Potato plants with compound green leaves and small white flowers growing in a garden bed.
Photo: AfroBrazilian · CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped for display. Solanum tuberosum foliage and flowers; cultivar unspecified, used as a reference for the ‘Yukon Gold’ guide. Resized to 1000 × 750 pixels and compressed as WebP; no crop or retouching. Display crops may be used. This photo adaptation is licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. Potato reference photo. Its cultivar is not identified; the growing plan below uses Yukon Gold.
Plant Care Steps · Growing guideplantcaresteps.com/plants/potato/

Vegetables · Outdoors, on a sunny patio during a mild growing season

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Solanum tuberosum ‘Yukon Gold’

This plan is for Yukon Gold potato from certified seed tubers

How to grow potatoes in pots starts with certified seed potatoes (not grocery tubers), a deep opaque container, and hilling: add mix as stems grow so developing tubers stay dark. Keep moisture even, feed after starter nutrients finish, and harvest when plants yellow or after flowering depending on your goal. Green tubers exposed to light should not be eaten.

Light: The leaves need sun; the developing potatoes must stay covered and dark.

Planting steps ↓

Eat only suitable harvested potato tubers. Leaves, stems, sprouts, and any small tomato-like berries are not edible. Discard green potatoes rather than tasting them to check. Keep planting tubers and plant parts away from children and pets.

YOUR SIMPLE GROWING PLAN

One pot. Here’s the plan.

Before you start Choose a cool-to-mild outdoor growing window, with mix around 50°F at planting. This large opaque pot starts with two certified Yukon Gold seed tubers and stays outdoors in sun.

What you need · pot, mix & supplies
  • One opaque draining pot, 20 inches wide and at least 18 inches deep
  • 2 small certified Yukon Gold seed potatoes and fresh vegetable potting mix
  • A watering can and ruler; tablespoon and ½-tablespoon measures for later feeding

The soil

Fresh vegetable potting mix with starter nutrients, such as Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Mix (US, feeds for up to 2 months). Keep spare mix for adding around the stems. Avoid garden soil and do not add lime without a reason.

Is this your plant? Choose certified Solanum tuberosum ‘Yukon Gold’ seed potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a different crop grown from slips; ornamental potato vines are not this plan.

Outdoors, on a sunny patio during a mild growing season. Start with certified seed potatoes.

THE POT20 in. wide × 18 in. deep

Choose an opaque container with drainage holes. The inside must still be at least 14 inches wide at the lower planting level, so the two tubers fit; a straight-sided pot is simplest. Set it in place before filling.

HOW MANY2 seed potatoes

Use 2 small whole certified Yukon Gold seed potatoes, each about 1–2 inches across, with healthy eyes. Space their centers 12 inches apart. Seed potatoes are planting tubers, not a packet of botanical seed.

See the planting illustration
Illustrated starting setup: 20 in. wide × 18 in. deep; 2 seed potatoes.
20 in. wide × 18 in. deep · 2 seed potatoes Choose an opaque container with drainage holes. The inside must still be at least 14 inches wide at the lower planting level, so the two tubers fit; a straight-sided pot is simplest. Set it in place before filling. Use 2 small whole certified Yukon Gold seed potatoes, each about 1–2 inches across, with healthy eyes. Space their centers 12 inches apart. Seed potatoes are planting tubers, not a packet of botanical seed. Original illustration; not to scale.
The leaves get sun. The potatoes stay covered.
Two potato planting stages: seed tubers on four inches of mix with two inches over their tops; later add mix around stems while leaves stay exposed and new potatoes remain covered.
Start with 4 inches of mix below and 2 inches over the seed potatoes. Space the two centers 12 inches apart. Illinois Extension describes this layered container method. When shoots reach 6–8 inches, add 2–4 inches of mix around lower stems, leaving about 4 inches of leafy growth exposed. Repeat as the stems grow and stop 2 inches below the rim. Covered tubers avoid light; this drawing does not predict the number you will harvest.
  1. 01

    Start with a shallow layer

    Put the empty pot in a sunny outdoor spot. Add 4 inches of moistened potting mix. Choose a planting window when the mix is about 50°F or warmer, with cool to mild weather ahead.

  2. 02

    Plant two whole seed potatoes

    Place the potatoes on that layer, centers 12 inches apart, with eyes or short sprouts facing up. Cover the top of each potato with 2 inches of mix, then water gently and let excess drain.

  3. 03

    Add mix as the stems grow

    When shoots stand 6–8 inches above the mix, add 2–4 inches around the lower stems while leaving about 4 inches of leafy growth exposed. Repeat as needed as stems grow. Stop filling 2 inches below the rim; never bury all the leaves.

