Growing Potato

Solanum tuberosum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
            P P P P P  

(Best months for growing Potato in Australia - temperate regions)

  • P = Plant seed potatoes
  • Plant tuber. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 30 - 40 cm 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

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07 Jul 12, D JAMES (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have two seperate beds with sebagos one I planted them deep and hilled lightly they now have big stems and sit high.The other bed Iplanted shallow and hilled up lots its stems are spindly and falling over but still seems healthy is there a reason as they are both getting the same sun and water.
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08 Jun 12, mehmet kolgu (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi I met and loved Salad potatoes at UK. But couldn't see any at Sydney I love to grow them,can you help me please regards mehmet
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11 Jun 12, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Kipfler potatoes are a waxy variety good for salads.
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30 May 12, simon (Australia - tropical climate)
really want to grow some potatoes other than sweet potato, yam, taro etc etc in the tropics, surly there is one type of potato that could handle the dry season up this way?? any advise is really appreciated.
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06 May 12, PAUL CLARK (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have just got 2 kgs of seed pots for the garden. i have a built up garden 9 sq mtrs with plenty of drainage and around 12-15 inches of fresh soil. I have read that i need to let my seed pots grow shoots first so have placed them in egg boxes in my garage.......i live on the sunshine coast qld....when is the best time to plant them in the soil and when will they roughly be ready? thanks for any advice! PAUL
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12 Jul 12, Mark (Australia - temperate climate)
12 July - We have had ours in the ground for about 5 weeks now so if you don't have them in yet do it this w/end. You should be able to harvest in spring before it gets too hot, but you can dig them up anytime you want... they just may be on the small side or "new" potato's, still good... the rain we are having at the present time here on the Sunshine (or Unshine) Coast is good for the crop if nothing else.
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17 Apr 12, Shangjie (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Is it all right if I use shop potatoes when they are sprouting?
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08 Jul 12, Alban (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I planted shop potatoes that were sprouting and they grew very nicely. Only I planted them very late so they were small when harvesting. I think the main problem with shop potatoes is the danger of diseases, which is why experts recommend certified seed potatoes.
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13 Apr 12, ROBYN (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi We live in Ballarat and I am interested in growing no dig potatoes. I was wondering if we could use old seed bags off the farm and would we need to pierce them to increase the drainage? Also we love bbq potatoes so could you suggest suitable variety. Thanks so much Robyn
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14 Apr 12, Michael Ouellette (Australia - arid climate)
Dutch cream I find are the best potatoes to grow..
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The handbook-which I provided the location to in my prior reply is not very beginner'ish but it is comprehensive covering issues you may never encounter- but you do need the reference material. I have a few thoughts to add. 1. Hilling up while the plant is growing-if you are covering leaves I find this fundamentally wrong. Leaves are specialized and designed to collect light, they are not roots. So I opt to plant my seed potatoes deep enough on day one- however I tend to have the luxury of very well airated, light soil. This means the seed potato has a steady air supply and can sense the heat from the sun even at deeper depths 2. Your seedpotatoes need all their potassium Immediately. Potatoes strangely take up all their potassium that they need really early. -and don't uptake more. If there is not enough potassium in the very early stages your potatoes might have hollow heart (looks like hollow rotting middles). Late application of potassium tends to be useless 3. Potatoes seem to respond really well to the addition of microryzal fungi - in my area we source that under pine trees in a forest- we just take some forest floor duff with a dust pan and add to the potatoe planting soil. To sum up - your seed Potatoes should be about the size of chicken eggs (if larger cut up ensuring an eye on each piece and allow a few days to heal/scab up before planting). You need to chit them(make them sprout-place in dark so they sprout). Plant in soil with Compost, a sorce of potassium and microryzal fungi. If for some reason you cannot source any compost/pottasium/microryzal fungi -plant anyhow potatoes are tough -there is still a good chance they will be Okay -depends on the condition of you soil. In my area I can water deeply once per week. Harvest when about half the leaves have fallen over as if to die. If you harvest sooner you may be compromising on size-because as long as those leaves can collect light they can store the energy in the tubers. Good luck - it is so much easier than it sounds- and all those diseases in the handbook are rare and if the plants are strong (well fed) they can manage just fine, potaoes are pretty tough root crop. In other words- you can grow potatoe.

- Celeste Archer

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