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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28 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
The quantity of seed you would need depends on a number of things - how wide the rows are, how good the soil is, how you are going to cultivate them, etc. As a guide you would need 5-800 kg/acre. I would suggest you contact your local Primary Industries or Agriculture Department for a more accurate quantity. They will know your area and often have charts allowing for different row widths and planting densities to calculate quantities. Happy spud growing!
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26 Feb 17, Lorna Carter (New Zealand - temperate climate)
End of February can I plant potatos now? Position not a lot of sun and no frosts
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26 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
If you've not got anything else to plant give them a go. I have grown potatoes on the east side of the house which is shaded by flats next door first off then the house after midday. You're not likely to get the yield that you would with a spring-planted crop but any potato is better than no potato! Trust this helps.
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22 Feb 17, kishore (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi I live in Australia-Sydney. I want to grow second crop of potatoes. How can I do that and where can I get the seed potatoes for second crop during Dec-January? Thanks
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23 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
You could certainly grow another crop of potatoes in Sydney. Unless you were a commercial grower it would be difficult to find'certified' seed potatoes at this time of the year. You could plant small potatoes from a shop. Leave them on a bench and let the 'eyes' start to sprout before planting. Do not plant them in the same spot you have just grown tomatoes, capsicums or potatoes as you don't want or need soil-born viruses transmitted.. 'Certified' seed potatoes are grown in tested, virus-free soil before being packaged and sold. 'New' potatoes can be harvested about a month after flowering and 'old' potatoes when the tops die off. All the best.
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17 Feb 17, David Reade (New Zealand - temperate climate)
If I planted seed potatoes now (Feb 17) is there any chance I'd get a crop before winter sets in?
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18 Feb 17, John Mauger (Australia - temperate climate)
Potatoes need about 3 months to harvest from planting for 'new' potatoes. That is about a month after flowering. If you can get 3 months before frosts give it a go or plant them in a frost-protected area. New potatoes are delicious but won't store like Old potatoes which are harvested after the tops die off. Trust this helps.
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20 Jan 17, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Thank you Sandra re my question as to whether seed potatoes can still be planted in January where I live in the Dandenong Ranges Melbourne. I will give it a go then if you have successfully planted for three years. Happy Gardening. Heather.
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09 Jan 17, heather (Australia - temperate climate)
Could you kindly please advise me if seed potatoes can be planted up until the end of January, I know they recommend from August when danger of frost has passed but unsure whether January is still suitable. I thank you for your reply.
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17 Jan 17, sandra (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Heather, I am still planting and growing seed potatoes in the Adelaide hills. Growth atm is rampant, and yes I have bandicooted a few little ones also. I just plant in a 2 metre square, and cover with soil, throw what seedless weeds I have into the plot and then cover again with soil and straw. Not had a problem yet with January being too late in the year and been growing them like this for 3 years.
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Showing 411 - 420 of 833 comments
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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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