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How To Plant Potatoes

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How To Plant Potatoes

Tom Cole from Capel Manor in London shows you how to plant potatoes from immature tubers called 'seed potatoes'. Tom Cole from Capel Manor in London shows you how to plant potatoes from immature tubers called 'seed potatoes'.

Step 1: You will need

Step 2: Prepare the site

Potatoes should be planted in sunny sites in fertile, slightly acidic soil. For more information on soil types, see VideoJug's 'How To Test Soil pH'. Loosen the soil with a fork and remove any weeds or stones. If you have poor soil you may want to add organic matter or a multi-purpose fertiliser.

Step 3: Plant

Lay a piece of string on the soil as a guide so the potatoes are planted in a straight line. Position the potatoes along the string line at 40 centimetre (16 inch) intervals. Use a spade to dig individual holes for each potato at a depth of approximately 15 centimetres (6 inches). Place each potato in its hole with the end with the most eyes pointing upwards. If you want to plant more than one row, they should be positioned at least 50 centimetres (20 inches) apart.

Step 4: Cover

Gently sweep the soil over the tubers so they are covered. As the shoots emerge through the soil, they should be re-covered with soil so that only the tip is exposed. This will encourage more potatoes to develop beneath the surface.

Step 5: Leave to grow

Keep the soil moist throughout the growing period. The potatoes should be ready for harvesting in early to late Summer, depending on the variety of potato.

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Tips & Comments
  1. ben6821

    Regarding the ongoing chitting debate below, it seems to me there may be some variation of the best tactic from the different types of potatoes. I planted red ones for the first time this year (apologies, I do not know the type, couldn't turn down free seed potatoes but he source did not know what kind they were either) and short duration, dark room chitting as described here seemed very adequate if not ideal. But with other types in the past I have had better luck with some sun hitting them and allowing more time. If in doubt, I recommend seeking advice from someone experienced growing your type of potato preferably in your same region/climate.

  2. egibson

    Kia ora - thanks for that. I am a school teacher in NZ and tomorrow we will be planting seed potataoes in the school garden. Guess what movie we will be watching before we go?? Great stuff. Regards to Tom.

  4. TasteAndShare

    Brilliant. That makes it quite easy. I will upload this video to http://www.tasteandshare.com

  5. TechnoBuddhist

    Nice video, but chit for just a few days in the dark!?? I chitted mine on a sunny windowsill late Jan/Feb/Mar and it took about 6 weeks to get some really nice dark green shoots that were about 1-2cm big. There isn't a lot of sunlight around in Jan/Feb so a sunny windowsill worked fr me. This apparently gives them a much better start. They are now very strong and healthy with lots of good growth. I saw shoots in about 2 weeks from planting.

  6. lspawls

    Hi, I heard this week on Gardeners Question Time that you can plant potatoes now (Nov) and leave overwinter. My question is can I use green potatoes as seed potatoes, or could that result in the new tubers being poisonous?

  7. Anonymous

    yeah i thought you were supposed to chit in the light

  8. Anonymous

    Thank you for video help. It is nice to pass this along to friends. I enjoyed the simple to the point approach!

  9. Anonymous

    Most usefull. Don't understand all those centimeter measurements though

  10. Anonymous

    Thank you for this very informative steps in planting different vegetables.