Growing guide

How to Grow Potatoes

Hill them up and harvest a hidden treasure — a satisfying, high-yield staple.

The basics

What potatoes need

• Sun — Full sun
• Water — 1–2 inches per week, consistent while tubers form
• Harvest in 70–120 days
• Difficulty — Easy

When to plant

Time it from your frost date

• Start indoors: No (chit/pre-sprout indoors first)
• Transplant: Plant seed-potato pieces directly
• Direct sow: 2 weeks before last frost
• Best in Zones 3–10

How to plant

Three steps to a strong start

• 1. Cut seed potatoes so each piece has 1–2 eyes; let cut surfaces dry a day.
• 2. Plant pieces 4 in deep, eyes up, 12 in apart, after the worst frost has passed.
• 3. As stems grow, hill soil or mulch over them, leaving the top leaves exposed.

Common problem

Green tubers

Exposure to light makes them green and mildly toxic — hill soil over developing tubers.

Common problem

Scab (rough patches)

Worse in alkaline soil — keep pH slightly acidic and soil evenly moist.

Harvest

Picking potatoes right

Dig “new” potatoes a couple of weeks after flowering for thin-skinned treats. For storage, wait until the foliage dies back, then cure the tubers in the dark for 1–2 weeks.

Gardeners ask

Why hill potatoes?

Mounding soil over the stems protects tubers from light (which turns them green and toxic) and gives them more room to form, boosting yield.

Keep growing

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