When to plant potatoes
Potatoes go in as seed tubers, not seed, in cool spring soil. Plant two to three weeks before your average last frost, once soil reaches about 45°F and is workable rather than soggy. Shoots take two to three weeks to emerge, which usually carries them past the last frost.
If a frost is forecast after leaves have emerged, hill soil over the shoots or cover them with row cover; frosted tops regrow from the tuber, but it costs yield.
- Plant seed potatoes
- 3 weeks before to 1 week after last frost
- Frost
- Half-hardy: tolerates light frost
- Soil temp
- 45°F (7°C) or warmer
- Depth
- 4 in (seed piece)
- Spacing
- 12 in apart, rows 30 in · 1 per square foot
- Harvest
- 70–120 days
Your dates for potatoes
Tips for growing potatoes
- Use certified seed potatoes, not supermarket potatoes, which may carry disease or be treated to stop sprouting.
- Cut large seed potatoes into pieces with two or three eyes each and let the cuts dry for a day or two.
- Hill soil up around stems as they grow so tubers are never exposed to light, which turns them green and bitter.
- Harvest new potatoes when plants flower; wait until the tops die back for storage potatoes.
Choosing neighbours? See companion plants for potatoes. Working out how many fit? Use the spacing calculator.
Potatoes: common timing questions
How late can you plant potatoes?
In most regions up to late spring or early summer, provided about 90–110 days remain before the first fall frost for maincrop varieties (70–90 for earlies).
Should I plant potatoes before the last frost?
Yes, usually two to three weeks before. The tubers sit underground and shoots rarely emerge before the last frost.
How deep should I plant potatoes?
About 4 inches deep in a trench, then add soil as they grow until the hill is 8–12 inches high.