How to Plant Red Pontiac Seed Potatoes

Overview

The Red Pontiac or Dakota Chief potato is an easy to maintain, mid-season plant with high yield, deep red, round tubers. The Red Pontiac is good for boiling, french fries, casseroles and mashed potato dishes. You can order seed from a local garden store or reputable catalogue business. Potatoes are generally grown from cuttings of potatoes from the previous crop. Healthy potato "seeds" have visible eyes with sprouts growing from them. Plant as early in the season as possible after the frost is out of the soil.

Step 1

Till the soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. The rows should run in a north to south direction in full sun. When planting more than one row space them 2 to 3 feet apart to give plenty of growing and maintenance space. Work your choice of low-nitrogen fertilizer, bone meal or compost into the soil.

Step 2

Dig a furrow in the soil with the hoe down the center of your tilled row.

Step 3

Place potato seeds that have at least one eye onto the soil at 12- to 15-inch intervals.

Step 4

Work the soil loosely over the seed potatoes with the hoe at 3 to 4 inches deep.

Step 5

Watch for thick deep green leaves to break through the soil within three weeks. Hill up the garden soil with a hoe every week or two.