How to Grow Potatoes in the USA
On this page
- Potato (Solanum tuberosum)
- Quick Facts
- At a Glance
- Chitting Seed Potatoes
- Planting Method
- Soil & Growing Conditions
- Growth Stages
- Earthing Up
- Watering and Feeding
- Companion Planting
- Harvest & Storage
- Potato Varieties
- Growing Potatoes in Bags
- Where to Go Next
- Plan your Potatoes planting
- Growing Potato in another region
- Sources
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Diseases
- Pests
- Nutrient Issues
- Frequently Asked Questions
Plant potatoes once the soil can be worked and your last hard frost has passed — timing follows your USDA zone rather than a fixed date, and young shoots are frost-tender enough to need earthing up if a late cold snap threatens. Harvest 70–140 days later depending on variety.
The short answer
- Ready in
- 70–140 days
- Site
- soil pH 5.2–6
- Biggest risk
- Powdery scab
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum)
Also known as: Irish potato, Papa · 16 sources cited · Verified
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil pH | 5.2 - 6 |
| Time to harvest | 70-140 days |
| Soil texture | Rich, fertile soil worked with plenty of organic matter -- garden compost or well-rotted manure -- before planting, especially on light soils, with a general-purpose fertiliser applied at planting. |
| Drainage | Well-drained but moisture-retentive; potatoes need steady moisture as tubers bulk up but will rot in waterlogged ground. |
| Lifecycle | Herbaceous perennial botanically, but grown horticulturally as an annual crop: propagated from tubers ("seed potatoes"), planted and harvested within a single growing season. Member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), the fourth most important food crop globally after wheat, maize and rice (Kew). |
| Edible parts | tuber |
| Documented problems | 6 diseases, 4 pests, 1 nutrient issue |
At a Glance
Chitting Seed Potatoes
Planting Method
Dig trenches or individual holes 10–15cm deep. Place seed potatoes rose-end up. Spacing: 30cm apart for first earlies, 37cm for second earlies, 45cm for maincrop. Rows 45–60cm apart for earlies, 75cm for maincrop. Cover with soil and water in. Earth up shoots as they emerge to protect from frost and to encourage tubers to form along the buried stem.
Soil & Growing Conditions
Water: Keep well watered, particularly through dry spells while tubers are bulking. Extension guidance quantifies this as 1-2 inches (roughly 25-50 mm) of water per week.
Soil pH range
Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chitting & planting (seed potatoes) | 0 | Seed potatoes are pre-sprouted ("chitted") before planting, especially for first earlies. Plant in a trench or individual holes 7-15cm deep with shoots facing upward, covering with at least 2.5cm of soil; site must be open, sunny, and not prone to late frosts (RHS). Spacing: earlies ~30cm apart in rows 60cm apart; maincrop ~37cm apart in rows 75cm apart (RHS). |
| Shoot emergence & earthing up | 3 | Shoots emerge and haulm (foliage) develops. "Earthing up" (mounding soil/compost over the lower stems) is carried out as shoots grow, covering the lower two-thirds of the plant. This protects young shoots from frost and prevents developing tubers being exposed to light, which turns them green and toxic (RHS, Kew). No RHS-specified numeric day-count for this stage was found; height-based timing (~20cm shoots) is used instead of days. |
| Flowering | 6 | White to pink, purple or blue flowers, ~2.5cm diameter with yellow anthers, in axillary inflorescences (Kew). Flowering is not required for tuber formation and its absence is not a sign of a problem; timing and profusion vary by cultivar. Fruit (an inedible berry) is rarely produced in cultivation. |
| Tuber bulking | 7 | Main phase of tuber enlargement below ground. This is the growth stage most vulnerable to yield loss if potato blight causes early defoliation, since the plant loses its capacity to bulk tubers once the haulm is destroyed (RHS). Potassium is the key nutrient for tuber development at this stage. |
| Haulm senescence & lifting | 8 | Foliage (haulm) yellows and dies back naturally (maincrop) or is deliberately cut off at ~25% blight-affected leaf level to protect tubers (RHS). Maincrop tuber skins are left to harden for about two weeks after haulm removal before lifting, which also reduces skin damage in storage. First/second earlies are lifted directly once the target size/timing window is reached, without waiting for full die-back. |
| Post-harvest dormancy & storage | 9 | Harvested tubers are stored cool, dark and frost-free; check regularly for decay. Tubers exposed to light (in the ground or in storage) turn green and accumulate toxic solanine and must be discarded, not eaten (Kew). Tubers from a blight-affected crop should be used promptly rather than stored, and any stored batch should be checked regularly since blight-related rot can spread in store (RHS). |
Earthing Up
Earth up when shoots reach 20–25cm, drawing soil from between rows up around the base of plants to leave just the top few leaves showing. This prevents tubers near the surface from turning green (green potatoes contain solanine and are inedible). Earth up two or three times through the season.
