How to Grow Potato from Seed: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners

Introduction: Why grow potatoes from seed and what to expect

If you’re wondering how to grow potato from seed, there are two distinct routes, each with pros and cons. You can plant seed potatoes, which are pieces of tuber that sprout into new plants, or you can grow from true potato seed, botanical seeds that produce genetically unique plants.

Seed potatoes are beginner friendly, low fuss, and reliable. Prep by chitting sprouts for 2 to 4 weeks, plant after frost, and expect harvest in about 90 to 120 days. A healthy plant often yields 1 to 5 pounds of tubers. True potato seed needs more work, start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost, and expect a longer timeline, often 120 to 160 days. First year yields tend to be smaller.

Pick seed potatoes for quick, dependable harvests, choose true seed if you want breeding potential or to save space and experiment.

Seed versus seed potatoes, explained

True potato seed, aka botanical seed, are small tomato like seeds saved from fruit. Seed potatoes are actual tubers or pieces of tuber used to start a crop. Both start plants, but they behave very differently.

Pros of botanical seed: cheap to ship, disease free, easy for breeding, you can get new varieties. Cons: variable offspring, often small yields in year one, requires indoor seed trays and hardening off. Pros of seed potatoes: reliable, true to variety, bigger yields first year, simple field planting. Cons: can carry soil borne diseases, heavier to buy or ship, needs certified stock for best results.

When to choose which, pick seed potatoes if you want fast, predictable harvests and limited fuss. Choose true seed if you want to experiment, save money on shipping, or breed new varieties; start them indoors and expect a second year for top yields.

Which potato varieties work best from seed

If you want to learn how to grow potato from seed, pick varieties that were bred for true potato seed, not heirloom tuber clones. Start with early, vigorous TPS hybrids or Phureja/Andean types from specialist seed suppliers; they sprout reliably and mature faster, which reduces disease pressure.

For reliable eating potatoes buy certified seed potatoes, especially your first seasons. Good options include Yukon Gold, buttery flavor, moderate disease resistance; Charlotte, waxy and excellent for salads; Russet Burbank, top baking quality but more disease prone; Desiree, red-skinned, good storage and solid blight tolerance. Certified seed cuts down on tuber-borne diseases, which matters more than variety novelty.

Timing and location: when to start indoors and when to plant out

If you are wondering how to grow potato from seed, start indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your area’s last frost. If last frost is May 15, sow in March. Aim for soil temps of 60 to 70°F, use potting mix, keep it evenly moist. Give seedlings 12 to 16 hours bright light, keep LEDs 2 to 3 inches above to prevent legginess. Plant out after 7 to 10 days of hardening off, when nights stay above 50°F and soil drains well. Choose a sunny spot with at least six hours of sun and loose soil, or use a raised bed.

Starting true potato seed indoors, step by step

If you asked how to grow potato from seed? follow this exact sequence and you will skip common mistakes.

Start by prepping true potato seed, soak seeds in tepid water for 12 to 24 hours to speed germination, then drain onto a paper towel for 24 hours. Use fresh seed within a week. Label varieties now, you will thank yourself later.

Choose trays or 2 inch cell plugs with good drainage, or peat pots if you plan to transplant the whole cell. Fill with a sterile seed-starting mix, mix in 10 to 20 percent perlite for aeration. Moisten the mix until it feels like a wrung-out sponge.

Sow very shallow, about 2 to 3 millimeters deep, or barely cover the seed. Put 2 seeds per cell, then cover lightly and press firm. Keep temperature 18 to 22°C. Provide 16 hours of light using an LED or fluorescent lamp positioned 5 to 8 centimeters above seedlings.

Water from the bottom or mist frequently so soil stays evenly moist but not waterlogged. When true leaves form, snip the weaker seedling at soil level so one vigorous plant remains. Harden off for 7 to 10 days, increasing outdoor time each day and reducing water, before transplanting.

Starting from seed potatoes: chitting and pre sprouting

If you want to learn how to grow potato from seed, start by buying certified seed potatoes from a reputable supplier, not supermarket spuds. Look for firm tubers, visible eyes, no soft spots, and variety labels. Certified seed cuts disease risk dramatically.

To chit or pre sprout, place tubers eyes up in egg trays or shallow boxes, in a cool bright spot out of direct sun, about 10 to 15 C. Leave them for 2 to 4 weeks until short sturdy shoots 1 to 2 cm long appear. For early varieties chit 4 weeks, for maincrop 2 weeks, this produces earlier, healthier plants.

If seed potatoes are large, cut them into pieces with at least one or two eyes, each about the size of a golf ball. Use a clean sharp knife, dust cut faces with wood ash or sulphur, and let them dry and form a callus for 48 hours before planting to reduce rot.

Plant when soil is workable and temperatures are consistently above about 7 C, and after the last hard frost for your area.

Planting out and caring for growing potatoes

Set plants 4 to 6 inches deep, eyes or sprouts facing up, with 12 inches between plants and 30 inches between rows. For container beds, use 10 to 12 inches depth and space plants 8 to 10 inches apart. Work soil to a loose, crumbly texture, add 2 to 3 inches of compost, and aim for a pH near 6.0. Good drainage matters more than perfect soil.

Water steadily, about 1 inch per week, more when tubers are swelling; water at the base to reduce foliage wetness and disease risk. Feed at planting with a balanced granular fertilizer, then side dress 3 to 4 weeks after emergence with a potassium rich feed or fish emulsion to encourage larger tubers.

Hill when shoots reach 6 to 8 inches, mound soil around stems up to the top leaves; repeat every 10 to 14 days until plants flower. Hill keeps tubers in darkness and prevents greening.

Check weekly for Colorado potato beetles, flea beetles, and dark brown blight lesions; remove beetles by hand, rotate crops yearly, and pull infected plants promptly to limit spread. Mulch with straw to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.

Harvesting, curing, and storing your crop

If you followed how to grow potato from seed, harvest timing is simple. New potatoes are ready when plants flower and soil feels lumpy, harvest them early for tender, thin skins. Main crop is ready when foliage yellows and dies back, wait 10 to 14 days after tops die so skins firm up.

For harvesting, insert a garden fork about 12 centimeters away from the stem, lift gently and roll soil back with your hands, do not stab through tubers. For small digs, lift a few hills by hand to avoid damage. Keep tubers out of direct sun to prevent greening.

Cure without washing, brush off excess soil, then dry in the dark at about 50 to 60°F with high humidity for 10 to 14 days. Store sorted, unbruised potatoes in breathable sacks or crates at 40 to 50°F, check monthly and remove soft or sprouting tubers.

Troubleshooting common problems and final insights

Yellowing foliage, first check watering and nitrogen. If leaves are pale and limp, cut back irrigation, improve drainage, and side dress with a balanced fertilizer or compost tea. For pale tips only, add a foliar feed with liquid seaweed.

If you spot blight, remove and destroy affected foliage, space plants for better airflow, and spray copper fungicide at first sign. For scab, lower soil pH with elemental sulfur and choose scab resistant varieties next season.

Control pests like Colorado potato beetles by hand picking, using neem oil, or floating row covers early. To save space, grow seed potatoes in tall sacks or containers, or interplant with fast maturing greens. Stagger plantings every two to three weeks for continuous harvest.

Next steps, keep notes, try one new variety, and enjoy learning how to grow potato from seed?