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When to plant potatoes

Nightshades, Solanum tuberosum

Spacing
12″ apart
Per sq ft
1
To harvest
70–120 days
Frost
Light frost OK

Companion plants for potatoes

What to grow next to potatoes, what to keep away, and what is only tradition. Every pairing says how strong the evidence is.

Grow together 2

Helps, or shares the bed well.

Keep apart 7

Shared pests, disease or competition.

  • Sunflower Mixed Sunflowers release compounds that can slow nearby plants, and they shade and compete hard for water.

    Sunflower guide

  • Tomato Practical Both get early blight and late blight. Planting them side by side lets disease move between them and makes rotation harder.

    Tomato guide

  • Cherry tomato Practical Both get early blight and late blight. Planting them side by side lets disease move between them and makes rotation harder.

    Cherry tomato guide

  • Bell pepper Practical Same family: shared blights, viruses and Colorado potato beetle.

    Bell pepper guide

  • Hot pepper Practical Same family: shared blights, viruses and Colorado potato beetle.

    Hot pepper guide

  • Eggplant Practical Both are favorites of Colorado potato beetle and flea beetles. Side by side, pests move easily between them.

    Eggplant guide

  • Strawberry Practical Potatoes and other nightshades build up verticillium wilt in soil, which also kills strawberries.

    Strawberry guide

Tradition only 4

On many charts, with little or no evidence.

  • Marigold Tradition Said to help Said to repel potato beetles. No good evidence.

    Marigold guide

  • Cucumber Tradition Said to harm Often listed as bad neighbors, supposedly encouraging blight. There is no shared-disease link; the real problem is that both sprawl.

    Cucumber guide

  • Zucchini Tradition Said to harm Often listed as bad neighbors, supposedly encouraging blight. There is no shared-disease link; the real problem is that both sprawl.

    Zucchini guide

  • Pumpkin Tradition Said to harm Often listed as bad neighbors, supposedly encouraging blight. There is no shared-disease link; the real problem is that both sprawl.

    Pumpkin guide

Studied Field or lab research shows an effect, at least under some conditions.
Mixed Some studies find an effect, others don’t, or it only works in a narrow way.
Practical Explained by light, space, timing, support or a shared pest or disease.
Tradition Widely repeated, but with little or no evidence behind it.

See every pairing side by side in the companion planting chart, or try them in a bed with the garden planner.

When to plant potatoes by city

Sow potatoes outdoors 1–4 weeks before your last frost. Here is what that means for 2027 in cities across the US, using each city’s average frost dates (NOAA 1991–2020). Pick the city with the climate most like yours, or enter your ZIP code above.

City Last frost Sow outdoors
Seattle, WA (9a) Mar 13 Feb 13 – Mar 6
Portland, OR (8b) Feb 25 Jan 28 – Feb 18
Sacramento, CA (9b) Jan 12 Dec 15 – Jan 5
Phoenix, AZ (10a) Jan 5 Dec 8–29
Salt Lake City, UT (7b) Mar 31 Mar 3–24
Denver, CO (6a) Apr 30 Apr 2–23
Dallas, TX (8b) Mar 2 Feb 2–23
Minneapolis, MN (5a) Apr 23 Mar 26 – Apr 16
Kansas City, MO (6b) Apr 4 Mar 7–28
Chicago, IL (6b) Apr 10 Mar 13 – Apr 3
Columbus, OH (6b) Apr 20 Mar 23 – Apr 13
Nashville, TN (7b) Apr 1 Mar 4–25
Atlanta, GA (8a) Mar 24 Feb 24 – Mar 17
Raleigh, NC (8a) Mar 28 Feb 28 – Mar 21
Philadelphia, PA (7b) Mar 30 Mar 2–23
Boston, MA (7a) Apr 4 Mar 7–28

In frost-free parts of Florida, southern California and the Gulf Coast, timing is about heat instead: grow potatoes from fall through winter.

Potato spacing

In a square-foot bed, plant 1 per square foot. In traditional rows, space plants about 12 inches apart with 30 inches between rows.

Plant seed potatoes, not grocery potatoes. Hill soil around stems as they grow.

One square foot planted with potatoes, as drawn in the planner.

How to grow potatoes

Potatoes are one of the easiest staples to grow and among the most fun to harvest. A short row yields a surprising amount, and new potatoes straight from the soil taste nothing like store-bought.

Sun and soil

Full sun and loose, well-drained, slightly acidic soil, pH about 5.8–6.5. Steady moisture matters most while plants flower and tubers form: 1–2 inches a week.

Planting

  1. Buy certified seed potatoes; grocery potatoes can carry disease or be treated against sprouting.
  2. Cut large tubers into 2-ounce pieces with at least one eye each, and let them dry a day or two.
  3. Plant 1–4 weeks before the last frost, once soil is 45°F, cut side down and 4 inches deep.
  4. Space 12 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart.

Care

  • Hill soil around stems when plants are 6–8 inches tall and again a few weeks later.
  • Keep moisture even; wet-dry swings cause knobby, cracked tubers.
  • If frost threatens new shoots, cover them or pull soil over them.

Harvest

Dig new potatoes gently once plants flower. For storage, wait until vines die back plus about 2 weeks so skins set. Cure in the dark at 55–60°F for 2 weeks, then store at 40–45°F, away from apples.

Common problems

  • Colorado potato beetle: Hand-pick adults and larvae and crush yellow egg clusters under leaves. Start early; the beetles resist many insecticides.
  • Common scab: Corky patches on skin, worse in alkaline, dry soil. Skip lime and fresh manure, keep soil moist as tubers form, and grow resistant varieties.
  • Green tubers: Light turns tubers green and bitter. Hill well, store in the dark, and cut away green parts.

Varieties to try

  • 'Yukon Gold' — yellow flesh, all-purpose
  • 'Kennebec' — white, high-yielding, stores well
  • 'Red Norland' — early red, good for new potatoes
  • 'Russet Burbank' — classic baker, long season

Crop rotation

Potatoes belong to the nightshades (Solanaceae). Heavy feeders that share blights and soil pests. Rotate out for 3–4 years. Relatives that count as the same family for rotation: tomato, cherry tomato, bell pepper, hot pepper, eggplant.

Frequently asked questions

When should I plant potatoes?
Sow potatoes outdoors 1–4 weeks before your last frost. Type your ZIP code above for exact dates, or see the city table.
What grows well with potatoes?
Good neighbors for potatoes include bush bean and calendula. Each one is listed above with the reason and how strong the evidence is.
What should not be planted with potatoes?
Keep potatoes apart from sunflower, tomato, cherry tomato, bell pepper, hot pepper, eggplant and strawberry. Sunflowers release compounds that can slow nearby plants, and they shade and compete hard for water.
How far apart should I plant potatoes?
In rows, space potatoes about 12 inches apart with rows 30 inches apart. In a square-foot bed, plant 1 per square foot.
How long do potatoes take to grow?
About 70–120 days from sowing to first harvest, depending on the variety and the weather.
Can potatoes handle frost?
Potatoes tolerate a light frost but not a hard freeze. Cover them if temperatures will drop into the mid-20s °F.

Sources

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When to plant

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