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Is it too late to plant potatoes


When is it too late to plant potatoes?

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POTATO TIMING: To get the best results during harvest, plant seed potatoes when the soil temperature at 4 inches deep is consistently 40 degrees F for seven days straight. Some gardeners plant potatoes late into the season to stay away from beetle infestations.

Farm and Garden: There are a lot of traditions when it comes to potato-planting time.

Is it ever too late to plant potatoes? Warm days and the availability of vegetable seeds often entice gardeners to think about planting as soon as the weather seems safe to plant different crops.

Planting seed potatoes in early spring is one of the traditional rituals that gardeners look forward to. The questions that gardeners face are about timing, when to start planting, and when it is too late to plant.

Growing up in a family that gardened for years, St. Patrick’s Day was the time to plant potatoes south of Beatrice, Neb. That date was a day of celebration for the holiday, and a tip of the cap to the Irish heritage connected to planting potatoes. As a youngster, I didn’t realize the science behind planting then, and just followed instructions from my parents.

Soil temperature is the key as to when to plant seed potatoes. The minimum soil temperature to plant is 40 degrees F. Colder temperatures inhibit growth, and the seed potatoes die in the ground. Back home, the soil temperature reached that threshold by March 17, reinforcing the famed planting date.

Checking soil temps

There are a couple of ways that gardeners can check the soil temperature before planting. The first option is to use a garden soil thermometer. This inexpensive tool can help pinpoint the soil temperature to decide when to plant various garden crops.

For best results, shove the soil thermometer in the soil 4 inches deep in the same location, at the same time, for seven consecutive days. Wait 15 minutes before recording a temperature reading. Repeat this process over that seven-day period. If the soil temperature is consistent without variation on those daily readings, a consistent temperature can be relied on.

If the soil temperature is not ideal for planting, repeat the soil temperature readings until the 40-degree minimum is recorded for several days.

The other option is to use the updated soil temperature data from the University of Nebraska Cropwatch Soil Temperature Update webpage, found at cropwatch.unl.edu/soiltemperature. A number of weather stations across the state are recording soil temperature data to help producers and gardeners know when to plant crops based off soil temperature.

The key to using this information is to find the weather station closest to your location. Then look for the seven-day, 4-inch soil temperature reading for that weather station. This is the same depth used on a soil thermometer set of readings in a home garden. When the seven-day, 4-inch soil temperature reading reaches the minimum 40 degrees close to where your garden is located, the probability of that minimum soil temperature being safe is fairly high.

This tool is handy in the sense that gardeners do not have to take their own readings, and the temperature data is consistently being recorded for the public to view. While these readings are not the temperature readings from within your own garden spot, it does give gardeners a consistent tool to watch the temperatures in your area of the state.

Is it too late?

To figure how late you can plant potatoes in the season, count the number of days to maturity by cultivar from the first frost date backward. Then you add two weeks to that for the harvest period.

Planting later in the spring can help gardeners miss heavier-than-typical Colorado potato beetle infestations. Some people will plant later with that in mind to miss the beetle population.

You do have to count backward and add the two weeks so there is time for the potatoes to develop, and the plants die back so they can be harvested before the fall freeze to be on the safe side. For more information, email [email protected].

David Lott is a Nebraska Extension horticulture educator based in North Platte, Neb.

When Is It Too Late To Plant Potatoes? (3 Things You Should Know) – greenupside

If this is your first year planting potatoes, or if you got a late start on your garden, you might be wondering if the time for planting potatoes has passed.  After all, you don’t want to put in the effort to plant a crop of potatoes that won’t grow well.

So, when is it too late to plant potatoes?  Most gardeners should plant potatoes by the end of May for spring planting. This allows enough time for the plants to grow & mature before cool weather (and frost) in fall. Plant before soil temperatures reach 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius), since tubers will stop forming if it is too warm.

Of course, if you live in a very warm climate, you may be able to plant mid-season and late season potato varieties in July or even August to get a second harvest later in the year.

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If you live in a cold climate, you can extend the growing season with greenhouse, row covers, or mulch to protect against frost at the end of the season.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the many factors that determine when you can plant potatoes, including frost dates or the type of potato and its time to maturity.

