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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03 Feb 13, Derek Cooper (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
I would be grateful if anyone could advise me as to a late planting variety of potatoe available in S.A. It appears that the variety favoured in the USA is Butte. Any advice would be most welcome
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27 Jan 13, Kevin (Australia - temperate climate)
Keep watering them as usual as the longer they grow the more and bigger tubers. Stop watering when the leaves start to die off and go yellow,. ( If you are anywhere near us in Qld you wont be waterinh for awhile)
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25 Jan 13, Donna (USA - Zone 8a climate)
Can sweet potatoes grow successfully in my area?
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21 Jan 13, (Australia - temperate climate)
growing i old tyres I have found to be excellent in small areas. Just add a tyre and soil as the shoot comes through and add soil. To dig all you do is kick the tyres over, take your harvest and save the soil and tyres for your next crop. Yummy spuds the easy way. Peter
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03 Jan 13, alan (Australia - arid climate)
do the plants need to flower to be able to crop ???? Adelaide aus
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07 Dec 12, Zoe (Australia - temperate climate)
My potato plants flowered then carried on growing, do I need to cut back watering so they die off or let them carry on growing? They were planted mid July. Cheers!
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06 Dec 12, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
thats good, dig a bit and see the size of potato might be too early still.
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03 Dec 12, mehmet kolgu (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi there I planted keflex potatoes early SEpt. they flowered now they are going yellow and dieing. How do I understand that, that's harvest time regards M
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22 Oct 12, Mlungisi (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
As from 2010 I have been planting potato seedlings in my backyard garden what I noticed is that they do not flower for pollination to take place but when I harvested them I got big quality tubers. The following year I planted the potato seeding in winter and they thrived well but the same thing of not flowering happened again and the harvest was good. This is surprising me really ,. What could be the reason for these potato plant not flowering but able to form tubers.
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19 Oct 12, Linda Heenan (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Are Agria seed potatoes available in Australia yet? If so, where can I buy some?
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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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