While many plants are grown from small seeds, potatoes are actually grown from what’s called a “seed potato.”
A seed potato is essentially just a potato that has sprouted and is being planted to grow a new potato plant.
How should I prep seed potatoes?
While you can sometimes use store-bought potatoes for this purpose, I like to buy seed potatoes from a local garden center or nursery. The great thing about this is that even if you don’t normally harvest your seeds from other plants, harvesting “seeds” for potatoes is easy. You’re just harvesting potatoes!
If you want to use last year’s harvest for next year’s seed potatoes, simply store potatoes in a cool, dry place until next spring and follow the prep steps below.
- Allow potatoes to sprout. The more sprouts, the merrier!
- Cut potatoes into 1 to 2″ cubes — try to cut them in a way that each or most of the cubes have a sprout.
- Place potato cubes on a plate and let them sit out for a few days until they dry out. Tip: I usually like to put them on top of the fridge, so they’re not in the way, but easily accessible.
- Place your potato cubes in soil. You can do this in containers or pots, a garden bed or straight into tilled soil.
When to plant seed potatoes
Seed potatoes are pretty hardy, so they can be planted 2-4 weeks before the last frost.
What type of soil do potatoes like
Potatoes require little maintenance. The only thing they don’t really like is too much water or wet soil. Make sure to water regularly, but don’t overwater. Potatoes tend to prefer dryer soil and lots of sunshine.
