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

22 Jun 21, Phindile (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Can I grow Potatoes In july? I live in the eastern cape province in south Africa
29 Jun 21, Anon (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
It says Sept to Nov for summer rainfall so probably best not plant now.
17 Jun 21, Mathi (USA - Zone 7b climate)
I Live in Zone 7b, Can i Plant potato now? Instead of seeds, I am planning to start with sprouted one from kitchen. Thanks in advance
09 Aug 21, Anon (USA - Zone 7b climate)
It suggests you plant Mar April. You grow potatoes from potatoes not seeds.
04 Dec 21, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Most people grow potatoes from “seed potatoes”. Some people chose to grow their potatoes from actual seeds – think tomato seed. These seeds are called “True potato seeds”. The reasons to grow potatoes from TPS are numerous. The main reasons tend to be: more variety, and cultivating a variety that is well suited to your conditions. When the intent is to cultivate a variety well suited to your taste and growing conditions you generally purchase a package of say Andean TPS. This package will contain MANY different kinds of potatoes: flesh and skin colours. It will also contain short day, day neutral and long day potatoes; their ideal climates may differ. The idea is to grow as many of the potatoes as you can first year; some will grow well, some will not grow, some will grow poorly and some might just LOVE your place. Some will set a lot of potatoes, and some will set fewer; the idea is to find the potato/potato plant you like best – then save those potatoes to use as seed potatoes next year. In the first year you really don’t expect to have eating potatoes – it’s a year to find your potato variety. When growing from TPS you start the seeds early indoors, like you might do for tomatoes. Then transplant outdoors at the appropriate time.
12 Dec 21, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
When looking at your growing seeds/plants this may help you figure out what is going on: Analyze the flower: Anther can be Red, blue or yellow/white. For Red or Blue Anthers: Red Anther, red skinned potato. Blue Anther, blue skin. The petals of the flower tell you the flesh colour: Red petals, red flesh, blue petals indicate blue flesh, yellow/white petals indicate yellow or white flesh For Yellow/white Anthers: you have yellow white flesh and the petal tell you the skin colour. It should be noted that red is actually more like magenta, and blue is more like lavender or violet; the experts call them red or blue; because your looking for the presence of red or blue which will indicate the presence of red or blue in the tuber. Also saturation of the colour varies from light speckling to deep saturation.
31 Mar 21, Denise (Australia - tropical climate)
I live in tropical region in Darwin & would like to plant the sebago potatoes in breathable cloth grow bags. Do I plant starting at the bottom or just plant on top? Medium will be potting mix & permits.
12 Dec 21, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Sorry for the late post -- I think I have the information you are looking for. First NOT ALL potatoes are suited for "tower" growth. So the first question would be how deep are your bags; if the bags are deep enough to be considered a tower, then you need to cross check this with the variety of potato you are growing. Second: when you plant a piece of potato (seed potato) this is your LOWEST POINT. Generally, a potato plant will not produce/store and tubers (potatoes) BELOW the level of the seed potato. This is why people plant the seed potatoes, wait for the green leaves to come up, and mound soil, always leaving enough leaves sticking out to collect light. You'll also note at harvest, that the lowest potato seems to have rotted; this was your seed potato that grew the plant. We plant the seed potato shallow, so the leaves get to the sun sooner/easier and start collecting light; then we mound the soil so there is room for the potato plant to set its tubers (potatoes) -- this means, that you plant you seed potatoes at the bottom of the sack, covering them with several inches of soil, and as the potato plant grows, you add soil.... always try to leave plenty of leaves sticking out of the soil so the plant can collect sun. Hope this help. From the Eagle Creek site (about their tower potato mix): Not all types of potatoes are suited for container growing, typically fingerling and late season varieties yield best. Bellanita, Bintje, Amarosa & German Butterball are the 4 varieties in this package.
06 Apr 21, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You plant near the bottom and add more soil as they grow. There is more information on the internet about growing them this way.
10 Mar 21, Heather Warren (USA - Zone 8b climate)
I live in Squamish, BC. (Zone 8b). When can I start putting potatoes in buckets? :) (Gardenate: Try here /www.gardenate.com/plant/Potato?zone=12 )
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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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