You Might Be Planting Potatoes All Wrong — Here's Why

Potatoes are one of the easiest and most rewarding crops to try to grow. Just pop a seed potato in the ground, and within months you should have a whole harvest of delicious new spuds to enjoy. While potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are quite simple to grow, minor mistakes during planting can significantly limit the success of your harvest. One of the worst mistakes to make, but also one of the easiest to correct, is growing your potato plants too close together. 

The proper spacing for potatoes depends on several factors, including the varieties of potato you're growing and the stage at which you plant to harvest them. If you're partial to new potatoes – that is, potatoes that are harvested while still small and tender and used immediately — you may be able to grow your plants closer together. However, if you prefer growing large, thick-skinned spuds that store well, you'll need to give them more space to grow.

Be sure to wait until any danger of frost has passed before planting your spuds. Additionally it's often a good idea to cut your potatoes before planting them, so each piece has just a few eyes on it. Once the cuts have dried, you're ready to plant your potatoes.

When you plant your seed potato or potato pieces, it's important to remember to leave plenty of space for all the new tubers that will be created during the growing season. So while 8 inches may be enough space for a narrow spud like a fingerling, or potatoes that you want to harvest young, you should opt for around 12 inches if you want potatoes that will grow larger. 

Some people even opt to space their seed potatoes 20 inches apart if they want to grow large storage potatoes. However, it's important to keep in mind that there are diminishing returns on giving potatoes space. Potatoes spaced too far apart are more likely to have hollow spots or be strangely shaped.