Potato

Solanum tuberosum

Tuber crop grown from seed potatoes. Here: grown in 23–25\" black plastic pots/buckets with side-shading, hilled as the plants grow. Red Pontiac (red, early-mid) and Russet Burbank (russet, late storage).

Sun
full sun
Water
moderate
Mature size
1.5–3 ft × 1–2 ft per hill
Bloom
White/lavender flowers signal tubers are sizing up.
Hardiness
USDA Zones grown as a cool–then–warm–season annual

Care guide

Quick ID

Grown from seed potatoes in 23–25" black pots/buckets (side-shaded so the dark plastic doesn't cook the roots). Red Pontiac = early-mid red; Russet Burbank = late storage russet.

Growing & Hilling

Plant pieces with eyes; as shoots grow, hill with soil/mulch to keep tubers covered (light turns them green/toxic). Container growing needs steady moisture — pots dry fast.

Watering

Even moisture through bulking; taper off once foliage yellows to cure the skins before harvest.

Harvest

New potatoes after flowering; mature/storage potatoes once tops die back. Cure storage types a week or two in the dark before storing.

In my garden

potager garden‘Red Pontiac’ · 14 plants
SunFull sun
Soilsandy loam, fast percolation
Water sourceSecondary
Hardiness hereZone 7
14
Plants
2026-05-16
Planted · ~0 yrs
What I've done here
  • 2026-05-16Planted (24 hills in black pots)
potager garden‘Russet Burbank’ · 10 plants
SunFull sun
Soilsandy loam, fast percolation
Water sourceSecondary
Hardiness hereZone 7
10
Plants
2026-05-16
Planted · ~0 yrs
What I've done here
  • 2026-05-16Planted (24 hills in black pots)