How To Grow Potatoes for a Huge Harvest of Tasty Taters – Complete Guide to Planting, Caring & Harvesting

Potatoes are an incredibly versatile root crop. There are 5,000 different cultivars of potato plants to choose from in an array of colors, sizes, and tastes. With so many options available and their versatility in the kitchen, it's no wonder why growing potatoes is popular for many home gardeners.

Learning how to grow potatoes isn't hard, in fact, it is a fun activity for gardeners of all ages to try. But in order to get a big harvest of these delicious root vegetables, you have to provide potatoes with the specific care needs they require. Luckily, that's easy to do.

If you’re interested in planting potatoes in your vegetable garden, our team of plant experts has you covered. Just follow the care guidelines below to grow huge harvest of tasty taters!

Quick Potato Facts

How to Plant Potatoes

Potatoes are a cool weather crop. They are also one of the most important staple crops in the world. But they rely on specific light, water, temperature, soil, and fertility requirements along with attention to pests and diseases to produce a healthy crop.

Soil Requirements

Potatoes need well-draining soil, preferably a bit sandy. Soil that doesn't drain well can cause tubers to rot and ruin your whole crop. If you have a heavy clay soil in your garden, you may be better off growing potatoes in containers, like potato grow bags, to prevent issues.

Potatoes prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6-6.5. Acidic soil helps prevent potato scab on tubers. But they can tolerate a soil pH as low as 5.

Potatoes also need rich, fertile soil because they are heavy feeders. Mix compost into your soil before planting to ensure your potatoes get the nutrients they need to produce tons of edible tubers.

Light Requirements

Potatoes are sun lovers and should be grown in full sun. That said, in hotter climates, the hot afternoon sun can cause leaf scald while in areas with poor sun exposure, the plants will likely be lanky and spindly.

Temperature & Humidity

Potatoes are a cool season crop and thrive in temperatures between 65-80°F (18-27°C) during the day and around 55-65°F (13-18°C) at night.

Although they can handle short spurts of overly humid weather, it is not a necessity for potatoes. That said, somewhere within the range of 60-80% relative humidity will keep your potatoes happy.

Planting

Soil temperature should be at least 55°F (13°C) during the day and 45°F (7°C) at night before planting seed potatoes. If the soil is too wet and cold, sprouting will be delayed and seed pieces may rot.

Potato seed bed preparation is important before planting potatoes as well. Space pieces 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) apart and 4 inches (10 cm) deep in rows that are 30-36 inches (76-91 cm) apart. Smaller fingerling potatoes can be spaced closer together, about 8 inches (20 cm) apart.

Care

After planting, potatoes will begin to produce new tubers underground and lots of leafy foliage above the surface of the soil. Here's how to care for potato plants to ensure they grow tons of tasty tubers for your to harvest.

Watering

Potatoes thrive in consistently moist soil, but there can be too much of a good thing. Overly wet soil can lead to rot, so there is a fine line between too much and not enough when it comes to watering potatoes.

In general, depending upon the weather, potato plants need 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week to produce healthy tubers. Mulch around plants to help retain moisture and cut down on the need for watering as well as prevent underwatering.

Fertilizing

Potatoes have a shallow root system which means they tend to like more fertilizer than other crop types. Start feeding your potatoes at the beginning by incorporating some well-aged compost into their planting hole. A soil test will help you figure out when and how much fertilizer to apply thereafter.

In lieu of a soil test, use a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb (454 g) per 10 row feet before planting and mixed into the soil. Then sidedress at the rate of 5 lbs (2.7 kg) per 10 row feet a week after emergence and water into the soil. Finally, side dress another 5 lbs (2.7 kg) per 10 row feet 4-6 weeks after emergence and water in.

Mulching & Hilling

Hill potatoes by adding 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) of soil or compost around the top of the plant when the tubers begin to emerge from the soil. This is to ensure that light does not cause tuber greening.

Mulch around the plants with wood chips or straw to retain moisture, block light and slow down weeds. Keep an eye on the hills and add more soil, compost, or organic mulch as needed to keep the emerging potatoes covered.

Harvesting

Early potatoes are ready to harvest in about 10-12 weeks as early as mid-June while larger spuds are ready from late August to October.

Harvest potatoes when their vines die back and lose their color. Use a potato fork to gently lift the tubers from the ground or remove the entire plant and harvest the tubers.

You can eat them right away or cure them for prolonged storage. Use or dispose of any damaged spuds immediately. If you want to store your potatoes for later, lay the tubers out in a single layer in a warm, dark, aerated area for about 10 days.

Brush any dirt off the tubers, don’t wash them, before storing. Store your potatoes in a dark, cool, area of about 32-40°F (0-4°C) with a 95% relative humidity. This curing process allows the skins to set and any minor wounds to heal over. If you plan on frying your spuds, store them at a warmer 40-50°F (4-10°C).

Potato Varieties

There are many varieties of potatoes. The kind you grow should reflect your particular climate and garden as well as your personal taste. Different varieties are better suited to certain culinary purposes than others.

Here are a few of the most common potatoes that gardeners grow, though there are many more unique potato varieties and heirloom potatoes to try as well.

• Russet potatoes are the classic variety you probably think of when you hear the word potato. They are great for baking, frying, or mashing! You can get Russet seed potatoes from Walmart.
• 'Yukon Gold' is a delicious potato with creamy yellow flesh. They are my favorite type to cook with, especially for mashed potatoes. Get Yukon Gold seed potatoes from Burpee.
• 'Red Pontiac' is a very popular choice, if you want to grow red potatoes in your garden. They are flavorful and make great new potatoes. You can get Red Pontiac seed potatoes at the Home Depot.

Common Problems

There are many pests, diseases, and disorders that may afflict potatoes. Healthy spuds are less likely to be susceptible to common potato problems.

Pests like aphids, Colorado beetles, and flea beetles to name a few are known to inflict damage on potato crops.

Diseases, usually fungal like early or late blight also may be an issue with potato production. These can be treated with fungicides but are best avoided by using disease resistant or free seeds, maintaining good fertility and proper irrigation techniques.

Disorders such as tuber greening is the result of light exposure on spuds. Keep the tubers covered with soil in the garden and store the potatoes in a cool, dark area after harvest.

Irregularly shaped tubers or those with dry, cracked skins are the result of fluctuating irrigation. Mulch around the plants to retain moisture.

Growing Potatoes in Containers

Potatoes grow well in containers. A potato container can be a pot or a bucket or a grow bag, like these one from Amazon. Use 2-3 seed potatoes per 5-gallon bucket. Grow them as you would in the ground, paying careful attention to add soil as tubers emerge to keep them covered up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Potato Growing Essentials