Let’s get started.

When Is It Too Late To Plant Potatoes?

To determine when it is too late to plant potatoes, there are 3 main factors to consider:

Usually, you plant pieces of sprouted potatoes (seed potatoes) in the spring. Some varieties mature much faster than others.

Let’s start by looking at the different types of potatoes you can choose to grow.

Variety

The variety of potato you choose will play a big part in determining when to plant your crop.  The variety you choose will determine the time to maturity for your potato plants.

The time to maturity (or days to maturity) is the number of days it takes for a potato plant to grow into a mature plant and produce tubers that you can harvest.

According to Fedco Seeds, potatoes can be classified in 3 different groups, depending on the time to maturity:

You can see an infographic and some selected varieties of early, mid, and late season potatoes here.

You can learn about early potatoes (and some selected varieties) here.

Some potato varieties mature in as little as 60 days, while others take up to 110 days to mature.

According to the University of Illinois Extension, you can plant any of the three (early season, mid-season, and late season) types of potatoes in the spring.

Avoid planting potatoes when the ground is still wet from heavy spring rains.  Otherwise, they may rot before they can sprout and grow!

Planting too early in the spring may also expose your potato plants to frost, which can kill them or set them back (more on this later).

You can plant some potato varieties as late as July 1st – as long as you live in a mild climate.   If you want to store your potatoes over the winter, late season potatoes are the best option (since harvest comes closer to winter).

Frost Dates

The first frost date in the fall will also help to tell you if it is too late in the season to plant your potatoes.  There is a 30% chance that no frost will occur before the first frost date (or first fall frost date).

Frost is a problem for potato plants, since it can kill back all of the growth above ground.

For example, in Boston, MA, the first fall frost date is November 3.  This means that there is a 30% chance of getting at least one frost on or before November 3.  It also means that there is a 70% chance that no frost will occur before November 3.

First frost dates will vary widely depending on where you live.  For example, the first frost date in Montpelier, Vermont is September 24, while the first frost date in Atlanta, Georgia is November 13.  In Miami, Florida, frost is very rare, and may not occur for years on end.

Before you decide whether it is too late to plant potatoes, use this tool from the Old Farmer’s Almanac to find the last fall frost date in your area.

Desired Harvest

Depending on the size of potatoes you want at harvest, you might be able to get away with planting a little bit later in the year.

New Potatoes

If you are hoping for new potatoes (small, less mature potatoes with thin skins), then you can harvest them 2 to 3 weeks after the plant stops flowering.  Not all potato plants will flower, so you may need to dig in the ground every once in a while to see how they are growing.

New potatoes are small, with thin skins. The advantage is that they are ready early in the season.

According to the University of Maryland, you can harvest new potatoes 6 to 8 weeks (42 to 56 days) after planting.

Mature Potatoes

Mature, full-size potatoes have thicker skins, and they take longer to grow than new potatoes.  Basically, you let new potatoes grow for a bit longer so they can mature fully and get bigger.

Mature potatoes are larger than new potatoes, but they take longer to grow.

Mature potatoes will be ready for harvest 2 to 3 weeks after the foliage on the plant dies back.  If you plant late in the season, there will be less time for the potatoes to grow.  As a result, you will get smaller potatoes on each plant and fewer potatoes in total.

Summer heat with soil temperatures over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) will stop tubers from forming.  On the other hand, fall frosts will kill the plant and stop growth.

Can You Still Plant Potatoes In July?

You might be able to plant potatoes in July if you live in a warm climate and you choose potato varieties that don’t take too long to mature.

For example, if you live in Boston, Massachusetts, your first frost date is November 3. If you choose Red Pontiac potatoes (a mid-season variety), they will be ready for harvest about 80 days (11.5 weeks) after planting.

Working backwards, you could plant in July and still get potatoes by November 3 (31 days in August + 30 days in September + 31 days in October + the first 3 days in November = 95 days).

Can You Still Plant Potatoes In August?

You might be able to plant potatoes in August if you live in a very warm climate and you choose fast-maturing potato varieties.

For example, if you live in Atlanta, Georgia, your first frost date is November 13. If you choose Red Norland potatoes (an early season variety), they will be ready for harvest about 70 days (10 weeks) after planting.

