Q&A for How to Grow Potatoes

This depends on the geographic region. Plant them after the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up, which is usually around mid to late May in the U.S.

Seed potatoes are better to use than store-bought potatoes. Plant the potato in the ground with the eyes facing upwards.

Potatoes take about 3 months to grow from planting to harvest. The time may vary slightly based on the variety, climate, and conditions.

Yes, or you can cut it into sections as long as each section has at least 1 eye or growth bud.

Adding compost to your soil is a great way to provide nutrients. Don’t use a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen as this will increase foliage growth at the expense of potato growth.

Potatoes can be planted in the fall through the winter in warm climates that don’t freeze. In cold climates potatoes should be planted in the spring.

Not unless sunlight can get to them.

To prevent potatoes from rotting, they must be dried well. Drying them will keep them fresher for a longer stretch of time.

No, you should not eat the leaves.

Yes, you can grow potatoes from potato seeds. However, because most potatoes on the market are hybrids, you're better off buying heirloom seeds from a garden center. Plant the seeds inside in the wintertime to give the plant plenty of time to grow, since potatoes grown from seed take longer than those grown from seed potatoes.

Keep topping the soil all season, until the leaves start to turn yellow and die.

If you plant them in spring, you will likely harvest in early autumn. The plant should start to die down, the leaves getting yellow. At this stage, cease watering to encourage the "dying." Then dig out the potatoes. Make sure they aren't green.

If the holes are deep, then it's a rotten potato. Otherwise, it's the seeds than will grow if you didn't eat the potato quick enough.

No.

Potatoes are nightshades. Leaves of all nightshades are toxic, no matter how they are cooked.

Potatoes do well with beans, borage, corn, cabbage, and marigolds. Do NOT plant them with cucurbits (squash, watermelon, pumpkin, cucumbers, zucchini), sunflowers, or tomatoes

Maybe aphids or potato beetles. If you see anything on the leaves, spray them with neem oil.

It is not entirely necessary to prune your potatoes until the leaves turn yellow or brown. At this point, just cut off that part.

Yes. They are harder to clean up at harvest time, but taste better than sandy soil potatoes.

You can buy the seeds at just about any home and garden store or farm supply store.

About 5-10, depending on how well you take care of the plants.

Yes small potatoes can be eaten. They may not be be as fluffy as a fully-grown potato when cooked; this is because a small potato will not have a fully-developed starch profile, which takes time. They are perfectly safe to eat, though, and are excellent when boiled.

Leave potatoes to cure for three (3) to seven (7) Days in a cool, dry, shaded, and well ventilated place. This will allow the skin to mature more fully. Brush off excess dirt with a soft to medium vegetable brush after curing.

Instead of planting outside, plant inside. It is best if you can keep them inside in a controlled environment that doesn't have such temperature extremes. If you can do this, the best time is anytime.

Yes lawn clippings work well. They are a good natural fertilizer. However, be sue to let it decompose first.

You can use hay as long as it’s thick enough to block the sun from reaching the potatoes.

No, if the ground freezes, the potatoes will freeze and therefore when the ground unfreezes, they will be mush.

No, the potatoes would still freeze and spoil, as they still contain small moisture.

They'll insist that it's a safer choice compared to planting the store-bought kind. But what exactly separates the two? Seed potatoes are, in the simplest terms, potatoes that were grown to be replanted. These tubers are supplied to gardeners and farmers with the intention to grow more from them.

In a straw bale, plant the potato cutting deep into the bale. While a bale may be 20″ high, 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.