Planting Potatoes in the Garden – We find that potatoes are best grown in rows. To begin with, dig a trench that is 6-8 inches deep. Plant each piece of potato (cut side down, with the eyes pointing up) every 12-15 inches, with the rows spaced 3 feet apart.
- If your space is limited or if you would like to grow only baby potatoes, you can decrease the spacing between plants.
- To begin with only fill the trench in with 4 inches of soil.
- Let the plants start to grow and then continue to fill in the trench and even mound the soil around the plants as they continue to grow.
Prior to planting, always make sure to cultivate the soil one last time. This will remove any weeds and will loosen the soil and allow the plants to become established more quickly.
Do you plant seed potatoes with eyes up or down?
How to Find the Seed End of Potatoes – Which end of the potato is up? Basically, the only thing to remember when planting potatoes is to plant with the eyes facing up. Here’s a little more detail:
Small seed potatoes that measure 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm.) in diameter (about the size of a chicken egg) can be planted whole with, as noted, the eye facing up. Preferably, the seed potato will have more than one eye. In this case, just ensure that at least one healthy eye will be facing up. The others will find their way. If your seed potatoes are larger, cut them into 1- to 2-inch chunks, each with at least one good eye. Set the chunks aside for three to five days so the cut surfaces have time to callus, which helps prevent the potatoes from rotting in the cool, moist soil.
How many potatoes grow from one seed potato?
How many potatoes grow from one seed potato? – Seed potatoes vary in size. While small seed potatoes can be planted whole and produce one potato plant, larger seed potatoes can be cut in half or quartered to produce 2 to 4 potato plants. A larger whole seed potato usually produces a stronger plant so seed cutting is not necessary unless the potato is very large.
One seed potato will grow one plant and on average one plant will produce 8 to 10 potatoes. When cutting the seed potatoes, it is vital that each section has at least two eyes — the small indentations where the tuber sprouts new growth. You may notice a tiny sprout forming from the eyes of your seed potatoes,
If your seed potatoes have already sprouted, do not remove the sprouts.
Do you water seed potatoes after planting?
Potatoes need 1 to 2 inches of water a week. Too much water right after planting and not enough as the potatoes begin to form can cause them to become misshapen. Stop watering when the foliage begins to turn yellow and die off.
Do you cover seed potatoes with soil?
How to Hill Up Potato Plants – Covering potato plants with fresh, rich, loose organic material like this can continue until the hill is as tall as you can or want to make it. Ideally, the taller the hill, the more potatoes you will get. Unfortunately, rain and wind can erode these potato hills if they are left exposed.
- Some farmers use bricks or wire mesh as walls to hold up the hills and prevent erosion.
- Many potato growers have come up with new methods of growing deep, erosion free potato hills.
- One method is to grow potatoes in old tires.
- A tire is placed in the garden and filled with loose organic material, and a seed potato is planted in the center.
When the potato sprouts to about 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm.) tall, another tire is stacked on top of the first tire and filled with soil or organic material so that the potato vine is vertical and its top leaves are just sticking out of the soil surface or just below the soil surface.
- As the potatoes grow, more tires and soil are added until your tire pillar is as high as you want to go.
- Then when it is time to harvest potatoes, the tires are simply removed, one by one, exposing the potatoes for harvest.
- Many people swear this is the best way to grow potatoes, while others continue to try other methods.
Other ways to grow deep, flavorful potatoes is in a barrel, garbage bin, or grow bag, Make sure barrels or garbage bins have proper drainage holes in the bottom before planting. Proper drainage is essential to successful potato growing, as too much water can cause tubers and potatoes to rot.
- Potatoes grown in barrels, bins, or grow bags are grown the same way as they are grown in natural hills or tires.
- The seed potato is planted in the bottom in a layer of loose soil about a foot (31 cm.) deep.
- When the potato vine grows to about 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm.), more soil is gently added to cover all but the tips of the potato plant.
Potato vines are allowed to grow a little, then covered with loose soil or organic material this way until you reach the top of your barrel or grow bag. Wherever you choose to grow your potatoes, covering potato plants with loose, organic material is essential for proper potato development.
How late can you plant potatoes?
When to plant potatoes – As with knowing when to plant vegetables in general, when you plant potatoes will depend on your climate, soil conditions and the estimated date of the last frosts in your area. Potatoes are not hardy plants, so in general they are planted in spring from mid March to late April and can be harvested anywhere between June and October.
In milder regions potatoes may be planted earlier than in colder regions. ‘In general, potato plants are usually planted two to three weeks before the last frost date,’ says gardening expert Mary Jane Duford (opens in new tab), known for her step-by-step guides. ‘The plants take about two to three weeks to sprout up above the soil, meaning that the timing works out so that potato plants sprout outdoors around the time of the local last frost date.’ Before planting potatoes you can give them a head start by ‘chitting’ them.
This is a process which encourages seed potatoes to develop shoots before they are planted. To do this lay the seed potatoes in trays (you could use egg boxes) with their eyes pointing upwards and place the trays in a cool, light, frost-free place. In northern latitudes chitting is generally done six weeks before planting. 
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Can I cut seed potatoes in half?
Seed potatoes can be cut in half before planting, to increase your crop of spuds. Lucy Hall, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, explains how to do it, in our Quick Tips video. Advertisement Advertisement
How deep do farmers plant potatoes?
Planting and protecting the crop Seed potatoes are planted about 15-17cm deep in rows and then covered with soil. The distance between the seed potatoes will depend on the variety of potato as the size of plants differs.
How deep do you Plough for potatoes?
‘ About 80cm would be ideal, but certainly if you can get 40cm of workable soil you will have a pretty good yield potential.’