That means you could plant in August and still get potatoes by November 13 (30 days in September + 31 days in October + the first 13 days in November = 74 days).

Can You Plant Potatoes In The Fall For Next Year?

If you plant potatoes in the fall (or leave them underground without harvesting them), there is a chance that they will sprout and grow into new plants the following spring. However, the longer potatoes stay underground, the more chance that they will rot or that pests (animal or insect) will eat them.

If you don’t dig up potato tubers, they might survive the winter and sprout the following spring to produce new plants.

Your best bet is to harvest and store your potatoes and wait to plant sprouted potatoes in the following spring.

Can Potatoes Grow In Winter?

Potatoes can grow in winter in very warm climates. However, a frost will kill the foliage back to the ground.

Your best bet is to grow potatoes by planting in spring (or early to mid summer for a 2nd later harvest in warmer climates).

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When To Start Your Potato Plants

You can use the factors mentioned above to figure out when it might be too late to plant your potatoes.  For example, let’s assume that:

We know that the last frost date in Boston is April 10.   We also know that Princess Laratte potatoes take 90 to 110 days to mature.

You can calculate whether potatoes will mature in time by using your calendar, planting date, first frost date, and the days to maturity for your chosen potato variety.

Let’s say that we are planting a week late to reduce the chance that a late spring frost will kill our potato plants when they emerge. So, we wait until April 17 to plant our potatoes.

Working forwards from April 17, we can see that the potatoes would be mature on July 16 at the earliest (13 days in April + 31 days in May + 30 days in June + the first 16 days in July, for a total of 90 days).

For a spring planting, you can plant potatoes as soon as ground can be worked (that is, when it thaws out).  However, remember that potatoes will not grow until the ground is at least 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 10 degrees Celsius).

When planting potatoes, the soil should be moist, but not wet.  Wet soil will cause potatoes to rot before they can grow.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, you can take a chance and plant potatoes 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost date in northern regions.  These crops will mature earlier in the season, but there is more risk of late spring frosts damaging or killing the plants when they emerge.

Especially in cold northern regions, it is safer to plant your potatoes two weeks after the last frost date.

(You can learn how to plant sprouted potatoes in my article here).

If your potatoes sprout in long-term storage, you can replant them to grow new plants and more potatoes!

How To Protect Potato Plants From Cold

Potato plants are a cool weather crop, so they can tolerate some cool temperatures.  However, a hard frost can kill back any growth to the ground, so it pays to protect them if possible.

In case of a late spring frost or early fall frost, here are a couple of ways you can protect your potato plants from cold.

Greenhouse

The soil in a greenhouse will get warm enough for planting potatoes much sooner than the soil outside.   You also have more control over the soil moisture inside your greenhouse.

You can even choose to plant potatoes in containers inside your greenhouse if you wish (you can also try planting potatoes in a straw bale!)  For more information on growing potatoes in straw bales, you can read my article here.

A greenhouse will help to keep your potato plants warm and protect them from fall or spring frosts.

If you plant your potatoes a little late, you can use a greenhouse to extend the growing season and protect your potato plants from fall frosts.

Row Covers

You also have the option of using row covers to protect potato plants against late spring or early fall frosts.  Row covers are made from fabric, and they protect plants from cold (and insects), while also allowing sunlight to get through.

Row covers can help to keep potato plants warm. if the plants are young, you can use a long piece to cover an entire row of potato plants.

One brand of row cover with varying levels of protection is Agribon.   For example, Agribon AG-50 offers 6 degrees of frost protection (down to 26 degrees Fahrenheit).

You can learn more about row covers in my article here.

Mulch

Mulch is another great way to keep potato plants a little warmer. Even if a frost comes, a layer of mulch hilled up around a potato plant will protect part of the plant.

Even better, hilling during the growing season is encouraged for potato plants, and it won’t hurt them. You can learn more about hilling potatoes (and why to do it) in my article here.

You can use lots of materials for mulching and hilling around your potato plants. Some common ones include:

Straw is a great choice for hilling around potato plants. Grass clippings, leaves, and compost also work.

All of these materials will eventually decompose, adding both nutrients and organic matter to your garden.

