Growing Potato

Solanum tuberosum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				P	P	P	P	P

(Best months for growing Potato in Australia - sub-tropical regions)

P = Plant seed potatoes

Plant tuber. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
Space plants: 12 - 16 inches apart
Harvest in 15-20 weeks. Dig carefully, avoid damaging the potatoes.
Compatible with (can grow beside): Peas, Beans, Brassicas, Sweetcorn, Broad Beans, Nasturtiums, Marigolds
Avoid growing close to: Cucumber, Pumpkin, Sunflowers, Tomatoes, Rosemary

Your comments and tips

06 Apr 21, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): You plant near the bottom and add more soil as they grow. There is more information on the internet about growing them this way.
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10 Mar 21, Heather Warren (USA - Zone 8b climate): I live in Squamish, BC. (Zone 8b). When can I start putting potatoes in buckets? :) (Gardenate: Try here /www.gardenate.com/plant/Potato?zone=12 )
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07 Mar 21, harold branville (USA - Zone 2b climate): best potato to plant
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20 Feb 21, Gerrie (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate): Can we plant patatoes in march in limpopo in south africa? We have irregation. Which cultvar? We didt get any frost. Thanks...
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22 Feb 21, Anonymous (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate): Work out your climate zone from the BLUE TAB and then check the planting calendar for potatoes for your zone.
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14 Feb 21, Chef (USA - Zone 8a climate): New to container potatoes Looking at Early types Late types Larger the better Thank you all for your time
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16 Feb 21, Anonymous (USA - Zone 4a climate): Look up the internet for varieties in your state/country.
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09 Feb 21, Patricia Adams (USA - Zone 8b climate): I'm a beginner an is really fascinated with patio & container garden.what information can you give to be successful
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01 Mar 21, Matt stephens (USA - Zone 9b climate): My first season growing potatoes was last year. We used the Ruth Stout Method and had no problems. We created the raised bed, turned the dirt and added a layer of compost, then put the potatoes down and laid hay on top. We added a good 6-10 in of straw over the top when the sprout came out of the soil. Best and easiest method I have ever seen or heard of. What is described on here is also interesting, I just don't have enough cardboard or newspaper, so I'll be using straw again this year. Just a side note, we have seen/heard people grow things directly in the straw bale too. Usually when they don't have space in their yard, or no yard at all. This method also works well. Good luck!
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04 Dec 21, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate): I've used straw to mound my potatoes and had a lot of issues with slugs and other insects. The straw also made it difficult to water (surprisingly), I had to add a lot of water to get down to the plant roots - I think when it is all soil, the water distributes better. I would use straw again, but it would not be my go to choice; but when there's not enough soil, straw is certainly easy to transport, light and affordable, additionally it is a byproduct (3rd cut) of another process. The straw also left the underlying soil in really good shape (taking the brunt of the sun and wind).
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I would like to endorse the comments above regarding the use of tyres to grow Potatoes or in fact use to grow any any food. The rubber compounds in both the carcase and tread contain significant numbers of nasties. Tyres are designed to perform at high speed under quite arduous conditions, absolutely not designed as end of life food growing receptacles! They contain many potential hazards/chemicals, far too many to fully list. I will list just a couple,so that fellow readers who do not have my background can appreciate better what they are dealing with. Firstly the reinforcing Carbon Blacks utilized in the rubber compounds, contain significant amounts of Organo-Nitrogen compounds, blacks of this type are banned for use with any "Potable Water" applications! the reason being these compounds are considered as being high risk carciogens. There are special Blacks made specifically for food contact applications, rubber reinforcing blacks are definitely not suitable. Processing aids, The rubber in the tyres must be made to be strong/resilient/heat resistant; specially designed chemical compounds are encorporated into the rubber compounds to achieve this. The chemical compounds used present problems in many directions, firstly they are not ( dont need to be) pure compounds they contain debris from the chemical synthesis processes used to make them; these same compounds also decompose both during Vulcanization and during the life of the tyre. The Organo-Chemical families many of these compounds belong to include compounds that are considered hazardous and not suitable for food contact. The possibility of side chemical reactions between both the impurities and the debris from the degradation, resulting in compounds that could present significant hazards is real. Are tyres dangerous? yes! when attached to cars driven by idiots and when used as receptacles to grow food; otherwise no!

- Geoff Brooks

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Solanum tuberosum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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