Growing potatoes: simple tips for full baskets

Many amateur gardeners fail with potatoes of all crops – yet a few well-chosen tricks are enough to fill baskets at harvest time.

The humble tuber may look unremarkable, but in a vegetable garden it often makes the difference between disappointment and success. Plant too early, buy an unsuitable variety or neglect the soil, and you may dig up frustratingly few potatoes at the end of the season. A well-prepared bed, suitable varieties and good timing can easily change that – without needing to be a professional gardener.

Choosing the right variety: What do you want to eat later?

Before a single hole is made in the soil, the most important choice must be made: which potatoes do you want to grow? Not every variety suits every dish, or indeed every garden.

Waxy, floury or all-purpose

For everyday family cooking, many gardeners choose so-called all-purpose varieties. These potatoes are similarly well suited to roast potatoes, gratins, mash and salads. Familiar examples sold in shops include Charlotte and Monalisa.

• Waxy: ideal for potato salad, roast potatoes and gratins
• Floury: perfect for mash, gnocchi, dumplings and baked potatoes
• All-purpose: a useful middle ground for almost any dish

If you would like to eat home-grown tubers early in the year, also consider the maturity period. Early potatoes are ready to harvest after around 70 to 90 days. Late varieties take longer, but generally keep better in storage and do not shrivel as quickly.

Keep diseases and climate in mind

In the vegetable garden, potatoes face one particularly serious threat: potato blight, often simply called powdery mildew fungus on potatoes. In areas with wet summers, or where plants are closely spaced, this fungus spreads rapidly and can destroy whole rows in a short time.

Choosing varieties with strong resistance reduces disease pressure before the first leaf has even appeared.

Sensitivity to drought is another factor to consider. During hot summers, robust varieties need less watering, while more delicate plants wilt in the midday heat. If in doubt, check seed potato descriptions or labels at a specialist retailer.

Preparing potato soil: loose rather than compacted

Potatoes prefer soil in which their roots and tubers can spread without obstruction. Heavy, compacted ground produces crooked, misshapen tubers and can result in a very small crop.

Loose soil as the foundation

Rather than digging the ground deeply with a spade, thorough loosening with a garden fork is often enough. This protects soil life and earthworms while keeping the soil structure stable.

Incorporating a layer of mature compost in autumn has proved particularly effective. It gives the soil more nutrients and helps it remain looser in spring. Very fresh manure is less suitable: it mainly encourages leaf growth, while tuber formation is left behind.

Potatoes tend to react badly to extreme attempts at fertilising – evenly nourished, loose soil delivers the best results.

Planting at the right time

One common mistake is putting seed potatoes in the ground as soon as the first warm days arrive. This can backfire if the soil remains cold or a late frost follows.

Use temperatures as a guide

As a broad guideline, plant around mid-April, depending on the region, perhaps a little earlier or later. The soil should have noticeably warmed up, and air temperatures should ideally not remain below 10 degrees.

For planting, a hole around 5 centimetres deep is sufficient. Place the pre-sprouted tuber in the ground with its shoots facing upwards, then cover it carefully. Planting too deeply slows growth, as the plant takes longer to reach the surface.

Do not underestimate spacing

Allow roughly 40 centimetres of space between individual plants. A distance of 50 to 70 centimetres is recommended between rows. Although this may seem generous, it prevents the plants from becoming too crowded later on.

• Enough room for lush foliage
• Better air circulation in the bed
• Less lingering moisture – and therefore a lower risk of fungal disease
• Easier access for hoeing, watering and harvesting

Earthing up: a small task with a major effect

Once the first green shoots are about a hand's height, it is time for one of the most important jobs: earthing up. Many people skip it altogether or carry it out only half-heartedly, losing potential yield as a result.

Why earthing up is so useful

When earthing up, loose soil is pulled from both sides towards the base of the plants to form a small ridge. New tubers later develop beneath this layer, safely protected from sunlight.

Green potatoes belong in the bin – earthing up stops light from reaching the growing tubers.

The ridge of soil protects plants not only from light, but also from short periods of ground frost and intense heat. It also supports the stems, making them less likely to bend or break in the wind.

Earthing up once is rarely enough. Two to three rounds are worthwhile, each time the plants have grown noticeably again. It is better to pull up several small layers of soil than to create one enormous mound in a single go.

Watering correctly and limiting pests

Potatoes tolerate neither waterlogged soil nor weeks of drought. They particularly need consistently moist ground while the tubers are forming.

Water with care

During dry spells, it is better to water deeply and thoroughly every few days than to sprinkle a little water every day. This encourages roots to grow deeper, helping the plant cope more reliably with periods of heat.

Mulch made from grass clippings or chopped straw retains moisture in the soil and reduces the need for watering. At the same time, this layer suppresses unwanted weeds.

Potato beetles, fungi and other problems

The brightly coloured potato beetle can strip entire crowns of leaves in a very short time. Checking plants regularly means beetles and larvae can be picked off early, preventing considerable damage.

Fungal diseases are a risk during prolonged wet weather. Closely planted crops, wet leaves in the evening and poorly ventilated rows all encourage these problems. Therefore:

• Do not plant rows too close together
• Water in the morning where possible, rather than in the evening
• Avoid sprinkling the foliage directly; water close to the soil instead

Harvest time: it is better to wait a few extra days

The ideal time to harvest depends greatly on the variety. Early potatoes can be lifted while the foliage is still largely green and has only just begun to yellow.

Telling early potatoes from storage potatoes

If you want to enjoy the first delicate little tubers, carefully lift individual plants and remove only a few potatoes. The rest of the plant can continue growing.

Fresh from the warm soil, early potatoes often taste slightly sweeter and have a very delicate skin.

For storage potatoes, it is worth waiting until the foliage has completely dried out and died back. The skins then become firmer and more resistant, allowing the tubers to keep much longer in a cellar.

Store them properly so your work is not wasted

After lifting, allow the tubers to dry on the soil or beneath an airy shelter. Larger clumps of earth can then be removed more easily. Strong sunlight is harmful, so a shaded and well-ventilated place is preferable.

For storage, use boxes or wooden crates in a cool, dark room. Potatoes like dry conditions, but must be kept frost-free. Light causes green patches and bitter substances that do not belong on the plate.

Three key points for stress-free potato gardens

Anyone starting to grow potatoes can quickly feel overwhelmed by variety choices, planting distances and diseases. In practice, three simple principles make planning much easier:

• Choose a suitable variety: consider its intended use and disease resistance.
• Plant only in warm, loose soil: do not start too early and maintain the correct spacing.
• Earth up several times: this protects against light and frost, and encourages more tubers.

Following these guidelines gives you a strong chance of a reliable harvest – even in an unsettled summer. Over time, you will develop a better instinct for the right moments to plant and harvest.

It is also interesting to try companion planting: calendulas or French marigolds between the rows are said to slow soil-borne pests, while herbs such as summer savoury and thyme attract beneficial insects. This turns a plain potato bed into a colourful, lively area that not only provides food but also looks good.

Planting in a different spot each year, and growing peas, beans or brassicas in between, reduces disease pressure and soil fatigue. Potatoes reward this crop rotation with vigorous plants, evenly shaped tubers and a sense of harvest satisfaction that no supermarket bag can match.