How to Grow Potatoes

Planting Potatoes

Potato plants are tolerant of cool weather and moderate frost, so you can plant them in the early spring any time after the last frost date.

To grow potatoes, you’ll need to obtain some ‘tuber’ or small seed potatoes to begin. In a large pot or grow bag, plant tubers  7-10 cm (3-4″) deep, leaving 30 cm (12″) of space between tubers. Plant in moist soil, but do not to water again until seedlings emerge in order to prevent rotting and disease.

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Seedlings will emerge about 2-3 weeks after planting.

To eliminate the guesswork in selecting the right size containers for your plants, we’ve put together a list of commonly grown herbs, veggies, fruit and flowers along with the minimum pot sizes required by each.

Starting a container garden? Grab my free guide on choosing the best sized pots for each veggie, fruit, and herb in your container garden – Veggie Garden Potting Guide

 

Watering Potatoes

Once plants have emerged from the soil, you may begin to water sparingly — you don’t want your potatoes to rot. Potatoes will also need to be watered frequently, so make sure your container and soil has good drainage.

 

Where Can I Grow It?

Grow potatoes outdoors in a bright sunny space. They require plenty of sunlight and large containers which are impractical  indoors. A great way to grow potatoes in a small space is to grow them in a large garbage can!

 

Potato Growing Tips

Large trash cans are great containers for growing potatoes!

When the potato plant is reaches 30 cm (12″) in height, begin to “hill up” soil 15 cm (6″) around the plant. This process can be repeated 2-3 times as the plant grows.

Young potatoes can be harvested after approximately 7-8 weeks. Potatoes grown for late summer and fall harvest can be dug up when foliage begins to die back late in the season.

 

Companion Planting

It can be beneficial to grow potatoes alongside any of the following: beans, , peas, marigolds, green onions, thyme, garlic, and anything from the Brassica family (such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage).

Many of these combinations are good for one or both plants, as one often repels pests that affect the other and vice versa. For example, peas are helpful in repelling the potato beetle, so it is a great companion to plant near potatoes.

Avoid  growing potatoes next to carrots, cucumbers, raspberries, sunflowers, tomatoes or zucchini, as they do not grow well together.

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