Vegetable Grow Guides
How to Grow Organic Potatoes from Seed Potatoes
Solanum tuberosum
About Potatoes
Grow potatoes from certified seed potatoes, not grocery tubers (which may be treated to prevent sprouting). Plant in one layer — never a heap. Hills or grow bags keep developing tubers in the dark so they do not green.
When to Plant
Plant 2–4 weeks before last frost when soil is 45–55°F. Frost nips foliage; cover if a freeze is due after shoots emerge.
How to Plant
Chit (sprout) in light for 1–2 weeks. Cut large tubers into egg-size pieces with at least one eye; cure cuts a day. Plant 3–4 inches deep, 12 inches apart, rows 30–36 inches. As shoots reach 8 inches, hill soil or mulch to leave the top leaves showing. Use compost — skip 5-10-5 synthetic blends.
When to Harvest
New potatoes: when plants flower. Storage potatoes: after vines yellow and die, wait a week, then lift with a fork. Cure 7–10 days in the dark at 50–60°F, then store cool, dark, and humid — not next to apples.