There’s nothing better than growing your own fruits and vegetables, right? This way, you can ensure that they’re 100% free from harmful pesticides, making them much healthier than typical market options.

Luckily, potatoes are pretty easy to grow, not to mention that they produce a large harvest. In this guide, you’ll learn how to plant potatoes from A to Z. Here’s everything you need to do.

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The first thing you should do is to pick the perfect potato candidates to plant in the soil. For the best results, visit a farm store and buy organic and disease-free seed potatoes. 

It’s also a good idea to get potatoes that have sprouts. Pre-sprouted potatoes could be harvested a few weeks earlier than their non-sprouted siblings.

However, if you end up buying non-sprouted potatoes, it’s pretty simple to fix that situation. All you’ll have to do is lay them on your kitchen counter for a handful of days, and they’ll soon produce sprouts.

Step 1: Go for Seed Potatoes

There’s a special technique to cut your potatoes to make sure they grow comfortably. First off, you should separate the eyes, which is another word for the little bumps on a potato out of which a sprout will emerge.

Make sure that each segment that you cut contains only two or three eyes. If there are more eyes per segment, the plant will grow crowded with many stems. As a result, each stem will compete for water and food, giving you small potatoes in the end.

Step 2: Cut Your Potatoes

In this step, you’ll have to spread your cut potatoes on a sheet in the sun for them to be cured. If that’s not an option, you could leave them on a counter in a moderately lit room. This room should be warm, which is about 70 degrees F.

Curing potatoes usually takes from three to five days. But, what’s the reason behind this process?

See, this step allows the cuts to become calloused, which should help prevent rot later on. Of course, that’s the last thing you need when you harvest your potatoes.

Step 3: Cure the Pieces That You’ve Cut

Potatoes like so much sun, so you’ll have to aim for the perfect weather in order to get the best results. Of course, this depends on the type of climate where you live.

For instance, if your house is somewhere warm, you’ll have to plant your potatoes around the middle of February. On the other hand, people who live in cooler areas should get their potatoes in the ground by early spring.

A general rule that many gardeners use is to plant your potatoes three or four weeks prior to your last frost date.

Step 4: Choose the Right Timing

Putting your potatoes in the soil has a unique technique as well.

For starters, you must plant the seed potato segments eyes-up in a six-inch-deep hole in the soil. Each segment should have at least 12 inches of space on all sides not to overcrowd your garden.

Then, in that space between segments, sprinkle two tablespoons of low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus fertilizer. After that, cover the potato segments and the fertilizer with up to two inches of soil.

The last thing to do is to water the soil properly. You must provide the potatoes with one inch of water per week since this root plant likes generous amounts of it.

Step 5: Plant Your Potatoes

As the plant starts to grow, new potatoes will form on lateral stems or stolons. To keep these newcomers from being exposed to the sun, you must hill around the stems. So, when should you start hilling the vines?

Wait until the green sprouts have reached eight inches of height. Once they do, cover the bottom four inches with soil or shredded leaves. Of course, the plant will keep growing, so you should repeat the same process until the vines flower.

You must ensure that the potato tubers don’t face any sunlight. If they do, they’ll quickly turn green, making them unhealthy to consume. Green potatoes can cause nausea since they contain high levels of toxins.

Step 6: Hill the Vines

You can begin harvesting your produce about two weeks after the vines have flowered. Just reach deep into the soil and extract a few potatoes. However, at this point, you’ll likely end up with baby potatoes.

To get larger potatoes, it’s best that you wait until the vines die back. This is because, when vines die, it’s a sign that the tubers have matured.

The entire potato-growing process takes about ten weeks for small potatoes. Yet, fully-grown potatoes will have you wait from 80 to 100 until you can harvest them with confidence.

Step 7: Harvest Your Potatoes

In this final step, you’ll have to store your potatoes. Fortunately, these little buddies are a breeze to store as long as you stick to these guidelines.

After digging the potatoes out, set them on a raised bed for a few hours to dry

The drying process will make their skin tougher, preparing them for storage

Softly brush off any stuck soil on the potatoes

Keep them in a cool, moisture-free place inside your house

This way, no dampness should be able to reach your potatoes, so you shouldn’t worry about rot or spoilage.

Now, you could use your potato to make your favorite dishes. Hash browns, mashed potatoes, french fries, the list can be endless for a potato lover!


Step 8: Store Your Potatoes

Learning how to plant potatoes is a must for everyone who’s into gardening. Not only is growing your own stuff healthier and more budget-friendly, but it can also be soothing. Plus, some studies have stated that surrounding yourself with plants is therapeutic.

No matter how you look at it, no one can deny that growing potatoes is useful information that anyone should know. Hopefully, after reading this guide, you should be able to master this art!

How to Plant Potatoes: A Step-By-Step Guide

How to Plant Potatoes: A Step-By-Step Guide

Step 1: Go for Seed Potatoes

Step 2: Cut Your Potatoes

Step 3: Cure the Pieces That You’ve Cut

Step 4: Choose the Right Timing

Step 5: Plant Your Potatoes

Step 6: Hill the Vines

Step 7: Harvest Your Potatoes

Step 8: Store Your Potatoes

To Wrap It Up

How to Plant Potatoes: A Step-By-Step Guide

How to Plant Potatoes: A Step-By-Step Guide

Step 1: Go for Seed Potatoes

Step 2: Cut Your Potatoes

Step 3: Cure the Pieces That You’ve Cut

Step 4: Choose the Right Timing

Step 5: Plant Your Potatoes

Step 6: Hill the Vines

Step 7: Harvest Your Potatoes

Step 8: Store Your Potatoes

To Wrap It Up

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