Potato grow anywhere, mostly in the Idaho desert. Sandy soil allows better rain drainage - standing water may cause tuber rot - but any compost amended soil will do just fine.

The benefits of planting early:

• It extends the growing time (some cultivars start germination earlier, at lower temps) - the tubers will stay dormant until the soil temp is just right. If your soil is very wet you risk spoiling the seed.
• The vine growth emerging above the soil level will prevent tuber rotting during strong rain showers at the end of May.
• Potato are extremely light sensitive! After June 21 the night minutes increase, for shorter day light length larger vegetation will yield larger tubers.

The benefits of planting later: 

• It prevents frost damage to the foliage, which is possible even close to the lake shore, up to the end of May.
• It prevents bug damage - Will Bonsall tells me that he plants as late as early June. At the end of June when vegetation emerges, most potato bugs will no longer be around. The tubers will not grow large! This is a benefit if your purpose is to grow potato for seed saving - small tubers to replant whole next year.

• I like to dig 6" deep furrows. Some gardeners like 4" better. Since tubers always set above the seed piece, if the seed piece is a little deeper, the vine will have more room to develop tubers below ground level. Additional tuber set above ground level will be covered with soil by timely hilling.
• Pay attention at harvesting time how different cultivars set tubers at different depth! *** Please report this detail for notation in the potato catalog. *** We are especially interested to note cultivars with shallow tuber setting. Such cultivars with shallow tuber setting will need taller hilling, or will do well growing in barrels.
• Contrary, deep tuber setting cultivars would not be recommended for growing in barrels.
• The depth is in relation to the seed tuber placing. For instance, if you place your seed piece at 6" depth and, at harvest time, you find most tubers at that depth, then you are dealing with a deep setting cultivar. If you find most tubers to be above soil line, then you are dealing with a shallow tuber setting.

• I like 6" spacing. Crowded vines will not fully develop the foliage. Tuber size will be smaller.
• To harvest large and very large tubers keep the spacing at 12" - 18".

• "Chitting" is the technique of cutting the seed pieces to multiply the seed. You need to check for eyes, and you need to keep the size of each piece to the shape of a walnut. Smaller pieces may spoil and not sustain the vine growth. The cutting should occur 2 - 3 days before planting to allow the cut side to seal.
• I prefer to plant whole tubers for the strongest energy delivery to the emerging vines. Walnut size seed pieces work best for me, therefore I like to eat smaller and larger tubers - while I save the walnut sized for next year.

• After placing the seed piece at the bottom of the furrows, spaced about 6", perhaps 8" if the seed tubers are larger, I layer about 2" of light compost.
• Rifill the furrows with the dirt first removed when you digged the furrows. You want the furrows refilled to prevent for water to collect in shallow spots.
• Keep track of the vine emergence date - different cultivars will take a different number of days to emerge - get to know your cultivars, so you can time your planting more accurately next year.

• You need a "shallow tuber setting" variety - this year we are experimenting with Sequoia and Alaska Red. Tubers develop at the end of stolons - look for varieties with a surface stolon growth, rather than "deep" at the level of the seed piece.
• It is paramount to allow for good drainage and full sun. Either you plant the tubers in the soil and build up a container as the vines grow tall (pictures of this method will be added later), or you plant the potato in a wide container that allows the light to reach the vines. Tall, narrow containers will not work.

A barrel is not too deep and opens wide for light to reach down to the soil level. Add soil as the vines grow taller. At the end of the season empty out the soil and start over next year.

This is the yield promised from a 9 square feet area. The container is assembled as the vines grow. You need to keep adding soil (mixed with compost and leaves) as soon as the vines grow out.

If you leave the vines exposed to the light for too long, they will stop growing stolons (the root system that connects the tubers to the vine).

Notice how this first wood plank is secured to the posts. The next plank will have the same size and settings. At the end of the season one whole container side can be removed to harvest the crop.

An alternative construction is done with "snow fencing T-bars" and salvage wood. Screws are partially drilled into the lumber in the corners - steal wire securs the planks together.

These pictures were taken on June 28th - in the next few days I'll be ready to add the second layer of salvage lumber and add in more compost, soil, leaves, straw ....

I'm testing the yields of two different potato cultivars (Gurney's Everbearing and Irish Treasure). The top picture I'm facing south - Irish Treasure is on the right side, while in the bottom picture I'm facing north and Gurney's Everbearing is on the right side. Notice how the GE vines are a little shorter.

I may have made a mistake by not matching two vines with the same vine growth habits.

It will be interesting to compare how the two cultivars differ in length growth at the end of the season.

Found no tubers growth above the original soil line. A very small yield even compared to the standard growing method (6" furrow). I've started this first test later in the season and grabbed whatever seed I had available. The selection of good and healthy seed tubers is paramount for a succesful harvest.

Potato variety selection

As I mentioned above for growing potato in a barrel, better results can be expected with a potato cultivar which keeps setting tubers through the growing season. You can define the search for an "opportunistic" cultivar in the Kenosha Potato Project varieties catalog. Better yet, search for long stolons and shallow spud setting.

If you grow two or more varieties in one container, it is paramount to select cultivars with similar vine growth habits.

Please return to this page in the fall to see the results of these container growing experiments.

Also, in the Kenosha Potato Project varieties catalog you will find links to the 99 pounds of potato in a 3 x 3 micro plot challenge .... this link will be added to any and all cultivars that we shall be testing for optimal vertical space growth.