What Happens If You Plant Potatoes Too Late?

If you plant your potatoes too late, you will have problems with heat in the summer or with cold in the fall.

Summer Heat

The first problem you will have with a spring planting of potatoes is the summer heat.  Potato plants will stop producing tubers if the soil is too warm.

Potato plants will stop producing tubers if temperatures get too high.

Higher temperatures and brighter sunlight also cause soil to dry out faster.  Remember that young potato plants are not yet established with strong roots.

That means you will need to work harder to give them enough water.  This can be a big chore in a large garden, especially without drip irrigation or a sprinkler system for watering.

Fall Frost

Even if you manage to deal with the summer heat by planting later in the season, you still need to worry about frost in the fall.

A hard frost will kill potato plants (at least, the part growing above the ground).

A hard frost will kill potato plants, and an early fall frost will stop the plants from growing larger tubers.  If the ground freezes, it will be difficult to harvest your potatoes without damaging them (if you can get them at all!)

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A complete reference and an ultimate guide that teaches you everything you need to know about potato selection, planting, care, harvest, and storage.

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Conclusion

Now you have a better idea of when it is getting too late to plant potatoes – and when you might be able to plant for a later harvest.  You also know a little more about how to protect your potato plants from frost, if necessary.

If you are in a warm climate or you have space indoors, you can learn more about growing potatoes in winter in my article here.

I hope you found this article helpful – if so, please share it with someone who will find the information useful.

You can learn about the time to maturity for various types of potatoes here.

To find gardening books, courses, and more, check out The Shop at Greenupside!

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Favorable days of landing on the lunar calendar

Useful information on potatoes

Planting periods 1 - 10 (in some cases - from April 25 to June 10)
Scheme of landing 50x50 cm, 60x30 cm, 60x30 cm
Tuber depth 10 - 15 cm
Predecessors • good - peas, beans, cucumbers, onions, carrots;
• bad - potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants
Place Well-lit area

How to determine the timing of planting in your region

landing for it is standard throughout Central Russia - from May 1 to May 10.

Tuber sprouts appear from the ground on about the 20th day, at the very end of May - at this time frosts are unlikely. But even if the temperature drops below 0 ° C, potatoes are easy to save - just spud them up with their heads. And when it warms up - unwind.

Potatoes can be planted in the southern regions after 25 April. And the latest date for planting potatoes is June 10. But in this case, only early varieties can be planted - mid-ripening and late ones will not have time to ripen.

How to prepare tubers for planting

Many summer residents do not bother with preliminary preparation of tubers - they take them out of the cellar and immediately plant them. But the result is always sad - the harvest is small, the tubers are small, and the potatoes get sick during the summer. Therefore, preliminary preparation should not be neglected.

What does it include?

Rejection. Rotting, scab-ridden, too long or pear-shaped, cracked, discolored tubers are all unsuitable for planting. Ideal tubers should be even, weighing 50 - 80 g (the size of a chicken egg).

Germination. It is necessary for the seedlings to be friendly and strong. There are several ways to germinate tubers, but the easiest is to take potatoes out of the cellar 40 to 50 days (1) before planting and put them in a warm, bright room. At the same time, the tubers turn green, solanine accumulates in them, and it protects them from diseases.

Disease treatment. It is useful to treat germinated potato tubers before planting with a solution of boric acid and copper sulfate (1 g per 10 liters of water). Consumption: 1.5 - 1.8 liters of solution per 100 kg of tubers. Then the tubers are dusted with ash at the rate of 0.5 kg per 100 kg of planting material.

How to grow potatoes from seedlings

This method is used to propagate valuable and expensive varieties whose seed tubers are sold by the piece.

Sprouted tubers in late April - early May are tightly laid out in boxes in one row and covered with a layer of wet peat or humus 3 - 4 cm thick. The boxes are placed in a bright place with a temperature of 18 - 20 °C.

At the end of May, the tubers are removed from the boxes, the sprouts with roots are separated, they are immediately planted on the beds and well watered. Single sprouts will eventually produce fewer tubers from the bush, but in general there will be more from the seed potato plot.

Auspicious days for planting potatoes for seedlings according to the lunar calendar: April 21 - 22, 25 - 26, May 2 - 4, 7 - 10.

