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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25 May 09, jenny (Australia - temperate climate)
I notice that you say to plant potatoes august, sept, oct, are there any varieties that can be planted now? Thanks, Jenny
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11 May 09, Brad (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Had my kipflers in the ground now for 2.5 weeks and all have shooted and growing quickly. Will mound some more soil and compost over them once they are all around 10cm high. Looking good so far!!!
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24 Apr 09, Kay (Australia - temperate climate)
So if you don't get frost, can you plant now or do I have to wait until Spring? Had a self-seeded tomato that grew through Winter last year, so thought I might be able to still try potatoes?
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22 Apr 09, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Danny, you need to wait until spring to plant potatoes. Frost will kill all the leaf growth. Same problem up here in Armidale.
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19 Apr 09, dean (Australia - tropical climate)
I live in cairns FNQ and although we have many potato farms surrounding our tableland region is the amount of water we recieve on the coast a contributing factor to poor growth and rot, also i am yet to see anyone selling seed potaoes that work for this area can anyone point me in the right direction. cheers
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17 Apr 09, Kay (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi all. I have two 60 cm diameter and height wire cages of potatoes that I planted late February. Lined these cages with old newspaper to hold the exta soil/sugar straw in as I'm gradually filling up the cages. Never grown potatoes before, may be too late, but they're growing like crazy and I'm just keep burying them in cow poo, soil and sugar straw, leaving about 10cm of shoots. Had to extend the cages in height as they're growing so quickly. So far going well. Used kipflers that sprouted - not certified. I guess it is too late here to grow any more right now, have some more unusual potatoes (dutch blue?) sprouting in my pantry?
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14 Apr 09, Julian (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi there, everyone. I'm in Ballarat, a famous spud-growing region, and grew up on a spud farm. Here spuds are planted in Oct/Nov and watered at least twice weekly until the plant dies. They are harvested beginning in March, and depending on the weather, harvest can go through until August. As long as the tubers are fully covered by soil (NOT Hay or other mulch), they will keep in the ground for at least 3 months. The hotter it is, the more you will need to water. Once harvested, you can keep them for another month or so in a cool spot, as long as you keep them covered (they'll go green if exposed to sunlight.
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14 Apr 09, Brad (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi Addy, This is the first time I've attempted to grow anything! So a total novice. I bought some kipflers from the markets and put them in the pantry to sprout. I'll be planting them shortly after cutting the tubers in half with an eye to each. The cost is minimal and I may as well have a go.
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12 Apr 09, Addy (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Brad, I'm also keen to start planting potatoes soon. I planted 2 beds last year and got a disappointing harvest, tried stacking with mulch, got lots of lovely leaves, but not many potatoes! The plantings in traditional soil actually did a bit better. Did you get seed potatoes or eating ones from the shop? (Also a Brisbanite)
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12 Apr 09, Danny (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hello from Tamworth, does anyone know can I plant & grow potatos this time of year, get frosts.
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I heard that the potato will stop sending nutrients to the tubers if the stalks are bent. One of the most successful potato harvests I have ever seen was a large container grown project where he used several layers (think of a layer cake) of horizontal plastic fencing and t-posts at each corner to hold the horizontal fencing to keep the stalks from bending at all and support them as they grew. They were able to get an absolutely massive yield with that method although he was sick all summer and didn't care for them or water them at all. I am not sure that the container growing was as pivotal in the results as just keeping the stalks from bending over. I have container grown before and will try it again this spring as well as ground growing using his methods to keep the stalks upright. I think another often overlooked issue is either too much or too little phosphorus and potash in 10-10-10 fertilizer. I think 'balanced' fertilizers can present real problems for root crops since they don't need or want balanced inputs. You will always have too much of something and too little of the other. Also there is a time delay on phosphorus while it stays in the upper part of the soil, so you can apply phosphorus to increase tuber formation, but it takes 3 months to disperse into the soil, while nitrogen sinks like a stone through soil an becomes almost immediately bio-unavailable (or runs off into the environment via water). So if you are using 10-10-10 you are going to end up poisoning your plants in order to get one or another nutrients available in the correct quantity. Plus factor in the time delay to bioavailability. I think it is better to thoroughly prepare soil before you put your garden to bed in the winter than prepare it in the spring (actually I have revived some fruit trees that were very old and no longer producing by fall fertilizing; I got almost $700 worth of organic pears and even more than this in apples last year through fall fertilizing). I also heard (and studied it last year in my own garden) that potatoes grow between the seed potato and the surface. If you bury them deep you will increase yields as there is more space for them to grow above the seed potato. But if you plant them shallow, they have a very narrow area to make potatoes in, significantly reducing production. This means in container gardening you need to put them at the very bottom of a 1'-6" (0.45 meters) tall container to get a full yield. I tried this method last year and doubled my production. I was putting them very close to the surface before last year. Also, potatoes need cool roots and won't produce anything at all if their roots are too hot in the container during the summer. Afternoon/evening shade is a must in Southern US zones or other hot environments. Or you could insulate or shade the container.

- Christian

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