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Potato growing

Cool-season produce

Potato

Solanum tuberosum

Also known as Irish potato · White potato · Potatoes

This is a late-winter planting for spring harvest, not a crop to leave through Phoenix summer. Use certified seed potatoes and hill developing tubers away from light.

EdibleCool-season crop
Growing spaceVegetable bed
Climate fitUrban core · USDA 9b–10a · Valley suburbs · USDA 9a–9b · Desert outskirts · USDA 8b–9b
Crop familySolanaceae (nightshade)
Life cycleAnnual crop
Phoenix planting windowJanuary–early March for the spring crop; cover shoots if frost threatens.
How to plantPlant certified disease-free seed-potato pieces, not true seed.
Plant spacing10–12 in, with room to hill soil around stems
FrostFoliage is frost-sensitive; cover shoots on freezing nights.
Time to harvestAbout 90–120 days
SuccessionUsually one late-winter planting.
Special categoriesEDIBLE
Typical harvestSpring new or mature tubers before sustained heat.

Right plant, right place

Will Potato grow at your Arizona property?

This is a late-winter planting for spring harvest, not a crop to leave through Phoenix summer. Use certified seed potatoes and hill developing tubers away from light.

Best regional fit: Urban core · USDA 9b–10a, Valley suburbs · USDA 9a–9b, Desert outskirts · USDA 8b–9b.

Light

Sun exposure

Full winter sun; give leafy crops afternoon protection during warm fall and spring weather.

Water

Irrigation

Keep the vegetable root zone evenly moist with regular irrigation; adjust to rain, soil, and temperature rather than using a fixed summer schedule.

Planting & stewardship

How to help Potato thrive

  1. 1

    Prepare a fertile, well-drained bed and keep seed or transplants evenly moist through establishment.

  2. 2

    Thin to the final spacing; crowding reduces harvest quality.

  3. 3

    Watch for aphids and caterpillars and protect sensitive growth from a hard freeze.

  4. 4

    Harvest before sustained spring heat causes bolting or poor quality.

Read the growing reference ↗ Planting dates can shift with cultivar, weather, and your yard’s microclimate.

Keep exploring

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