Have you ever thought about growing potatoes? To us, potatoes epitomize the joy of gardening—satisfying to plant, quick to grow, and fun to dig up. Our Potato Growing Guide covers planting, growing, harvesting, and storing potatoes.
Potatoes aren’t fussy vegetables, which makes them a fabulous choice for first-time growers. They do well in most soils and almost always produce plenty to hunt for at harvest time. That said, you can do a few things to elevate your crop.
About Potatoes
The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a cool-weather vegetable that typically yields bigger crops in the northern portion of the United States; however, they can be grown as a winter crop in warmer climates. Potatoes are related to peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants but are adapted to higher elevations and harsher growing conditions; the Incas in Peru first documented them. According to the Maine Potato Board, this vegetable arrived in the American Colonies in 1621 when the Governor of Bermuda sent potatoes to the Governor of Virginia at Jamestown.
The edible part of the potato is the underground tuber, an enlarged storage portion of the potato plant. Once the plants are 6 to 8 inches tall or around 5 to 7 weeks after planting, the tuber develops from underground stems called stolons.
Potatoes are nuggets of goodness. The nutrient-rich skin provides 45% of your daily vitamin C and 18% of potassium, plus many more nutrients.
Despite the limited options in the grocery store, gardeners know there’s much more to potatoes than the traditional Idaho white potato. There are over 100 types of potatoes, varying in skin color, flesh color, and size from large to fingerling! Floury types are perfect for roasting or mashing, while firm, waxy potatoes are superb boiled or as salad potatoes. You can learn all about potato varieties in the section below.
Potatoes for planting are called seed potatoes and are usually sold in bags or netting. The planting season for seed potatoes starts in the spring, two to four weeks before the last frost.
