🥔
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
Bury a seed potato, come back in three months to a treasure hunt.
Sun
Full sun
Water
2.5 cm / week
Soil
Loose, slightly acidic, pH 5.0–6.5
Spacing
30 cm apart, rows 75 cm
Days to harvest
70–120 days
Hardiness
Zones 3–10
Seasonal Calendar
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
JFMAMJJASOND
Sow Harvest
The method
- 1
Chit the seed potatoes
Set them in a bright, cool room for 4–6 weeks until short green shoots appear.
- 2
Plant in trenches
Bury 10–15 cm deep with shoots up. Space 30 cm apart.
- 3
Earth up
As shoots reach 20 cm, mound soil around the stems. Repeat every few weeks.
- 4
Harvest
Early varieties: dig once flowers open. Maincrop: wait until foliage yellows and dies back.
Common problems
Blight
Grow resistant varieties; cut off affected foliage immediately, wait 2 weeks before lifting.
Green tubers
Sunlight exposure — earth up thoroughly and never eat green flesh.
Good neighbors
BeanCornCabbageHorseradish
Field tips
- “Never plant potatoes in the same bed two years running — rotate.”
- “Store in the dark; light turns them green and bitter.”