When to plant Potatoes
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Survives a light frost, not a hard freeze.
Practical notes
Chit seed potatoes in a cool, light room for 3–4 weeks before planting. Earth up the shoots twice — it protects them from late frost and stops tubers greening.
Knowing when to pick
Lift earlies when the flowers open; leave maincrop two weeks after the haulm dies back so the skins set firm.
Storing the crop
Dry for a few hours, then store in paper sacks somewhere dark, dry and 4–8°C. Light turns them green and bitter.
Crop rotation
Leave 3–4 years before nightshades return to the same bed — blight and wilts persist in soil.
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Watch for
Full guide: potatoes diseases and pests (6) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.