How to plant potatoes

Photo: pixabay.com

Potato planting scheme - 50 x 50 cm or 60 x 30 - 35 cm (2). Holes are dug on a spade bayonet. 1 tuber is placed in each, being careful not to break the sprouts. The holes are then covered with soil. After all the potatoes are planted, the plot is harrowed with a rake.

A little trick: if you put 1 tbsp. a spoonful of double superphosphate, there will be no wireworm.

The best precursors for potatoes are cabbage and table root crops. But after tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other plants of the Solanaceae family, potatoes cannot be planted - they have common diseases (3).

Favorable days for planting potatoes according to the lunar calendar: April 25-26, May 2-4, May 7-10.

Tips for caring for potatoes

Potato care is not difficult, all it needs is watering and hilling.

Watering Potatoes are watered only 2 times during the summer: immediately after germination and during flowering. This is more than enough to form a good harvest even in arid regions. Additional watering will not bring benefits, on the contrary, they can cause the tubers to start to hurt and be poorly stored. If they don't rot at all.

Hilling. It is necessary because in many varieties the tubers come out as they grow. And they turn green, accumulating toxic solanine in themselves.

The first hilling is done when the plants reach a height of 15 - 20 cm - the earth is poured to the shoots up to the first leaves. Then over the summer they make another 2 - 3 hilling. As a result, the ridge should be 15 - 20 cm.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about planting potatoes with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova - she answered the most frequent questions of summer residents.

Is it possible to plant cut potato tubers?

Usually large tubers are cut in half - this is quite acceptable, however, increases the risk of fungal infections. Therefore, it is necessary to cut the tubers not before planting, but in advance - 2 to 3 days in advance, so that the pulp is ventilated. And before planting, it is useful to powder the sections with ash - it will additionally protect against diseases.

But it is still better to plant whole tubers the size of a chicken egg.

Should potatoes be greened before planting?

This is not a mandatory procedure, but it is very useful. In the light, solanine is formed in the tubers - this is a toxic substance, not only for people, but also for soil pests. And solanine reduces the risk of contracting fungal diseases.

Is it possible to grow potatoes from seeds?

After flowering, the potatoes form green berries from which seeds ripen. It is quite possible to grow potatoes from them, however, very small nodules are formed in the first year. A normal harvest can be obtained only in the second year.

The taco method is good because it will allow you to get clean, uninfected planting material.

Sources

  1. Fisenko A.N., Serpukhovitina K.A., Stolyarov A.I. Garden. Handbook // Rostov-on-Don, Rostov University Press, 1994 - 416 p.
  2. Yakubovskaya L. D., Yakubovsky V.N., Rozhkova L.N. ABC of a summer resident // Minsk, OOO "Orakul", OOO Lazurak, IPKA "Publicity", 1994 - 415 p.
  3. Group of authors, ed. Polyanskoy A.M. and Chulkova E.I. Tips for gardeners // Minsk, Harvest, 1970 - 208 p.

Is it too late to plant potatoes in June? | QUESTION-ANSWER

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Weekly "Arguments and Facts" No. 23. AiF-Penza 09/06/2021

Category: Society Q&A from the newspaper: Weekly "Arguments and Facts" No. 23 09/06/2021

Due to bad weather in the first half of May, we delayed planting vegetables. Is it too late to plant potatoes now?

O. Lizin, Kuznetsk

Answers Chairman of the Penza branch of the Union of Gardeners of Russia Elena Khramtsova :

“Yes, due to unfavorable weather in early May this year, many summer residents were late with planting. Although most managed to plant potatoes in moist soil. It's not too late to plant vegetables. The summer is predicted to be warm, so everything will have time to ripen before September.

For those who have already planted everything, I advise you not to miss the watering dates, especially in the heat. Also, do not forget about loosening the soil to saturate it with oxygen. Currently, this is the main work in the garden plots.

A month has passed since the beginning of the summer season. So far, there have been no complaints or claims from gardeners regarding the organization of the work of country routes - the season is going on, so to speak, in the normal mode.

Prevention and treatment. Secrets of a rich harvest of tomatoes and potatoes Read more

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