Solanum tuberosum
Potato
Photo: CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source
Description
The potato is the most productive tuber in the home garden and a grateful soil loosener in the crop rotation. One seed tuber turns into a whole bucketful by harvest, a classic that children enjoy too.
Care instructions
Lay the pre-sprouted tubers from April about a hand's width deep into loose soil and hill the plants up as soon as they are 20 cm tall; that protects the tubers from light and greening. Keep them moist in dry spells; harvest once the foliage has died back.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
Propagation
Methods
- Offsets
- Cuttings
Companion planting
Good neighbors
asparagus family (Asparagaceae)
particularly well establishedAsparagus and tomato benefit from each other. The tomato keeps the asparagus beetle away, and the asparagus repels threadworms that harm the tomato.
For example AsparagusFunkieBluebellMuscariHyacinthAmerican Agave
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
mint family (Lamiaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 30 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
borage family (Boraginaceae)
Borage attracts pollinators and is supposed to keep tomato pests away from the nightshade family.
For example BoragoCommon comfreyForget-me-notNatternkopfSwamp Forget-Me-NotTrue Lungwort
Source: organic greenhouse companion planting practice
Rather not
amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
Onions slow down the growth of nightshade family plants next to potatoes and tomatoes; the classic crop-rotation rule also applies in the bed side by side.
For example GarlicLeekChivesDaffodilRocamboleElephant garlic and 7 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
daisy family (Asteraceae)
Sunflowers release substances into the soil that inhibit potato tuber growth, and they also compete for water and nutrients.
For example Head lettuceCommon coneflowerFall AsterIceberg lettuceleaf lettuceleaf lettuce and 50 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example Mexican minich cucumberInca cucumberBitter melonBottle gourdChayoteFeigenblattkürbis and 3 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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Varieties
12 varieties‘Ackersegen’
The *‚Ackersegen’* is a robust old storage variety that has served as a reliable winter potato for decades.
‘Annabelle’
You will enjoy *‚Annabelle’*, a modern, very early salad potato that delivers its first tender tubers soon after the winter solstice.
‘Bamberger Hörnchen’
This Franconian rarity, *‚Bamberger Hörnchen’*, has elongated, often curved tubers that give it its name.
‘Bintje’
You will find *‚Bintje’* among the most well-known potatoes in Europe and the classic French fry variety in Belgium and the Netherlands.
‘Blauer Schwede’
You will find an old blue‑fleshed variety, *‚Blauer Schwede’*, whose tubers are deep blue‑violet on the outside and…
‘Cilena’
You will enjoy *‚Cilena’*, a firm cooking variety with elongated oval, yellow fleshed tubers and a smooth skin.
‘Laura’
A predominantly waxy variety that stands out for its red skin and deep yellow flesh.
‘Linda’
A classic among the waxy potatoes, which thanks to its fine aroma has a loyal following, so much so that hobby…
‘Nicola’
A proven waxy variety with elongated, even tubers and deep yellow flesh.
‘Sárpo Mira’
A modern Hungarian breed known for its exceptionally high resistance to potato blight, a blessing if your garden sits in a damp position.
‘Sieglinde’
One of the oldest German early potatoes still in cultivation and a household name in the kitchen over generations.
‘Vitelotte’
An old French truffle potato with elongated, knobbly tubers whose dark violet skin hides intensely blue violet flesh.
Notes from real gardens
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From the magazine
Growing sweet potatoes: not a potato, but a bindweed
The sweet potato is botanically a bindweed, not a potato. How to raise your own cuttings, plant them warm, and why only curing makes them properly sweet.
Storing potatoes and root vegetables: cold, dark, kept apart
Why potatoes and apples never belong in the same room, why the cellar should sit neither below 4 nor above 10 degrees, and how carrots and beetroot stay crisp in damp sand right into spring. With wound healing, the solanine rules, rot diagnosis and the weekly check.
Planting and earthing up potatoes: from chitting to harvest
The potato is the perfect starter vegetable, entirely without raising plants indoors. Two simple actions decide yield and head start: chitting before planting and earthing up during growth. Here is how to get both right, from mid April to harvest.
Late blight on tomato and potato: only prevention helps
One pathogen, two hosts: why late blight jumps from the potato to the tomato, how to recognise it on leaf, fruit and tuber, and how to get ahead of it with dry foliage, a roof and robust varieties.
Storing the harvest: a storage map by temperature and humidity
Sort every crop by two numbers, temperature and humidity, and find the right spot for carrots, potatoes and apples in the cellar, sand box or earth clamp.
Growing Jerusalem Artichoke and Yacon: Two Tubers That Almost Grow Themselves
Jerusalem artichoke grows as if by itself and needs taming rather than tending, while yacon surprises with juicy, sweet tubers from the Andes. Here is how to plant, harvest and store these two low-maintenance potato alternatives.