How to Grow Potatoes

Potatoes are super-versatile and are a staple ingredient of many meals in one form or another, whether boiled, mashed, chipped, roasted, or baked. Freshly dug and lightly boiled with mint, cooled, and eaten with salads, or mashed with mustard, they just can't be beaten.

When it comes to how to grow potatoes, it’s the most rewarding thing for an edible garden and there’s something special about growing these delicious potato tubers, from planting the first batch to unearthing your own creations from the soil like buried treasure. From when to plant potatoes to when to harvest them, this growing guide is designed to give you everything you need to know about how to grow potatoes yourself.

Types of Potato

Before you plant, decide what type of potato you want in your pantry. There are two main varieties; maincrops and earlies. Maincrop potatoes are usually bulkier and provide a bigger harvest. Harvested in late summer or autumn, they can generally be stored for winter use.

Early potatoes are ready from early to mid-summer and are divided into first earlies and second earlies. Earlies are first to crop and are smaller than maincrop potatoes, but arguably have the best flavour and a smooth, waxier texture that’s ideal for salads.

Second earlies follow on a few weeks later and both are sublime when served steaming hot and finished with a drizzle of olive oil.

Different Growing Techniques

Potatoes are not grown from seed but are known as "seed potatoes" and are sometimes sold as tubers. Seed potatoes are not the same as shop-bought potatoes because they’re grown in controlled conditions to ensure they are true to type and free from disease. They’re also renowned for vigorous growth and greater yield than their shop-bought counterparts.

You may have seen old potatoes grow shoots out of their "eyes”, which is how new potatoes form. You can either plant seed potatoes whole or cut them up into pieces with at least two eyes per piece.

Potatoes can also be planted in traditional trenches or individual planting holes.

Deciding when to plant potatoes is crucial to their success and it’s important to understand that they don’t handle frost well and require 60-90 days of frost-free weather. This is why they are planted in most of Australia after the season's last frost.

Based on data from your nearest weather station, you can use our garden planner to check the best times to plant in your area. The planner is also an excellent resource for browsing descriptions and laying potatoes on your plan, so you’ll know exactly how many seed potatoes you’ll need to fill your area.

Potatoes love rich, moist soil that’s been gradually improved with organic matter such as well-rotted compost or manure. Avoid poorly draining soil to prevent tubers from rotting. A sunny spot on the plot will encourage the strong growth you’re after.

They also grow well in garden pots or our specially-made Mr Fothergill’s Potato Grow Bag, which makes growing and harvesting potatoes easier.

Plant seed potatoes into dug trenches or individual planting holes. Plant your tubers around 15cm deep, and space them 30cm apart along the row. Additional rows of early varieties should be spaced at least 45cm apart, while maincrop potatoes need a minimum of 75cm left between rows.

In regions where spring is slower to arrive, it’s worth sprouting or ‘chitting’ your seed potatoes up to six weeks before planting. To do this, spread them out in a single layer so the ends with most eyes (the dimples where the shoots will sprout from) face upwards.

Next, place them into trays or old egg cartons to hold the potatoes in place. Keep them in a cool, bright place to grow thick, sturdy shoots and to give your crop a head start. For cut potatoes, air-dry them for a day before planting.

Shoots should poke above ground within about two to three weeks of planting. They’ll tolerate very light frosts but are best covered with row cover if cold is forecast. Once they reach 15cm tall, begin earthing up your potatoes with mounds of soil along the row. This encourages more tubers to grow and reduces the risk of light exposure, which turns the potatoes green.

Use a hoe to draw up the surrounding soil around the shoots and leave the tops exposed. Earth in stages like this each time the foliage reaches a similar height above soil level and continue until the mounds are either 30cm tall or the foliage above has closed over.

Potatoes need ample moisture for all their growth, so keep watering them in dry weather to enable tubers to grow to their full potential, free of any cracks or hollows. You should also clear your space of weeds as they appear to remove the competition for fast-growing potatoes.

Now comes the fun part. You can harvest tubers as small ‘new’ potatoes as soon as the plants begin to flower a couple of months after planting. Continue harvesting early varieties in stages from this point on, leaving the remaining plants to continue growing until needed. This staggered approach allows you to enjoy potatoes at their freshest and tastiest.

Maincrop potatoes are usually harvested towards the end of summer or in early autumn once the foliage has died back. Leave the tubers underground for a further two weeks, and on a dry day, lift them with a fork, taking care not to pierce any of the tubers.

Brush off excess soil, let the potatoes air dry for a few hours, then store in a cool but frost-free place.