potassium tends to be useless 3. Potatoes seem to respond really well to the addition of microryzal fungi - in my area we source that under pine trees in a forest- we just take some forest floor duff with a dust pan and add to the potatoe planting soil. To sum up - your seed Potatoes should be about the size of chicken eggs (if larger cut up ensuring an eye on each piece and allow a few days to heal/scab up before planting). You need to chit them(make them sprout-place in dark so they sprout). Plant in soil with Compost, a sorce of potassium and microryzal fungi. If for some reason you cannot source any compost/pottasium/microryzal fungi -plant anyhow potatoes are tough -there is still a good chance they will be Okay -depends on the condition of you soil. In my area I can water deeply once per week. Harvest when about half the leaves have fallen over as if to die. If you harvest sooner you may be compromising on size-because as long as those leaves can collect light they can store the energy in the tubers. Good luck - it is so much easier than it sounds- and all those diseases in the handbook are rare and if the plants are strong (well fed) they can manage just fine, potaoes are pretty tough root crop. In other words- you can grow potatoe.

- 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. GardenGrow 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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