Potatoes are among the most productive vegetabes for home gardens. For every pound of seed potatoes you plant, expect to harvest three to five pounds of spuds in return. That’s a great investment! Plus, with the long storage life of potatoes and the myriad of ways you can prepare them, they are a must-grow crop for many gardeners. And, to sweeten the deal even more, potatoes are a simple crop for beginner gardeners to grow. Every potato-growing adventure starts with seed potatoes. In this article, we’ll look at what seed potatoes are, how to plant seed potatoes, and how to grow them successfully – no matter how much, or how little, space you have to grow.
What are seed potatoes?
Seed potatoes are not actually seeds at all. Instead, they are simply potato tubers that are used for planting. Most often, they are saved from last year’s harvest and stored over the winter under exacting conditions to keep them firm and disease free. Rather than saving some of your own harvest for replanting the next year, I recommend purchasing new certified disease-free seed potatoes at the start of each growing season.
Potatoes are prone to many diseases (bacterial, viral, and fungal), including potato scab and potato blight, that can easily be introduced to the garden when planting your own saved tubers. White potatoes, red potatoes, or those with yellow flesh or red skin are no different than spuds with any number of different colored skins or interiors. Purchasing and planting certified seed potatoes is the only way to ensure a “clean” crop. Certified seed potatoes are guaranteed to be free of disease, and they have not been treated with the anti-sprouting chemicals often used on grocery store potatoes.
Why cut seed potatoes for planting
New potato plants sprout from the buds (called eyes) on the surface of potatoes. The eyes appear as dimples in the potato’s skin. You’ve probably had a potato sprout new growth if you’ve left it in the pantry too long. Each eye has the potential to grow into a whole new plant. Because of this, seed potatoes are typically not planted whole. Instead, they are cut up into pieces prior to planting to yield more plants from each seed potato.
Cut seed potatoes into pieces that are about the size of a golf ball. Each piece should contain at least 2 eyes. You can force a seed potato to sprout prior to cutting it up by putting it in a well-lit place at room temperature for a few days (just not in direct sunlight). Or you can cut the seed potato first, and then let the sprouts develop under the ground. This is my preferred method as it is much easier to plant an unsprouted seed potato than one that’s developed fragile new sprouts that are easy to break off during the planting process.
How to cut seed potatoes for planting
Using a clean knife, cut the seed potatoes into pieces two to three days before you plan to plant them. Be sure to wait until your last frost date has passed. Whether or not they have sprouted, let the seed potatoes sit at room temperature in a single layer so their cut tissue can callus over. This prevents soil-borne diseases from entering the seed potatoes when they are planted.
One pound of seed potatoes yields about 8 to 10 seed pieces for planting. That’s enough for a 10 foot long row if the pieces are spaced 12 inches apart. When first figuring out how to plant seed potatoes, I determined that spacing a little closer works too. I space my seed potato pieces about 10 inches apart when planting.
There are three main ways you can plant seed potatoes. They can be planted directly into the ground (or in a raised bed); they can be planted in containers; and they can be planted under straw. Rotate crops so your potatoes are not planted in the same spot each season. Regardless of which seed potato-planting method you choose, select a site that receives at least 6 hours of full sun per day and wait until soil temperatures have warmed before planting and soil moisture levels are good. Let me walk you through each of these three methods so you can determine how to plant seed potatoes in your own garden.
How to plant seed potatoes in the ground
If you want to know how to plant seed potatoes in the ground, the first step is to pay attention to the depth and spacing of your seed potato pieces. When planting seed potatoes in the ground, either dig an individual hole for each cut piece of seed potato or use a garden hoe to dig a trench to plant several of them in a row 10 to 12 inches apart. The hole or trench should be 4 to 5 inches deep. If you plan to plant multiple rows, space the rows 18 to 24 inches apart.
