DibbleGrowing potatoes: from seed to harvest
Plant seed potato pieces, each with an eye, about a hand's width deep once the soil is workable and no longer cold and soggy. Hill soil up around the stems as the plants grow. Tubers stall in hot weather, so aim for the cooler part of the year.
Planting dates for potatoes by zone
| Zone | Start seeds indoors | Sow or transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | not needed | May 15 | August 10 |
| Zone 4 | not needed | May 6 | August 4 |
| Zone 5 | not needed | April 28 | July 26 |
| Zone 6 | not needed | April 21 | July 20 |
| Zone 7 | not needed | April 3 | July 1 |
| Zone 8 | not needed | March 5 | May 26 |
| Zone 9 | not needed | January 28 | May 2 |
| Zone 10 | not needed | September 3 | April 1 |
| Zone 11 | not needed | October 25 | January 24 |
Each date is the start of the best window from the same climate engine the Dibble app uses, run at typical places in each zone. Dibble tunes them to your garden's own location and lets you adjust frost dates for your own yard.
Companion plants
Good neighbors for Potato:
Better kept apart:
Family and rotation
Potato is in the nightshades family. Heavy feeders and disease-prone. Rotate so nightshades don't return to a bed for 3 years. Learn about crop rotation.
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Questions
When should I plant potatoes?
It depends on your zone. Potato is a half-hardy crop, so the timing follows your last spring frost. Look up your zone in the table below for exact start, sow, and harvest dates, or open Dibble and set where your garden is to get your own calendar.
How long does it take to grow potatoes?
About 90 days from sowing to the first harvest, with a picking window of roughly 21 days after that.
What grows well with potatoes?
Good companions include Bean (bush), Sweet Corn, Cabbage, Marigold. Keep it away from Tomato, Cucumber.
Plant at the right time this season
Dibble builds your calendar in under a minute. Free to start, no account needed.