Vegetable · Tuber
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
A cool-season staple grown from seed pieces rather than true seed, producing starchy tubers underground. Hilling: Mounding soil up around the base of a plant's stems as it grows, most often used with potatoes to protect developing tubers from sunlight and boost yield. soil around the stems as they grow protects developing tubers and boosts yield.
At a glance
Water
Medium
32–48 fl oz/wk
Light
Full sun
6–8 hrs/day
Space
Medium
12 in
To maturity
90–120 days
Edible parts: Tuber
Family: Nightshade
Includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes. Many members produce fruit that ripens from green to a deeper colour as it matures.
Harvest
Dig new potatoes a few weeks after flowering for a tender early harvest, or wait until the foliage dies back for full-sized storage potatoes.
Growing conditions
- Temperature
- 45–75 °F
- Soil pH
- 5.2–6.5
- Soil type
- Loose, well-drained soil high in organic matter; low pH helps prevent scab
- Climate
- Cool-season; tubers stop forming well once soil temperatures climb into the 80s.
- Growing season
- Plant seed pieces 2-4 weeks before the last expected frost.
- Nitrogen
- Medium (≈40–80 ppm)
- Humidity
- Medium (≈40–70 %)
- Planting unit
- Seed
- Feeding schedule
- A balanced feed at planting supports vine growth; avoid excess nitrogen late, which favours foliage over tubers.
- Pest resistance
- Moderate - watch for Colorado potato beetles and aphids
- Pests
- Aphids: Small, soft-bodied insects that cluster on new growth and undersides of leaves, sucking sap and excreting sticky honeydew., Colorado potato beetle: A striped beetle whose larvae strip potato foliage; can defoliate plants quickly if not controlled early.
- Pruning
- None; instead, hill soil around the base of the stems as they grow to protect tubers from sunlight and increase yield.
Where it grows
- Container / PotIdeal— A grow bag or barrel works well; hill soil as vines grow.
- In-Ground GardenIdeal
- Raised BedIdeal
- HydroponicNot recommended— Tuber formation doesn't suit standard hydroponic setups.
- Vertical / TrellisNot recommended— No climbing or vining habit.
- WindowsillNot recommended— Needs more light and root room than a windowsill offers.
Companions & antagonists
- Antagonistic: Tomato — Mutual entry for the tomato/potato blight risk - see tomato's companion notes.
Sources
- Growing Potatoes in a Home Garden — University of Maryland Extension
- Growing potatoes in home gardens — University of Minnesota Extension
- Tomato-Potato Late Blight in the Home Garden — Penn State Extension