Potato Plants: How to Plant Potatoes and Grow Them to Harvest

Plant seed potatoes up to 2 weeks before your last frost once the soil reaches 45 F, about 3 to 5 inches deep and 8 to 12 inches apart, and hill soil up the stems as they grow. Dig new potatoes about 6 to 8 weeks after planting and storage potatoes after the vines die and the skins set.

Sources: University of Minnesota Extension, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois Extension, University of Maryland Extension and 5 more. See the sources we used. How we source our guides

Updated October 29, 2026

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Plant seed potatoes in early spring, up to 2 weeks before your last frost, once the ground is workable. Cut large tubers into pieces with at least one eye; most guides set the pieces about 3 to 5 inches deep and 8 to 12 inches apart, then hill soil up the stems as the plants grow.

The potato plant is a cool-season crop grown from pieces of tuber, not true seed. Tuber formation peaks between 60 and 70 F and stops once the soil reaches 80 F, so potatoes go in early. This guide draws on seven extension services and gives planting dates for four weather stations.

Potatoes at a glance
Sun	Full sun, at least 6 to 8 hours a day; 8 to 10 preferred
How to start	Certified seed potatoes, whole or cut into pieces; not true seed
When to plant	Up to 2 weeks before the last spring frost, once the ground is workable
Soil temperature	At least 45 F to plant
Planting depth	About 3 to 5 inches in most guides; 1 to 3 in one, 5 to 6 for later crops
Spacing	8 to 12 inches apart, rows 24 to 36 inches apart
Days to maturity	70 to 85 after emergence for early types, over 100 for late; usually 90 to 120 from planting
Frost tolerance	Half-hardy: takes a light frost, not a heavy frost or a freeze
Soil pH	6.0 to 6.5 in most guides; 5 to 5.5 in one
Water	About 1 inch a week

When to plant potatoes: weeks before your last frost

Potatoes are one of the first crops into the garden. The rule this guide uses: in spring, plant as much as two weeks before your frost-free date, once the soil is workable and 45 F or warmer. The potato is half-hardy: it takes a light frost but not a heavy frost or a freeze.

Planting too early has two risks: seed pieces in damp, cold soil are more likely to rot, and a very early planting can be killed back by a late frost, though the plants usually recover. A planting made in soil that has dried and warmed may match a very early one.

The table applies the two-week rule to each station's median last 32 F date (1991-2020 normals); the last column shows local planting guidance, where one of our sources covers the area. Use the station closest to you; a hardiness zone describes winter lows, not a frost date.

Earliest potato planting at four weather stations
Station (1991-2020 normals)	Median last spring 32 F	Earliest planting (2 weeks before)	Median first fall 32 F	Local guidance
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN	Apr 23	Apr 9	Oct 18	Early April in the Twin Cities
Chicago O'Hare, IL	Apr 16	Apr 2	Oct 28	Statewide: March or early April
Washington Reagan, VA	Mar 24	Mar 10	Nov 18	Across the Potomac: Mar 15 to May 1 by location, later than the rule
Atlanta Hartsfield, GA	Mar 15	Mar 1	Nov 20	None in our sources; the date is our arithmetic on the rule

Each date is a median, a 50 percent date: half of all springs bring a 32 F night after it. Treat the earliest planting date as a floor and plant once the soil reaches 45 F. The fall column matters at harvest: dig mature potatoes before a hard frost.

Later plantings work as well. In one mid-Atlantic guide, early varieties can go in through June 1 to stretch the harvest; in a Midwest guide, midseason and late varieties can go in until July 1, and late potatoes are the ones for winter storage. In central Iowa the usual date is early to mid-April.

Seed potatoes: cutting and curing the pieces

A potato crop starts from seed tubers, not true seed. Plant certified disease-free seed potatoes: grocery potatoes may be treated so they will not sprout, and store-bought and saved tubers can carry disease without symptoms.

Small seed potatoes go in whole. Cut the larger ones a day to a few days before planting:

Sort by size. Plant small tubers whole: those up to 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Cut chunks that each carry an eye. Cut pieces 1 to 2 inches across, or 1 1/2 to 2 ounces. Every piece needs at least one eye, the bud that makes the shoot; two or three is better.
Keep the knife clean. Cut with a clean knife; one guide dips the blade in 10% bleach between cuts.
Let the cut faces dry. Hold the pieces a day or two to a few days, at 60 to 70 F, until the cut surface dries and toughens, to cut the risk of rot; one guide adds 85% relative humidity.
Handle sprouts gently. If sprouts appear before planting, do not rub them off as you set the pieces in.

The small "potato eyes" some suppliers sell, under an ounce, may be too small, and one guide calls a formal week-long cure of cut seed of questionable value for home gardeners.

