How to Plant Potatoes

Aug 27

Potatoes are one of the easier crops to grow at home. They don’t call them a pioneer crop for nothing. Heck, Ruth Stout just tosses potatoes on the ground and covers them with straw and they grow.

But despite all that, there are some tricks I’ve learned over the years to grow more and larger tubers. Many of them begin with planting. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how I plant potatoes from start to finish.

When to Plant Potatoes

Here in Southern California, I find that potatoes have two growing seasons. I plant spring potatoes in February for a harvest in late May or early June. I also plant potatoes in late August or early September for a harvest at the end of December.

To determine when to plant potatoes, consider your soil temperatures. Potatoes have the most active root development when soil temperatures are between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, but they will grow between 50 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

You also need enough days to grow potatoes without freezing temperatures. Potato stems are very sensitive to freezing and if the stems die, you won’t be growing any roots either (you know, the part that you eat).

There are 3 different types of potatoes.

Early Season

Early-season potatoes like Norland and Butte take 75-90 days to mature. So make sure that you have at least that many days before your first frost date and that your soil is at least 50F before planting. These are also called first earlies.

Mid-Season

Mid-season potatoes like Fingerlings, Red Pontiac, and Yukon Gold take 95-100 days to reach maturity. Plan at least that many days to grow before the first frost date and that your soil is between 50 and 95 Fahrenheit. These may also be called second earlies.

Late-Season

Late-season potatoes, or maincrops, such as Kennebec take the longest to mature. These potato varieties will take 120-135 days to reach maturity, so plan accordingly.

Depending on where you live, you may not be able to grow all types of potatoes because of growing time and soil temperature requirements. However, even if the potatoes don’t reach full maturity and size, you can harvest them early for new potatoes.

Just keep in mind that new potatoes don’t store well, so you want to eat them as soon as possible.

Determine the Type of Potatoes to Plant

At the grocery store, you’re lucky to find 5 varieties of potatoes on the shelves throughout the year. However, over 100 varieties are grown in the US, and many more worldwide.

Aside from choosing an early-season, mid-season, or late-season potato based on your growing timeline, you should also consider what you wish to use the potato for.

Russet potatoes are great for mashed potatoes. Yellow potatoes don’t break down like others and hold their shape for grilling, roasting, or frying. Red potatoes are best for stews or potato salad. Fingerling potatoes are wonderful when roasted with herbs in the oven.

I choose potatoes for my garden based on what I typically use them for and my growing season. If I was late getting around to planting potatoes, I chose an early-season variety. As I write this now, it’s August in Southern California and I have about 120 days still of optimal growing temperatures, so I’m doing a little bit of everything.

Seed Potatoes vs. Store-Bought Potatoes

Everyone says you should buy seed potatoes, which can be purchased from a local nursery. The problem I’ve always had with this is that the best time to plant potatoes never seems to line up with when nurseries have stock of seed potatoes.

For example, here in Southern California, I’ve found the best time to plant potatoes is in late August and again in February. I can never find seed potatoes in August and I can’t find seed potatoes for spring until March. I’ve also found ordering online to be just as challenging.

So for many years, I’ve turned to planting plain old Trader Joe’s organic potatoes in my garden. I have never had a problem growing potatoes from store-bought ones as long as I use organic. The non-organic ones are often treated with a chemical that prevents them from sprouting.

I’ve found three big differences between seed potatoes and store-bought ones.

First, seed potatoes are certified to be free of disease. Grocery store potatoes are not, although I’ve never had a problem with growing plants from store-bought ones (fingers crossed).

Second, there is so much more variety if you can use seed potatoes. Grocers usually only stock a select few mainstream potatoes. But there are some really tasty ones that you can only get by growing them yourself. One of my personal favorites is the Russian Fingerling Potatoes, also known as banana potatoes.

Third, if you’re on a budget, seed potatoes are much more expensive. For example, I bought a 5lb bag of organic Yukon gold potatoes for around $5 at Trader Joe’s. That same 5lb bag of seed potatoes would cost around $40. So there is a noticeable price difference.

Can You Plant Different Varieties of Potatoes Together

I grow different potato varieties together all the time with no problems. I have heard that different varieties will cross-pollinate, but the tuber, which is what you eat, will be the same as the original seed potato.

Because most people don’t grow potatoes from seeds, this shouldn’t be a problem. So let it rip! This year, I’m planting 4 different varieties in the same garden.

