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Annual Plant · 50 varieties

Potato

Solanum tuberosum

Solanaceae — the same plant family as tomato, pepper, eggplant, tomatillo and 3 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an annual plant. It wants full sun and pH 6–6.5 soil, with about 1–2 in of water weekly. It matures in about 90–120 days from sowing. Watch for colorado potato beetle and early blight. Below: its full sourced profile from 7 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.

Sun Full sun
Water Moderate
Matures 90–120 days — from seed from seed
Mature size 1–3 ft
Spacing 10–12 in
Soil pH 6–6.5
Frost Half hardy
When to plant potatotypical · zone 6b
Your zone
…or your ZIP, for your real frost dates

Establishing
Growing
Flowering
Tubers bulking
Harvest

Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is direct sown. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.

Growing potatoevery fact says where it came from

What we will not put a number on

We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.

We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.

Site & soil

Sun
Full sun
Soil pH
6–6.5
Soil texture
Sandy, Well drained
Frost tolerance
Half hardy
Suffers in days above
80–90 °F

No published figure for the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.

The plant

Mature height
1–3 ft
Mature spread
12–18 in
Spacing in row
10–12 in
Between rows
30–36 in
Planting depth
3–6 in
Container size
5–15 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is better
Support
Self-supporting
Grown from
Sets

There is no line here for whether it grows fast or slow, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.

Water & feeding

Water needs
Moderate
Water per week
1–2 in/wk
Critical water
Flowering, Tuber bulking
Feeding
Heavy

Timing & fruiting

Days to maturity
90–120 days from seed
Harvest cues
Tops falling over, Skin set
Damaged in the ground at
32 °F

Planted again for autumn

Sow by
late Jul typical · zone 6b

90 days to maturity from sowing, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.

Edible parts per source: tuber.

What tends to go wrongmost-cited first
PestsColorado potato beetleFlea beetlesAphidsCutwormsWirewormsPotato leafhopperPotato tuberwormRoot knot nematodes
DiseasesEarly blightLate blightVerticillium wiltFusarium wiltCommon scabBrown rotSoft rot

Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.

Companionswhat to plant near potato
✓
Cabbage familyTraditional

Old chart pairing.

✕
TomatoPractical

Same family, same late blight. One sick bed infects the other.

Companion pairings from university extensions; badge = how strong the evidence is.

⚠ Reported toxicityverbatim from cited sources

Different parts differ — the edible part is the tuber; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.

PeopleToxic leaves, Toxic stems, Toxic green tubers

Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).

Featured varieties50 with their own page
Adirondack Blue Blue Purple · 90–120d Adirondack Red Red · 90–120d All Blue Blue Purple · 90–120d AmaRosa Fingerling · 90–120d Austrian Crescent Fingerling · 90–120d Bintje Yellow · 80–95d Cal White White · 85–115d Caribou Russet Russet · 90–120d Carola Yellow · 90–120d Chieftain Red · 90–120d Colorado Rose Red · 80–95d Dark Red Norland Red · 90–120d Desiree Red · 90–120d Elba White · 90–120d Envol White · 90–120d French Fingerling Fingerling · 90–120d German Butterball Yellow · 90–120d Gold Rush Russet Russet · 90–120d Green Mountain White · 90–120d Huckleberry Gold Blue Purple · 90–120d Irish Cobbler White · 70d Katahdin White · 90–120d Kennebec White · 90–120d Keuka Gold Yellow · 90–120d La Ratte Fingerling · 90–120d Magic Molly Fingerling · 90–120d Masquerade Blue Purple · 100–110d Mountain Rose Red · 70d Nicola Yellow · 90–120d Norland Red · 50–70d Peter Wilcox Blue Purple · 90–120d Purple Majesty Blue Purple · 90–120d Purple Peruvian Fingerling · 90–120d Purple Viking Blue Purple · 90–120d Reba White · 90–120d Red Gold Red · 90–120d Red Norland Red · 85d Red Pontiac Red · 90–120d Red Thumb Fingerling · 65–75d Rose Finn Apple Fingerling · 90–120d Russet Burbank Russet · 90–120d Russet Norkotah Russet · 85d Russian Banana Fingerling · 90–120d Sangre Red · 70–90d Satina Yellow · 90–120d Strawberry Paw Red · 90–120d Superior White · 90–120d Yellow Finn Yellow · 90–120d Yukon Gem Yellow · 90–120d Yukon Gold Yellow · 90–120d

Open one and add it to your garden — it lights up here. The rest of the 50 are in the full list below.

All 50 varietiesthe ones with their own page are linked
Variety Type DaysColorWhat it is known for
Adirondack Blue Blue Purple 90–120 Purple
Adirondack Red Red 90–120 Red
All Blue Heirloom Blue Purple 90–120 Purple
AmaRosa Fingerling 90–120 Red
Austrian Crescent Heirloom Fingerling 90–120 Yellow
Bintje Heirloom Yellow 80–95 Yellow
Cal White White 85–115 White
Caribou Russet Russet 90–120 Brown Fedco Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Carola Yellow 90–120 Yellow
Chieftain Red 90–120 Red
Colorado Rose Red 80–95 Red
Dark Red Norland Red 90–120 Red
Desiree Red 90–120 Red
Elba White 90–120 White Fedco Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Envol White 90–120 White
French Fingerling Heirloom Fingerling 90–120 Red
German Butterball Heirloom Yellow 90–120 Yellow Fedco Seeds (Moose Tubers) describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Gold Rush Russet Russet 90–120 Brown
Green Mountain Heirloom White 90–120 White Fedco Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Huckleberry Gold Blue Purple 90–120 Purple
Irish Cobbler Heirloom White 70 White
Katahdin Heirloom White 90–120 White Fedco Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Kennebec White 90–120 White Fedco Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Keuka Gold Yellow 90–120 Yellow
La Ratte Heirloom Fingerling 90–120 Yellow
Magic Molly Fingerling 90–120 Purple
Masquerade Blue Purple 100–110 Bicolor
Mountain Rose Red 70 Red
Nicola Yellow 90–120 Yellow
Norland Red 50–70 Red
Peter Wilcox Blue Purple 90–120 Purple
Purple Majesty Blue Purple 90–120 Purple
Purple Peruvian Heirloom Fingerling 90–120 Purple
Purple Viking Blue Purple 90–120 Purple
Reba White 90–120 White
Red Gold Red 90–120 Pink
Red Norland Red 85 Red
Red Pontiac Red 90–120 Red Fedco Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Red Thumb Heirloom Fingerling 65–75 Red
Rose Finn Apple Heirloom Fingerling 90–120 Red
Russet Burbank Heirloom Russet 90–120 Brown Fedco Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Russet Norkotah Russet 85 Brown
Russian Banana Heirloom Fingerling 90–120 Yellow Grow Organic (Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply) describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Sangre Red 70–90 Red
Satina Yellow 90–120 Yellow
Strawberry Paw Red 90–120 Red
Superior White 90–120 White
Yellow Finn Heirloom Yellow 90–120 Yellow Grand Teton Organics describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Yukon Gem Yellow 90–120 Yellow
Yukon Gold Yellow 90–120 Yellow
Sources7 cited · 7 organizations
  • Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
  • Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
  • NC State Extension
  • University of Maryland Extension
  • University of Minnesota Extension
  • University of New Hampshire Extension
  • Utah State University Extension

We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 20 of the 20 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.

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