Watering and Feeding
Water consistently once tubers begin to form — irregular watering causes hollow hearts and cracking. A good soaking every 10–14 days in dry weather is better than frequent light watering. Feed with a high-potash liquid feed once flowering begins to encourage tuber development.
Companion Planting
Harvest & Storage
When to pick: Potatoes fall into three broad timing groups, each with its own planting-to-lifting window. First earlies are usually ready 10-12 weeks after planting, once plants have flowered and tubers are around golf-ball sized. Second earlies follow at 13-14 weeks, as plants begin to yellow and tubers are larger. Maincrop varieties take 15-20 weeks and are lifted once the haulm (foliage) dies back fully and skin sets firm -- allow about two weeks after that point so skins harden before lifting.
Storage
Cure lifted tubers at 55-60°F (13-16°C) in high humidity for two to three weeks so skins set, then store in the dark in a cool, frost-free place -- in paper or hessian sacks, or on slatted trays. Check stored tubers regularly for decay: blight-affected tubers can rot in store even when they looked sound at lifting, so use tubers from a blighted crop promptly rather than storing them.
Potato Varieties
Named varieties are worth seeking out over unlabelled seed potatoes, since a known variety tells you what to expect from it. Two widely available reference points:
- Charlotte — a second early and popular salad variety with yellow tubers (RHS).
- Maris Piper — a maincrop giving a reliable, large crop of tubers with cream skin and flesh (RHS).
Exact planting and harvest timing depends on your local frost dates and growing season, not on the variety name alone — see the growing-season sections above for the general framework.
Growing Potatoes in Bags
Potatoes can be grown in bags and containers, especially first earlies and Christmas potatoes. Containers warm quickly, fit small spaces and make harvesting easier, but they dry out faster than open ground. Use good compost, water consistently and avoid overcrowding each bag.
Where to Go Next
Browse sowing dates for all crops in the UK vegetable planting calendar or explore all UK vegetable growing guides.
Plan your Potatoes planting
When to sow and plant Potatoes depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA vegetable planting calendar, or the month-by-month guides that cover Potatoes: January, February, March, April, May, June, August, September, October. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Potato in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
-
Names Phytophthora blight, bacterial wilt, southern blight and Phomopsis blight as the diseases, and aphids/whiteflies, flea beetles, Colorado potato beetle, hornworms, stink and leaf-footed bugs, and spider mites as the pests, each with symptoms and management. Carries the three-year solanaceous rotation rule for both bacterial wilt and southern blight.
These 5 sources are specific to this region. The full list of 16 sources behind this guide (Clemson Cooperative Extension, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox and others) is in the references of our UK guide to potatoes; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Chitting maincrop varieties. There's no real advantage to chitting maincrops, as they grow over a much longer period (RHS).
- Reacting slowly to blight. In a blight summer you can usually still harvest and eat the crop if you act quickly, although the potatoes won't be suitable for storing (RHS).
- Skipping earthing up. Earthing up protects early shoots from frost and keeps new tubers out of the light, which can make them green and poisonous (RHS).
Diseases
Pests
Nutrient Issues
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do potatoes take to grow?
Typically 70–140 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.
What soil pH do potatoes need?
A pH of about 5.2–6. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect potatoes?
Our data links 6 diseases and 4 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.
Get the USA Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for US growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
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Last verified 2026-09-02
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