The only thing to be aware of is that different potatoes may require more space, so don’t plant them too close together. I’ll get more into that in a little bit.

Choose the Right Location to Plant

Potatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. Potatoes grow best in loose, well-draining soil, but they can grow in clay too. I’ve found the ideal pH for potatoes is between 5.8 and 6.5.

Potatoes also need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight each day.

How Far Apart to Plant Potatoes

With the exception of heavy setter potatoes, I space mine out 1 foot apart in all directions. If I grow in rows, each potato is spaced 1 foot apart and the rows are 1 foot apart. If you buy seed potatoes, it will say heavy-setter on the bag. For those, I would space them 16 or 18” apart in all directions.

This should help you plan how much space you’ll need to grow the number of potato plants you want.

Can I Plant in the Same Location as Last Year

Most of the time, yes. Crop rotation is important for commercial farmers because they create large swaths of monocultures (one crop grown in a large space). This degrades the soil and can attract a lot of pests and diseases.

You don’t need to worry about this in your home garden because you’re probably not planting one crop in a 50-acre field. You’re probably planting a diverse set of vegetables with companion plants each year.

The only time I do crop rotation with potatoes is if there is some serious pest or disease problem. In that case, I may avoid planting potatoes and other crops in that space for a few years depending on the disease or pest. It doesn’t always help, it just depends.

Sun and Heat

Depending on where you live, you may be concerned about sunlight and heat - I know I am. I plant a fall crop of potatoes here in SoCal in August. If you’ve ever been to Southern California, you know it can still get hot and we get some heat waves all the way into October.

That’s a problem because consistent temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit will stop potatoes from setting tubers and can kill the plant. The same thing can happen when nighttime temperatures remain over 55 Fahrenheit for too long.

To help combat soil warming, I often do two things. First, I companion plant so that the ground stays as covered as possible and less soil is exposed to direct sunlight which can heat it up fast, especially in a raised bed.

Second, I try to plant my fall potatoes in some shade. The south side of my house has sun for around 10 hours or more each day and potatoes don’t need that much exposure. As long as they get around 6 hours of direct sunlight, they turn out fine.

During heat waves or heat domes, as they seem to be called these days, I do sometimes make use of a 40% shade net to protect my potatoes during the fall season. I don’t have to worry about it too much in the spring because it never gets that thot and we have much more cloud cover during the early summer months.

Select Potato Companion Plants

Once I’ve planned out my space and chosen which potatoes I want to plant, I then select some companion plants to go with them.

I haven’t always planted companions with my potatoes, but I do find them to be beneficial and help create a more diverse garden. Diversity helps control pest populations and can minimize diseases. Plus I find it a little closer to how nature works, which is always a good thing.

Some of my favorite companion plants to intercrop in or around my potato garden include:

Alyssum
Cilantro
Thyme
Parsley
Garlic

Determine How You Will Water

It’s always best to figure out how you will water your garden before you plant anything. I’ve found that the best ways to water potatoes have been to set up drip emitters, use ollas, or water by hand with a sprinkler.

My favorite way to water potatoes is to use ollas. It’s an ancient Spanish technique that involves putting a terracotta vessel in the ground and filling it with water. It’s a great way to save on the amount of water you use because it won’t evaporate. Both Growya and the California Pot company sell high-quality ones.

Alternatively, you can also make homemade ollas using terracotta pots for cheap.

Here’s a picture of a homemade olla I made using terracotta. The only downside to homemade ones is that they tend to be bulkier and take up more space in the garden.

I don’t always use ollas in my raised beds because they take up space, but they are the best way to provide consistent moisture for potatoes.

My next choice would be to install drip emitters at the base of each plant. This would be an automatic solution that you can time to go off if you have the set up for it.

And finally, when all else fails, you can always water by hand with a watering can or sprinkler nozzle on your hose.

Whatever you choose, I find it best to figure this out well before you plant anything.

Chitting Potatoes

I almost always skip this step, but that’s because I live in SoCal where the weather is fairly dry and mild most of the year. If you live in a similar climate where you have a long growing season, you can probably skip this step too.

But for most of my friends in northern states, you might want to chit your potatoes first. That’s a fancy British word for letting your potatoes grow sprouts before planting them. Here’s how.

Two weeks before planting, expose your potatoes to some indirect sunlight in temperatures around 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When I have chit potatoes, I like to put them in an empty egg carton and set them on my kitchen counter. I find this helps the sprouts grow upward and not in every direction.