For a head start, try green sprouting: keep whole tubers at room temperature in the dark until they sprout, then move them into light so the sprouts stay short, and cut and plant.

Early, midseason and late potatoes

One way to group varieties counts from the day the plants emerge: early types such as Dark Red Norland and Yukon Gold mature in 70 to 85 days, midseason types such as Kennebec and All Blue in 85 to 100 days, and late types such as Russet Burbank and Red LaSoda in more than 100. The classes vary by guide: one calls Kennebec late-maturing and Superior early to midseason, while another lists Kennebec as midseason and Superior with its late types. Pick the class for the job:

New potatoes and fewer beetles. A variety that matures in under 80 days escapes much of the midsummer Colorado potato beetle damage, though early varieties give smaller crops and often store less well.
Winter storage. Late-maturing, thick-skinned types such as russets typically keep longer than early or thin-skinned red potatoes.
Containers. Mid or late varieties are generally the better choice for pots because they keep setting tubers for longer.
Scab-prone soil. Norland, Russet Burbank and Superior have at least moderate scab resistance, and one guide lists Superior as resistant to scab.

How deep and how far apart to plant potatoes

Set each piece cut face down, about 3 to 5 inches deep in most guides; 4 inches is common. One guide covers the pieces only 1 to 3 inches deep, and later crops go 5 to 6 inches deep. Space pieces 8 to 12 inches apart, with rows 24 to 36 inches apart. For mainly new potatoes, space them 9 inches apart; for large storage potatoes, as far as 20.

Potato planting, harvest and storage numbers across the guides
	Most guides	Other figures given
Planting depth	About 3 to 5 in, often 4 in; covered with about 4 in	1 to 3 in in one guide; later crops 5 to 6 in
In-row spacing	8 to 12 in, or about 1 ft	9 in for new potatoes, up to 20 in for storage
Row spacing	24 to 36 in	None
Seed piece	1 to 2 in across, or 1 1/2 to 2 oz; 1 to 3 eyes	At least 2.5 oz with 2 to 3 eyes in one guide
Soil pH	6.0 to 6.5; tolerates 5	5 to 5.5 in one guide; 4.8 to 5.8 where scab persists
Days to maturity	Usually 90 to 120 after planting	70 to 85, 85 to 100 or over 100 after emergence, by class; early types under 80
New potatoes	About 6 to 8 weeks after planting	In one guide, usually after flowering; by size, tubers over 1 in or over 1 1/2 in, or 1 to 2 in, usually in July in a Midwest guide
Storage potatoes	After the plants die, once skins no longer rub off	2 weeks, or 2 to 3 weeks, after the vines die in two guides; before a hard frost; or once tubers reach full size
Curing	50 to 65 F, 10 days to 3 weeks	High humidity, 85 to 90% or more where given
Storage	38 to 50 F, about 90% RH	32 to 40 F, 95% RH in one guide, with 40 to 50 F for frying; keeps 2 to 3 months in one guide, 6 to 8 in another; late types can keep 7 to 8 months

Rows 24 inches apart often help: the plants then shade the soil and keep it from overheating.

Potatoes want loose, well-drained soil, and sandy soil suits them; poorly drained ground is more likely to give diseased tubers, and hard, compact soil gives misshapen ones. Potatoes need more fertilizer than other vegetables: side-dress about 4 to 6 weeks after planting, as the first hilling goes on or when tubers begin to form. Test the soil first.

Hilling potatoes as the plants grow

Hilling means drawing loose soil up around the stems as they grow. It keeps light off shallow tubers so they do not turn green, and more buried stem means more stolons, the thin underground stems that tubers form on.

The guides agree on the job and differ on the timing:

Start at about a foot. Start once the stems reach about a foot and hill once or twice more during the season, for 6 to 8 inches of soil in total.
Start at 8 to 12 inches. Hill when the stems reach 8 to 12 inches, covering most of the stem, and repeat two or three times.
Start at planting. Form hills at planting or within the first 4 weeks, and keep mounding until the plants are 15 to 18 inches tall and the ridge stands about 4 to 5 inches high; another guide says the ridge may reach 4 to 6 inches by summer.
Wait for full-grown tops. Hill once the tops are fully grown, keeping the top of each hill no more than 6 inches above the surrounding grade.

Some gardeners plant in a shallow trench to make the hilling easier. Keep the hoe shallow, 2 inches deep or less: young tubers are easily cut.

How much water potatoes need

Potatoes want about an inch of water each week, counting rain, soaked in once or twice a week. An inch reaches about 10 inches down in sandy soil but only about 6 in clay, so sandy beds need water more often. Steady moisture matters most as tubers form, which in Iowa typically begins early to mid-June: wet and dry swings can lead to hollow heart, growth cracks and knobs.

