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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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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12 Jul 20, Denese Schick (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Hi potato growers! i have been married for 18 years, and all that time i have searched for Red Dakota seed potatoes. i see a few people on here mention them. cant get them up north here. my elderly husband grew them for many years, and i would really love to grow them too. i grow Maori, red deseri, Concord, Dragar, and a few others. i have saved my own seed for nearly 25 years. and would love to grow this special red dakota, which he says are different from other spuds. thand in advance. i would be keen to deposit a few $ in exchange for just 3 or 4 seed in good condition. please be sure of your variety
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26 Jan 23, Hugh (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi - I believe Red Dakota is now on the u/a list. The last I ever bought/ate was in the 1980s, near Blenheim. A well-established market gardening family grew R-Ds, and I was forewarned by the senior man that they would be possibly the last I would get, as they were moving to more popular cultivars. R-Ds were notoriously difficult to clean properly for baking - all those craters - and peeling was a challenge, but they were ideal for roasting.
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13 Jul 20, (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Go on the internet and do some research. Look for small and large potato seed selling companies. I just looked at Morton Smith-Dawe but they don't have them, ring them and ask if they know of anyone growing them. Or ring the Potatoes New Zealand and ask.
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05 Mar 20, peter barker (New Zealand - temperate climate)
can i grow seed potatoes in pots from march in Taranaki
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08 Mar 20, ML (New Zealand - temperate climate)
It says to grow in the spring here. Also says that for sub- tropical Queensland Australia. They grow potatoes from April/May here. Give it a try then.
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31 Oct 19, Chris grey (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Can I plant seeded potatoes the week after Christmas for a winter crop? And also if yes what seed potato would be the best? We live in north Canterbury
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01 Nov 19, anon (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
First decide whether you are temperate or cool/mountain - look in the climate zone section. Then read up about the planting times. Then you decide what potatoes you are going to plant. That will depend on what is available in your area.
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29 Mar 19, Bruce Gillanders (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Which are the indeterminant varieties of potato.
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Showing 11 - 20 of 70 comments
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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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