You’ll notice that the potatoes will start growing sprouts out of the eyes. The eyes are the places on the potato where there are small indentations. There are several eyes on each potato, so they will sprout in multiple places.

This happens to me all the time when I don’t eat my grocery-store potatoes fast enough. You’ve probably seen it too.

All chitting does is speed up the growing process because the potato has already started to sprout. It’s especially important for northern growers.

But as I said, here in Southern California where we can grow potatoes almost all year round, I let mine sprout underground.

Cut Potatoes

Whether you chit your potatoes or not, you’ll want to then cut them up into 2-inch pieces that have 2 or 3 eyes on each piece. Eyes are the little dents in the potato where the sprouts will emerge.

Not only will this stretch your budget, but it will also make sure that there aren’t too many stems growing from the same seed potato that will compete for food and moisture. That can result in a lot of small potatoes.

For medium-sized potatoes, like the one in this picture, I cut them in half and that seems to work just fine.

It’s a simple process, just be sure that the knife you use is clean so you don’t introduce any bacteria or fungus.

The only time I do not cut potatoes before planting is when they are golf ball size. Those tiny potatoes, I plant whole.

Cure Cut Potato Pieces

This is another step that I almost always skip. It’s not because of my growing season like chitting, but rather that my climate is very dry.

If you live in a wet climate, you have an increased risk of your cut potatoes rotting before they ever form into a plant that produces tubers.

If you live in a dry climate similar to Southern California, you can skip this step. I’ve never cured my seed potatoes here and they’ve never rotted (knock on wood).

Curing them is really simple though. Set them on your counter or somewhere that has indirect sunlight and is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If it’s a little warmer, it will be fine. Within 2 to 5 days, you will see the cuts start to callous over.

At that point, they’re ready to be planted. This callous will prevent the potatoes from rotting in the ground before they grow into plants.

Prepare Soil

Before I plant, there are some things I do first to prepare the soil.

Loosen the Soil

If I’m growing potatoes in the ground, I always loosen the soil. I have thick clay that gets really hard when dry, so sometimes I have to get the jackhammer out to tear up the ground. Then I can use a shovel or my hands to break up the smaller clumps and remove any rocks. Potatoes prefer loose soil.

If I’m growing potatoes in a raised bed or container, I use a potting mix and there’s no need to loosen it if you choose a good mix. I prefer the Happy Frog mix by Fox Farms. Whenever I’ve tested it, it always seems to have a lower pH than most other bags I’ve bought, usually ranging between 6.3 and 6.7. This is perfect because potatoes do best in soil with a pH between 5.8 and 6.5.

Test the Soil

I’m going to come clean and tell you that I don’t always do this, especially if I’m using a fresh potting mix in a container. But if I’m growing in the same soil I’ve used in the past, I will occasionally test it to make sure it’s still good.

I prefer the Luster Leaf Rapitest because you can do it at home and it’s fairly simple to do. This will give me an idea of whether I’m deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium - all of which are needed for big, healthy tubers.

Pre-Planting Fertilizer

The last thing I do is add a pre-planting application of fertilizer. If my soil is really deficient, I may customize this, but most of the time I use Cobbler Farm Seed Potato Fertilizer which is a slow-release 8-16-16.

I’ve found this works well because it doesn’t overdo the nitrogen and has more phosphorus and potassium. The additional phosphorus helps more tubers set and the potassium impacts their size and quality.

If I’m planting in a trench, I will sprinkle this dry fertilizer along the bottom of the trench. If I’m planting in a raised bed, I’ll put it in the bottom of the holes.

I’ve also experimented with using organic fertilizers such as blood meal, bone meal, and langbeinite which have worked well.

Planting Potatoes

At this point, we’re ready to put these bad boys and girls in the ground. The great thing about potatoes is that there are so many ways you can plant them. I’ve tried multiple methods and I’ll share some of my favorites with you.

Trenching

Potatoes are a pioneer crop, meaning they’ll grow almost anywhere. However, they still prefer loose soil. As I mentioned earlier, make sure you break up any thick clumps of soil when growing in heavier soils and remove any rocks.

Dig your trench six to eight inches deep. The reason I dig the trench this deep is because I don’t hill potatoes grown in a trench. I line the bottom of the trench with some potato fertilizer before planting.

I then drop the potatoes in the trench so that they are about a foot apart and the eyes are pointing upward. Cover them back up with soil. They need plenty of space to spread and grow underground.

