🥔
Potato
Yukon Gold
Tubers
☀️
Sun
full sun
💧
Water
Every 7 days
🌱
Germination
21 days
🕐
Days to harvest
90 days
📏
Planting depth
4 inches deep
↔️
Row spacing
30 inches
When to Plant
Plant 2 wks before last frost
Growing Guide
Soil: loose, well-drained, acidic · pH 5.0–6.5
Potatoes prefer slightly acidic soil (pH 5.0–6.5) — do NOT lime potato beds. Do NOT add fresh manure (causes scab). Work in aged compost or aged manure. Loose, deep soil produces the best yields. Hilling (mounding soil up around stems) is essential.
- Plant certified seed potatoes (not grocery store potatoes which may carry disease)
- Cut large seed potatoes into pieces with 2–3 eyes each; allow cut surfaces to dry/cure 24–48 hours before planting
- Plant 4 inches deep, 12 inches apart in rows 30 inches wide
- When plants are 6–8 inches tall, hill soil up around stems to cover half the foliage — repeat 2–3 weeks later
- Hilling prevents tubers from turning green (green potato = solanine, which is mildly toxic) and increases yield
Care
💧 Water every 7 days
🌿 Fertilize every 21 days
📐 Spacing: 12 inches apart · 30 inches between rows
Harvest & Storage
Ready in 90 days with a harvest window of 21 days.
- New potatoes can be harvested 10–12 weeks after planting (before tops die)
- Full harvest: wait until tops have died back completely, then wait 2 more weeks for skins to set
- Carefully fork through the soil from the outside in — use a flat-tined fork to avoid spearing tubers
- Inspect every potato — damaged ones must be eaten first (they don't store)
Storage
Cure in a dark, humid, cool (50–60°F) space for 2 weeks to let skins toughen. Store in paper bags or wooden boxes in a cool (38–45°F), dark, humid cellar. Properly stored Yukon Gold keeps 3–5 months. Keep away from apples and onions.
Companion Planting
Grows well with:
beancornhorseradish
Keep away from:
tomatocucumbersunflower
Essential Tools
- Flat-tined garden fork (harvesting without spearing)
- Soil hoe (hilling)
Pests & Diseases
- Colorado potato beetle: distinctive orange/black striped beetle and brick-red larvae — hand-pick and destroy; Bt spray for larvae
- Late blight (Phytophthora infestans): same organism that causes tomato blight — grey lesions on leaves; remove entire infected plants; do not compost
- Common scab (Streptomyces scabies): rough corky patches on skin (cosmetic, still edible) — keep pH below 6.5; do not lime potato beds; consistent soil moisture