What You Need to Know

A step-by-step guide to planting potatoes at home — timing, spacing, depth and how to get a good harvest even in a small garden. This guide breaks it down into clear steps anyone can follow — no prior experience needed.

What You'll Need

  • Seed potatoes (buy certified disease-free seed potatoes, not supermarket potatoes)
  • Garden fork or spade
  • Fertiliser or compost
  • Space in the garden or a large container (40L minimum)

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1

    Choose your seed potatoes

    Buy certified seed potatoes from a garden centre — not supermarket potatoes, which may carry disease. Choose early varieties (Jersey Royal, Swift) for faster harvests or maincrop (Desiree, King Edward) for larger yields.

  2. 2

    Chit your potatoes (optional but recommended)

    Six weeks before planting, stand seed potatoes upright in egg cartons in a cool, light room. They will develop short, stubby shoots called chits. This gives them a head start.

  3. 3

    Prepare the soil

    Potatoes prefer well-drained, slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5–6.5). Dig over the bed and work in a generous amount of compost or a balanced fertiliser. Avoid freshly manured ground which causes scab.

  4. 4

    Plant at the right time

    Plant early varieties in early spring, 2–4 weeks before your last expected frost. Maincrop varieties go in a few weeks later. In Australia, plant in late winter to early spring.

  5. 5

    Dig trenches and plant

    Dig trenches 10–15cm deep, 60cm apart. Place seed potatoes chit-side up, 30cm apart in the trench. Cover with soil.

  6. 6

    Earth up as plants grow

    When shoots reach 20–25cm tall, mound soil up around the stems leaving just the top leaves exposed. Do this 2–3 times as the plant grows. This increases yield and prevents potatoes turning green.

  7. 7

    Harvest

    Early potatoes are ready about 10–12 weeks after planting when flowers appear. Maincrop takes 15–20 weeks. Dig carefully with a fork to avoid spearing tubers.

TipGreen potatoes are toxic — never eat them. Earthing up prevents light reaching developing tubers, which is what causes greening.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Using supermarket potatoes: They may carry disease and often don't sprout reliably. Always buy certified seed potatoes.
  • Planting too early: A late frost after planting can kill young shoots. Check your local last frost date first.
  • Skipping earthing up: This is the most common mistake — it significantly reduces your harvest and causes greening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, and they work very well. Use a container at least 40 litres, fill it one-third with compost, plant 2–3 seed potatoes, and keep topping up with compost as the shoots grow until the container is full.
For early varieties, harvest when flowers appear or petals drop. For maincrop, wait until the foliage dies back and turns yellow. You can carefully dig up one plant to check before harvesting the rest.
Green potatoes have been exposed to light. This produces solanine, a toxic compound. Always earth up and store harvested potatoes in a dark place. Cut away any green parts before cooking — do not eat them.