Water at the base; overhead watering can spread fungal diseases. Cut back once the vines start to die, so the tubers do not rot. Mulch usually helps too: organic mulch spread after the plants emerge holds moisture, helps keep weeds down and cools the soil, and thick straw mulch laid after hilling also deters Colorado potato beetles.

How to grow potatoes in grow bags and containers

Potatoes can grow well in containers. A container about 2 to 3 feet tall that holds 10 to 15 gallons suits them, with 5 gallons of soil per plant; one container chart asks for 30 gallons of potting mix.

Any container works if it is opaque and has drainage holes, and grow bags and potato towers are ready-made options, though one guide says towers don't usually work. A taller container usually dries out on top while the bottom can stay soggy enough to rot the potatoes. Fill with half soilless potting mix and half compost, not garden soil.

Start with a layer of mix. About 4 to 8 inches.
Set the seed potatoes. About a foot apart, or 3 to 5 per container, eyes up.
Cover them. With 3 to 6 inches of mix.
Keep adding mix. As the stems grow, add mix but leave about 6 inches of leaves showing, until the container is full.
Water often. Water when the top 1 to 2 inches feel dry, until some drains out the bottom.
Feed. Once shoots emerge, use a balanced soluble fertilizer every couple of weeks.

Container potatoes usually stay smaller than those grown in the ground, so aim for new potatoes. Harvest when the tops yellow and die back or after the first fall frost, by tipping the container onto a tarp.

When to harvest new and storage potatoes

There are two harvests. New potatoes are dug young while the vines are still green; storage potatoes are dug after the vines die and the skins have set.

New potatoes. Dig them about 6 to 8 weeks after planting; the table above has the sizes. The tubers sit above the seed piece, so dig about a foot down and turn the plant over, or take a few from the side and leave the plant growing. They are thin-skinned and keep poorly: refrigerate them and use them within ten days.

Storage potatoes. Dig after the vines die; two guides wait 2 to 3 weeks after the vines die on their own, so the skin hardens. To check, dig one or two hills first: if the skins slip off under your thumb, give the crop several more days.

Dig on a dry day with a spading fork, taking care not to spear tubers, and eat any you cut or bruise first, since damaged tubers spoil in storage.

Curing and storing potatoes

Cure storage potatoes somewhere mild for 10 days to 3 weeks so small wounds heal and the skin thickens; the table has the temperatures. Brush off dry soil but do not wash them. Then store them cool, dark and humid: about 38 to 50 F in most guides, while one gives 32 to 40 F, as in a refrigerator, and 40 to 50 F for frying potatoes. Below 38 F, they can turn sweet. Keep them away from apples, whose ethylene speeds sprouting.

Green parts are linked to solanine, a bitter and toxic glycoalkaloid: cut them out and discard them. Do not eat potatoes with extensive green areas, or their sprouts, which can be toxic.

Scab, blight and Colorado potato beetles

Rotation is the first defense against most of these. Plant potatoes where no tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant or tomatillos have grown in the past 2 to 4 years, since disease spores in the soil can infect new plantings of the family. That means keeping potatoes out of last year's tomato bed and pepper rows, and our nightshade family guide covers how these diseases cross between members.

Potato scab. Rough, corky spots on the skin from a soil bacterium; scabby potatoes are edible and need only be peeled. Scab tends not to develop below pH 5.2, and a pH near 6.5 is a good compromise for a mixed garden; avoid lime and fresh manure, which may increase soil pH. Where scab persists, one guide recommends 4.8 to 5.8.
Early blight. A common fungal leaf spot that, in the upper Midwest, turns up nearly every season. Small dark spots start on older leaves near the ground and can reach up to 1/2 inch, the larger ones with target-like rings. It develops at 59 to 80 F, with an optimum of 82 to 86 F, and it is most likely to spread in wet weather or heavy dew. Mulch the soil, water at the base and remove spotted leaves.
Late blight. Less common but fast: large dark brown leaf blotches edged in green-gray, and tubers that discolor and rot. It favors cool, damp weather (60 to 70 F) and most often arrives on infected seed tubers, shipped tomato transplants or windblown spores. Water at the soil with drip lines or soaker hoses, in the morning, and pull or bury the plants when the season ends.
Colorado potato beetle. Adults are about 3/8 inch long with yellowish-white wing covers striped in 10 narrow black lines; young larvae are brick red, older ones pink to salmon, with two rows of dark spots along each side. Adult beetles pass the winter underground, 5 to 10 inches down, and come up about when the potato shoots do. Potatoes typically tolerate up to 30 percent leaf loss before flowering but only about 10 percent once tubers start to size up, and another guide finds leaf loss most damaging just before and during flowering.

