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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23 Jan 18, yabbay hahn , epping nsw, (Australia - temperate climate)
in my little plot, soil is clay, hard as rock,,SEP2017 turnd it over 10cm, coverd it with lawn cuttings, from old compost, waterd it daily 1 week, turned soil over again,coverd patch ,,1 inch of cuttings,, layd old potatoes on the surface, coverd them with a few inches of grass cuttings, a quick water in morning, and at sunset, just enough to wet the grass cuttings,.. each week, or when ever I mow lawn, the cuttings go on the patch, .the foliage is large, beautiful flowers, have been picking since dec,, its a personal choice, I love them just bigger than a golf ball, , wait for a hot dry day,, let them lay in sun all day, bring them in before night,
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23 Jan 18, Clark (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I have had potatoes in the garden for a few years now. They just seem to be growing wild in the garden. Actually they are running amok. I was just thinking of turning the crop over and starting again with manure and mulch. Should I actually dig all the crop up and replant in an organized fashion or is it OK to just plant and harvest and enjoy nearly all year round.
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26 Jan 18, Mike (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Only you can decide that. Potatoes grow then the plant dies - why don't you dig the potatoes up then - that is the normal practice..
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21 Jan 18, Lorna Findlay (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I would like to grow potatoes in bags and i dont know if its too late in Bombala nsw? Its late january
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22 Jan 18, Mike (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
By this website you are a little late. Give it a go and see what happens.
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11 Jan 18, Kaye (Australia - tropical climate)
We live in Townsville and are wondering if we can grow potatoes here and if so when is the best time to plant them and also are they best grown in the ground or pots??
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17 Jan 18, Mike (Australia - tropical climate)
It suggests planting April/May here. I would suggest after the chance of cyclones - heavy rain. Plant in a raised ground so that the soil drains freely. You want the soil to be wettish but not water logged. Easier to care for when in the soil. In a pot you would have to be on the ball with the watering.
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09 Jan 18, Michelle Whyte (Australia - temperate climate)
Going to plant potatoes in the pig paddock ( when the pigs have gone ) will their manure be too strong and can we put in old dried animal manure with them. We are down near the sea in the lower south east of SA. We have a red/black loam soil. When should we start planting?? Thank you
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10 Jan 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It would depend on how freshish the manure is in the soil after you take the pig/s out. Fresh manure has nitrogen - old dried out manure has very little. Old manure is more a soil conditioner. If you had looked at the guide here for growing potatoes - temperate climate - Plant Aug to Oct. You may be able to grow a crop from April/May. Read up about growing them.
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17 Dec 17, Kym (Australia - temperate climate)
I live in a very cool part of the Barossa Valley where the growing cycle is out by 4 weeks so what would be the best time for me to grow tatties?
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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. 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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