Regardless of whether you plant in rows or holes, when growing seed potatoes in the ground you’re going to want to hill your potato plants two or three times through the growing season with several inches of soil. The deeper potato plants are grown, the more area there is for tuber production. But, planting the seed potatoes too deeply from the start can cause them to rot before they sprout. At the very least, it makes harvesting very difficult at the end of the growing season because the potatoes are buried so deeply.
Instead of initially planting the seed potatoes deeply, gardeners overcome this challenge by mounding excess dirt up around the plants as they grow. This process is known as hilling. Basically, every three to four weeks, use a shovel or hoe to pile nearby soil up against the stems, covering the plants so just a few leaves stick out the top. Don’t worry about burying them too deeply; as long as some of the plant is visible, it will keep growing (plus, it keeps the weeds down).
Hilled in-ground potatoes produce bigger yields. Plus, the developing tubers are kept in the dark, which keeps them from turning into green potatoes (and potentially making you sick with the solanine they contain. More on how and why that happens here.).
How to plant seed potatoes in pots and grow bags
You may also be wondering how to plant seed potatoes in containers. This second method of growing spuds is great for folks with limited space or no in-ground garden. It’s easy to do, and though the yields are often slightly smaller than growing seed potatoes in the ground, it’s the perfect option for anyone who is looking to save labor, too.
To plant seed potatoes in a container, begin by sourcing the right kind of container. When it comes to growing potatoes in pots, the bigger the better. Each piece of seed potato needs at least 2.5 – 3 gallons of potting soil to grow into a full-sized plant. That means if you use a container around the size of a 5-gallon utility bucket, you can plant 2 seed potato pieces inside. Larger pots can host even more seed pieces. Be sure the container has drainage holes in it and use a high quality potting soil with a fertilizer mixed 50/50 with compost. The general potting soil mix found in our DIY Potting Soil Recipes post is an excellent choice. You can also purchase bagged potting soil and bagged compost and mix the two together.
When thinking about how to plant seed potatoes in containers, you should also consider using fabric grow bags for the job. These lightweight containers drain easily, are inexpensive, and keep plant roots from circling inside the pots. Some brands even have designs with flaps that open on the side of the grow bag to make potato harvesting a snap.
In this video, Tara shows you how to plant potatoes in a unique container growing system.
Just as you hill potatoes in the garden to ensure there is maximum space for tuber production, you should also perform a similar task when growing seed potatoes in pots. At planting time, only fill the container with soil mix one-third of the way. Nestle your seed potato pieces into the soil and cover them up. As they sprout and grow, gradually add more soil mix to the container every week or two until the pot is filled to within an inch of the upper rim. Then stop adding soil and keep the container well watered as the plants continue to grow.
How to plant seed potatoes in straw
Growing seed potatoes in straw is an excellent and easy way to get lots of spuds with minimal work. If you’re wondering how to plant seed potatoes in a way that makes them easy to harvest and keeps the spuds clean, then growing in straw is the way to go.
To plant seed potatoes in straw, prepare an in-ground garden bed or a raised bed for planting. Then, nestle each piece of seed potato down into the soil by no more than an inch or so. Some gardeners who plant seed potatoes in straw don’t even bury them at all; they simply toss the pieces on top of the soil. Once the seed potato pieces are placed, cover them with 5 or 6 inches of loose straw. As the plants grow, add more straw to the top, covering all but the very top leaves of the plant, until the bed has 8 to 10 inches of straw. Though the layer of straw serves as an excellent mulch, keep the bed well-watered through the growing season.
When the mature potato vines die at the end of the growing season, wait to weeks then peel back the straw and collect the potatoes. Easy cheesy! If you’re deciding how to plant seed potatoes in a raised bed, straw planting is an excellent option.
Which method is best for you?
Now that you know how to plant seed potatoes in the ground, in containers, or in straw, it’s easy to see which method is best for your space. Regardless of which technique you choose, a hearty potato harvest is right around the corner. Just be sure to protect your plants from pests like Colorado potato beetles by covering the plants with floating row cover.