V-Trenching

Another method I’ve tried is digging out two trenches in a V-shape. It’s basically the same thing as the previous method but can allow you to grow a few more potatoes in less space. I also like to companion plant other crops in the middle of the V.

After digging the V-trench, I add a dry potato fertilizer and then lay the seed potatoes (eyes pointing up) in the trench about a foot apart, starting with one where the V connects. Fill back the soil.

Holes

This is my preferred method when planting in raised beds. I first space my potatoes out on top of the bed so they are a foot apart from one another in all directions. Just lay them on top of the soil so you know where you will plan them.

If you zig-zag the rows, you can fit even more potatoes. In my 3x6 bed, I can fit 3 rows. Two rows have 6 potatoes and the middle row is off-set to fit 5.

Then I take my Hori Hori Knife (everyone should have one) and dig a hole that measures 6 inches deep. I sprinkle some Cobbler Farm Potato Fertilizer in the bottom and I drop the potato in with the eyes or sprouts pointing up.

To finish, cover them back up with soil.

You can also use an auger bit that attaches to any drill to make holes in clay soils if you don’t want to dig out an entire trench like I do. This is the easiest way to use the hole method when planting directly in the ground.

Ruth Stout Method (Straw)

I’ve heard about the Ruth Stout method for years and this year I finally decided to try it. Ruth would simply toss potatoes on the ground and cover them with straw or leaves. I did it a little differently.

I dug a very shallow trench, like less than one inch shallow. I placed my potatoes in that trench 12” apart and then covered them with a couple of inches of organic straw. The straw helps protect them from the sun and retain moisture.

When it’s time to harvest, you don’t even have to dig. You just pull the straw to the side and pick up all the potatoes. It was a cool experiment, to say the least.

Containers

Potatoes grow well in containers too and it’s one of the easiest ways I’ve grown them. They do need a large container to grow in and I’ve been a big fan of 15-gallon grow bags. The fabric has great drainage and it’s easy to fold over as the potato grows so the sunlight isn’t blocked by the sides of the container.

I fill the bottom 4 inches with a potting mix, then I will lay one to three potatoes on top of that with the eyes pointing up. Afterward, I will cover them up with at least 2 inches of soil and wait for them to sprout.

Once they start to sprout, I continue to add soil around them (basically hilling) until the container is full. It’s a great way to grow plenty of potatoes because the tubers grow at levels above the seed potato. So as you fill the container, you’ll have more and more levels of potatoes growing.

I have seen others grow in 5-gallon buckets, but I don’t because I don’t like to grow in plastics which can leach micro and nanoplastics into my food. If you do use a non-fabric grow bag, be sure it has good drainage.

One thing to keep in mind is that potatoes come in both determinate and indeterminate varieties. Most of us are familiar with this in tomatoes, but potatoes also have these distinctions.

I find that indeterminates grow best in big containers because they grow on multiple levels; whereas, determinate ones only grow on a single level so it won’t matter if you keep adding soil.

Indeterminate potatoes are the large varieties and they are always late-season potatoes or maincrops.

Watering Potatoes

Ask a farmer and you’ll get all kinds of answers. I’ve met some who water immediately after planting. I’ve met some that don’t water until the potatoes sprout. Here’s what I do and it seems to work.

I put my soil moisture meter 6 inches into the ground and I water with a shower setting on my hose until it reads normal. I find that this gets the soil to about the same moistness as a new bag of potting mix. It’s wet but not to the point that you can wring water out of it if you grab a handful.

Whatever you do, avoid heavy watering before the potato plant sprouts from the soil. Whenever I’ve overwatered, my seed potato rots.

I’ve also found that it’s ok if the top two inches of soil dries out a bit in between watering at an early stage. Potatoes are pioneer crops and don’t require a lot of water after planting.

Once the plant emerges, I would water it regularly with consistent moisture and then water more heavily when it starts to flower and set tubers.

You can read my complete guide about How Often to Water Potatoes here.

FAQ

What’s the best way to plant potatoes?

Personally, I prefer the hole method. It’s less work and less digging. And if you do a zig-zag pattern with your rows, you can grow many more potatoes in smaller spaces.

Can I just put a potato in the ground?

Yes, you can. However, if you get a lot of rain, the potato may rot before it sprouts into a new plant. Otherwise, in the right conditions, it will grow into a new potato plant and set new tubers.

What not do when planting potatoes?

It’s really hard to say what not to do because potatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. They are a pioneer crop after all. The most important things to avoid are overwatering before they sprout out of the soil and having too much nitrogen in your soil.