Potatoes perform best in areas where summers are cool (65 F to 70 F), but are widely adapted. Potatoes require well-drained soil. (They will rot under prolonged cold, wet conditions.) If your soil is poorly drained or a heavy clay, consider using raised beds. Adding organic matter (compost, cover crops, well-rotted manure or leaves) is a good way to improve soil before growing potatoes. Go easy on organic matter sources high in nitrogen (such as manure) and nitrogen fertilizer as too much nitrogen can encourage lush foliage at the expense of tuber production.
Unlike most vegetables, potatoes perform best in acid soil with pH 4.8 - 5.5. Use scab-resistant varieties with pH above 6.0. Because most other garden vegetables perform best at near-neutral pH, it’s usually not feasible to grow potatoes in their preferred pH range, unless you dedicate one section of your garden to growing just potatoes in rotation with cover crops.
Buy certified disease-free seed potatoes from garden centers or through online or mail-order catalogs for best results. If you save your own seed potatoes, discard any that show any signs of disease. Avoid planting potatoes from the supermarket because they may have been treated with sprout inhibitors. They may also be less vigorous and more prone to disease.
Cut seed potatoes that are larger than a chicken egg into pieces about 1 inch across or slightly larger. Each piece should have at least one “eye” (the bud where the stem will grow from) -- preferably two eyes. Egg-sized and smaller tubers can be planted whole.
Traditionally, cut seed potato pieces are allowed to cure for a few days to a few weeks before planting. This is because the cut potatoes need high humidity, plenty of oxygen and temperatures between 50 F and 65 F to heal quickly. If you have excellent, well-drained soil that meets those conditions, you can plant the seed pieces without curing. But if conditions are not right, the seed potatoes will rot in the ground.
A less risky practice is to put about 5 pounds of cut potatoes into a large grocery bag and fold the top closed. Keep the bag at room temperature for 2 or 3 days, then shake the bag to unstick pieces that may have stuck together. Let sit for another 2 to 3 days and then plant.
If you want fast emergence, keep the bag of cut potatoes at room temperature until sprouts appear. Some varieties are slow to break dormancy and benefit from a 2- to 4-week “pre-warming” before planting. Others sprout in just a few days.
Plant about 2 to 4 weeks before your last frost date. The soil temperature should be at least 40 F. Do not plant where you've grown potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or eggplant in the past 2 years.
One common way to plant potatoes is to dig a shallow trench about 4 inches deep with a hoe. Place the seed potato pieces with their eyes up (cut sides down) about 8 to 12 inches apart in the trench, and replace soil. Space trenches about 2 to 3 feet apart. Stems and foliage should emerge in about 2 to 4 weeks, depending on soil temperature.
When the plants are about 6 to 8 inches tall, “hill” the potatoes by hoeing soil loosely around the base of the plants to within about an inch of the lower leaves from both sides of the row. Repeat in about 2 to 3 weeks. You may want to make additional hillings, gradually building a 6- to 8-inch ridge down the row. (Hilling keeps the developing potatoes from being exposed to sun, which turns them green and bitter. Green potatoes contain a chemical, solanine, which is toxic in large amounts.)
Alternatively, snuggle seed pieces shallowly into the soil and cover with a thick layer of clean straw or other weed-free mulch. Add more mulch as needed to keep light from reaching potatoes. (A foot or more of mulch may be required.) Tubers grown this way can be easily harvested by pulling back the mulch after the plants die.
A third method if you have excellent potato-growing soil is to plant seed potatoes 7 to 8 inches deep and skip hilling or deep mulching. The potatoes are slower to emerge, but this method requires less effort during the growing season. Deep planting is not good in cold, damp soils and it requires more work to dig the potatoes at harvest.
Potatoes need at least 1 inch of water per week from either rainfall or deep watering. Mulching helps retain moisture. Keeping the soil from drying out also helps reduce scab.
Use row covers to protect from Colorado potato beetles, leaf hoppers and flea beetles. Crush the yellow eggs of Colorado potato beetles on the undersides of leaves. Remove adults by hand.
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