Harvesting potatoes
Not sure when your potatoes are ready for harvest? Check out this great article on our website about how and when to make your potato harvest. It walks you through harvesting both new potatoes and mature spuds using a digging fork or shovel.
This video will also provide a primer on when and how to harvest your potatoes.
And check out this article for information on a unique small-space potato-growing method that uses a wire cylinder lined with newspaper to grow a bumper crop of spuds.
For more advice on growing great veggies, check out the following articles: How to grow sweet potatoes Growing tomatoes from seed Tips for growing healthy zucchini Cucumber plant problems Growing carrots from seed
Do you grow seed potatoes every year? Tell us which method works best for you in the comment section below.
Growing them in straw is very straightforward to do, your plants will be just as healthy, and it makes harvesting so much easier. Straw does away with much of the digging associated with traditional methods of potato growing. Planting is simple, while harvesting requires less effort.
This no-dig way saves time and effort. If you love eating homegrown potatoes but do not want to dig and weed to get them, try growing them in straw. “Potatoes are one of the easiest vegetable crops there is to grow,” said Dr.
In a straw bale, we simply plant the potato cutting deep into the bale. While a bale may be 20″ high, we will plant 16-18″ deep in a “crack” in the bale. The looseness of the bale will allow the stem to easily reach the surface, and the potatoes will form along this stretch of stem, filling the bale with potatoes.
If your potatoes already have sprouts, try not to remove them. Place the cut potatoes into the hay bale to a depth of 4 to 6 inches spaced 6 to 12 inches apart. Typically four potato plants fit in one hay bale.
When you grow potatoes in straw, you'll see the sprouts quickly. Once they have grown 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.), cover them with more straw until only an inch (2.5 cm.) of the new growth shows through, then let the plants grow another 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm.).
Hilling brings loose soil around the vines where the potatoes will form as well as deepening the roots into cooler soil. With the first hilling, I like to cover the vines up so that only the top leaves are exposed.
When to earth up potatoes: Most gardeners will earth up their potatoes initially when they are planted, and then again once the first signs of foliage appear. You can earth them up again a couple of times early on in the growing season, during May and the first week of June.
Once you've planned the design of your straw bale garden and gathered the bales, it's time to start the conditioning process. You can't plant directly into fresh, unconditioned bales as they don't offer the organic matter and nutrients that vegetable seedlings need to grow.
Space your seed potatoes, sprouts uppermost, evenly throughout the container. Cover with another 10cm (4in) layer of growing medium then sit back and wait. As the shoots grow continue to add further layers of potting medium until you reach within a whisker of the rim of the container.
When planting, an NPK ratio of 15-15-15 is ideal. A month or two after they've been planted, potatoes need lots of nitrogen, so a fertilizer with an NPK of 34-0-0 is the best choice. An NPK of 12-12-17 or 14-7-21 is best for the last couple of months before harvest when the plants require more potassium.
Weeds: Even if you use straw bales—not hay bales, unless you suffocate the weeds before you plant your garden—your bales will sprout and if left alone will start looking like giant Chia Pets. ...
End-of-Season Funk: By the end of the growing season, a straw bale garden can look ragged.
Earthing up potatoes will increase the length of underground stems that will bear potatoes. This mounding can be repeated once or twice more at 2 – 3 week intervals to ensure the best crop, with the added benefit of smothering any competing weeds.
In a no-dig regime, weeds are controlled by shallow hoeing, hand weeding, contact weedkillers and mulching. Debris is gathered up rather than dug in. Mulches are taken into the soil by soil organisms, and fertilisers are washed in by rain.
The first is adding well-rotted compost two months before planting potatoes. The second is planting a cover crop (leguminous) as green manure during fall and plow the plants two months before planting potatoes.
Prepare the soil by adding compost or well-rotted cow manure. Potatoes like a rich, but well-drained soil, so do not plant below ground level or where water gathers in winter. Plant your potatoes about 10cm deep and 30cm apart. Leave about 80cm between each row.
