Growing Potatoes: Superior Homegrown Flavor from Seed Tubers

Where to buy potatoes: Burpee Gardening

This half-hardy culinary staple is often overlooked by backyard gardeners. Homegrown potatoes taste and texture far surpass store-bought, especially early varieties. Need cool climate; watch for sunburn. Can be winter crop in warm zones.

Planting Potatoes

• Plant seed potatoes (pieces with ≥2 eyes, or small whole potatoes) 0–2 weeks after last spring frost.
• Cut pieces 1–2 days ahead to form protective layer (moisture retention, rot resistance).
• Can plant earlier if soil workable, but frost may ruin some.
• Spread/mix rotted manure or organic compost in trench bottom.
• Plant 1 foot apart in 4-inch deep trench, eye side up.
• Rotate crops yearly.
• Video: grow potatoes in a trash can—easiest container garden!
• Check plant companions chart for compatible veggies.

Care

• Well-drained, loose soil.
• Consistent moisture—water regularly when tubers form.
• Hill before bloom, at ~6 inches tall. Hoe dirt around base to cover roots, support plant, prevent sunburn (green, bitter tubers).
• Hill every couple weeks.

Pests and Diseases

• Aphids
• Flea Beetles
• Leaf Hoppers
• Early/Late Blight
• Potato Scab: likely high pH soil. Potatoes like acidic soil (pH ≤5.2). Dust seed potatoes with sulfur before planting.

Harvest and Storage

• Dig on dry day. Gently, don’t puncture tubers. Loose soil = easy digging.
• New potatoes ~10 weeks (early July).
• Harvest all once vines die (late Aug) or potatoes rot.
• Brush off soil, store cool, dry, dark. Ideal 35–40°F.
• Don’t store with apples—ethylene gas spoils potatoes.
• Don’t wash until use—washing shortens storage life.
• More root cellar prep tips.

Recommended Varieties

• ‘Irish Cobbler’: early.
• ‘Viking’: red skin, regular season.
• ‘Chieftan’: scab-resistant.
• ‘Elba’, ‘Rosa’, ‘Sebago’: somewhat blight-resistant.
• Guide to choosing best potatoes for your garden.

Wit & Wisdom

• Antoine Parmentier convinced Marie Antoinette to wear potato blossoms in hair.
• Grated potatoes soothe sunburn.
• “What I say is that if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.” —A.A. Milne (1882–1956)

Recipes

• Dill and Potato Cakes
• Potato Bread
• Irish Potato Pie