For the beetle, stack small steps: handpick adults and larvae into soapy water and crush the yellow-orange egg clusters under the leaves; lay row cover before any beetles appear, in a new spot, and remove it when the weather turns hot and humid; mulch between plants; clear nightshade and ground cherry weeds; and grow an early variety. Beetles travel little until the weather reaches 70 F, so a year without potatoes can thin them. The beetle is resistant to many garden insecticides.

A few other problems are disorders, not diseases. Hollow heart, an irregular cavity in the center of the tuber, follows swings between plenty of water and too little, or poor nutrition, and does not affect taste. Small green fruits on the plant are the potato's own seed balls, not a cross with tomatoes; they are not edible, and plants grown from that seed will not match the variety.

What to plant with potatoes

In our reading, extension sources back few potato companions. Rotate potatoes with corn, peas and beans, which scab does not infect. Marigolds, often suggested against Colorado potato beetles, failed to deter them in several studies, and our companion planting chart lists the pairs that do have support.

Seed potatoes and supplies

Most garden centers stock seed potatoes in spring, and seed catalogs sell them too. Choose an early variety for new potatoes and to dodge much of the midsummer beetle damage, or a late, thick-skinned one for storage. For a patio, a grow bag or any opaque container with drainage holes works, 10 to 15 gallons in most guides, and a spading fork handles the digging.

What you'll need for potatoes

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VIVOSUN 10 Gallon Grow Bags, 5-Pack
For a patio, a grow bag or any opaque container with drainage holes works, 10 to 15 gallons in most guides.
Check price on Amazon
Truper Spading Fork, 4-Tine, 30-Inch D-Handle
A spading fork handles the digging.
Check price on Amazon

Sources we used

Each potato number above traces to a page in this list, saved as we read it. When their numbers differ, this page shows the span or the split between guides.

Beans, a rotation crop for potato ground.
Carrots, which, like potatoes, can help break up compacted soil.
Tomatoes, which share early and late blight with potatoes.
Peppers, another member of the potato family.
Onions from seed, sets or transplants.
Leeks, from seed to a winter harvest.
Nightshade family vegetables: rotation, shared diseases and pests.

Frequently asked questions

When should I plant potatoes?

Plant potatoes in early spring, up to 2 weeks before your last frost, once the soil can be worked and is at least 45 F. With a median last 32 F date of April 16 at Chicago O'Hare, the earliest planting day is about April 2. Cold, wet soil makes seed pieces more likely to rot.

How long do potatoes take to grow?

Counted from planting, most potato varieties mature in 90 to 120 days. Counted from the day the plants emerge, early varieties take about 70 to 85 days, midseason types 85 to 100 days and late types more than 100. New potatoes come sooner, about 6 to 8 weeks after planting.

When do you harvest potatoes?

Dig new potatoes while the plants are still green, about 6 to 8 weeks after planting. Dig storage potatoes after the vines die; two guides wait 2 to 3 weeks so the skins harden. If the skin still rubs off easily, leave the crop in the ground several more days.

Can you grow potatoes in a container?

Yes: a container about 2 to 3 feet tall that holds 10 to 15 gallons and has drainage holes suits them, though one container chart asks for 30 gallons of mix. Keep adding potting mix as the stems grow, leaving about 6 inches of leaves showing. Grow bags and potato towers are ready-made options, though one guide says towers don't usually work.

How deep do you plant potatoes?

Plant seed potatoes about 3 to 5 inches deep with the cut side facing down, the depth most guides give; 4 inches is common. Space them 8 to 12 inches apart, with 24 to 36 inches between rows. Later plantings go deeper, at 5 to 6 inches, and one guide covers them only 1 to 3 inches.

Can you plant potatoes from the grocery store?

It is not a good idea: grocery potatoes may be treated with a sprout inhibitor, and they are not certified free of disease. Store potatoes can also carry disease without symptoms. Plant certified seed potatoes instead; most garden centers carry them in spring.

What can you plant with potatoes?

Rotate potatoes with corn, peas or beans, crops that potato scab does not infect, and keep them out of beds where tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or tomatillos grew in the past 2 to 4 years. Marigolds, often suggested against Colorado potato beetles, failed to deter them in studies.

Why do potatoes turn green?

Potatoes turn green where light reaches the tuber, in the ground or in storage, so hill soil over shallow tubers and store the harvest in the dark. Green parts are linked to solanine, a bitter and toxic glycoalkaloid: cut them out and discard them, and do not eat potatoes with extensive green areas.

Potato Plants: How to Plant Potatoes and Grow Them to Harvest

When to plant potatoes: weeks before your last frost