Whether grown in a garden, a barrel, old tires, or a grow bag, potatoes need to be covered with loose organic material periodically, or hilled up. This addition of organic material encourages the potato tubers to grow deep and wide and allows new potatoes to form on top of maturing potatoes.
When you see flowers on your potato plants, I recommend cutting them off for two main reasons. First of all, you don't want the flowers to produce a fruit that small children or pets might be tempted to eat. Secondly, pruning the flowers is a great way to increase production of spuds.
Potatoes need fertile, well-drained soil. Prepare in-ground garden soil by mixing 3 inches of Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose In-Ground Soil into the top 6 inches of native soil. Enriched with aged compost, this will give potatoes a head start on nutrition.
What Happens If You Don't Hill Potatoes? If you don't hill your potatoes, you are more likely to end up with green tubers. This happens when potatoes are exposed to sunlight. This potato has been exposed to sunlight and turned green as a result.
To begin with, dig a trench that is 6-8 inches deep. Plant each piece of potato (cut side down, with the eyes pointing up) every 12-15 inches, with the rows spaced 3 feet apart.
But, planting the seed potatoes too deeply from the start can cause them to rot before they sprout. At the very least, it makes harvesting very difficult at the end of the growing season because the potatoes are buried so deeply.
After the greenery has died back, potatoes can stay in the ground for several days, if the conditions are right. As long as the soil is dry, and the temperature is above freezing, you don't have to harvest potatoes immediately. But it is best to dig them up within a few days to prevent rotting.
WHY CHIT / SPROUT SEED POTATOES. If you sow seed potatoes directly into the ground without chitting / sprouting them, they will grow perfectly well. After a week or two the eyes will develop sprouts and these will grow towards the soil surface and appear above the soil as potato plants.
Potatoes can be grown across the surface of a planting bed by simply covering seed potatoes with mulch. This method requires no digging. Loosen a few inches of soil across the planting bed then lay seed potatoes on the soil cut side down about one foot apart.
No, you should not plant a potato that has not sprouted. A potato that has not sprouted may grow into a new plant, but this is not guaranteed. You have a much better chance of successfully growing a healthy new plant if you encourage the potato to sprout before you plant it.
Like garden-grown potatoes, container-grown potatoes need rich, well-drained loamy, soil. A mix of potting soil and compost with added sand (about 20% of the total) serves potatoes well. Add a handful of well-balanced organic fertilizer as you're making your soil-compost mix.
Dig a shallow trench about 6-8 inches deep. This can be done with a rake in loose soil, but you may need a shovel or hoe in heavier soils. Place cut potatoes 10-12 inches apart in the trench. If larger potatoes are planted whole they will produce larger plants and should be given a little extra room, 12-16 inches.
Potato sprouts should be planted cut-side down, sprout-side facing up. You'll want to plant each sprout 3-4″ below the surface of the soil. Plants should be spaced out at least 12″ apart so the plants have room to grow both below and above ground.
When potatoes begin to sprout, the growths (those roots, eyes, and bumps) have a high concentration of compounds called glycoalkaloids that can cause a sharp, unpleasant, bitter taste.
The closer spacing helps maximize space and reduce water loss. No hilling is required. This is my favorite way to grow potatoes. Learn more about Planting Potatoes the Biointensive Way.
When to Plant Potatoes. Potatoes grow best during cooler weather. Plant potatoes 2-4 weeks before the last frost in the spring, when the soil temperature is at least 40 degrees F. In warm climates, potatoes are planted from January to March and harvested between March and June.
This will begin the sprouting process. A day or two before planting, use a sharp, clean knife to slice the larger seed potatoes into smaller pieces. Each piece should be approximately 2 inches square, and must contain at least 1 or 2 eyes or buds. Plant smaller potatoes whole.
When planting seed potatoes in the ground, either dig an individual hole for each cut piece of seed potato or use a garden hoe to dig a trench to plant several of them in a row 10 to 12 inches apart. The hole or trench should be 4 to 5 inches deep.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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