  4. 04

    Keep new tubers covered

    Check the surface after watering and top up any exposed potatoes with mix. Maintain steady moisture while plants grow. For a mature harvest, wait until the vines die back, then follow the harvest steps below.

Other ways to start
Cut a large certified seed potato+

If small whole seed potatoes are unavailable, cut a larger certified tuber into blocky pieces about 1½–2 ounces each, with at least one sound eye per piece. Keep only two pieces for this pot. Let cut surfaces dry and heal at room temperature for 1–3 days before planting. Plant cut side down and eyes up.

Use a garden bed+

The same certified cultivar can grow in a well-drained bed. Follow local row spacing, soil-test feeding, and hilling guidance. This pot’s fertilizer amount is not a garden-bed rate. Sweet potatoes use a different plant and usually start from slips.

YOUR EVERYDAY ROUTINE

Water & fertilizer at a glance.

Water when
Check each morning. Water as the top inch starts drying, wet the root zone, and drain. Keep moisture even while tubers grow; reduce watering as mature vines die back. Empty the saucer or outer pot after draining.
Fertilizer
Espoma Organic Garden-tone (US 3-4-4 granules)
Amount
2½ tablespoons for the entire 20-inch pot
What that amount covers
Dry granules, based on container diameter. Scatter around the outer edge, at least 3 inches from stems, then water in. This amount is shared by both plants; it is not per plant or mixed into water.
How often to feed
Monthly during active growth, only after existing feed has finished.
When to start or pause
Check nutrients in all fresh mix, including mix added during hilling. Skip overlapping feeds and stop as the mature vines naturally die back.
Product directions ↗

Use level measures and the exact US formula shown. If your label differs, follow it; do not transfer this dose to another formula or combine feeding programs.

See the watering & feeding illustrations
A soil check followed by slow root watering and free drainage.
Check before watering. Check each morning. Water as the top inch starts drying, wet the root zone, and drain. Keep moisture even while tubers grow; reduce watering as mature vines die back. Original illustration; not to scale.
Fertilizer measure for Potato: 2½ tablespoons for the entire 20-inch pot. Dry granules, based on container diameter. Scatter around the outer edge, at least 3 inches from stems, then water in. This amount is shared by both plants; it is not per plant or mixed into water.
2½ tablespoons for the entire 20-inch pot Dry granules, based on container diameter. Scatter around the outer edge, at least 3 inches from stems, then water in. This amount is shared by both plants; it is not per plant or mixed into water. Monthly during active growth, only after existing feed has finished. Check nutrients in all fresh mix, including mix added during hilling. Skip overlapping feeds and stop as the mature vines naturally die back. Original illustration; not to scale.
Illustrated reference for Espoma Organic Garden-tone, US 3-4-4; not actual packaging.

US PRODUCT REFERENCE

Espoma Organic

Garden-tone

3-4-4

Granular: measure onto growing mix

Check the official US product ↗

Illustrated reference; check the manufacturer’s current packaging and US label.

Shoots, tubers, and harvest signs
03 / WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Shoots often emerge in about 2–3 weeks. Yukon Gold is an early-to-midseason potato; plan for roughly 3 months of suitable weather, then judge harvest by the plant and tubers rather than a guaranteed date. A container gives a modest crop, with yield depending on light, temperature, water, and plant health.

Choose a mild growing window

Plant in the cool part of your local growing season, once the mix is around 50°F. In many northern areas that means spring; mild-winter regions may plant earlier in the year. Protect new shoots from a hard freeze. Sustained hot potting mix reduces tuber production, so avoid baking containers beside hot reflective walls.

For regional planting windows, find your local Cooperative Extension office ↗.

Something looking off?

Can I grow potatoes from grocery-store potatoes?+

Use certified seed potatoes for this plan. Grocery tubers may carry disease or sprout inhibitors. A sprouted kitchen potato is not inspected planting stock.

How do you hill potatoes in a container?+

When stems are several inches tall, add potting mix around them, leaving the top leaves exposed. Repeat until near the pot rim so new tubers stay covered and dark.

How big a pot for two potato plants?+

This guide uses about a 20-inch-wide, 18-inch-deep opaque pot for two small Yukon Gold seed potatoes. Clear or shallow pots make greening and heat more likely.

When are container potatoes ready to harvest?+

For new potatoes, explore gently after flowering. For larger storage tubers, wait until foliage yellows, then dump the pot and collect tubers.

Why did my potatoes turn green?+

Light reached the tubers. Keep them covered while growing and store harvest in the dark. Do not eat green potato flesh.

Keeping tubers covered and harvesting
Add mix while keeping leaves exposed

New potatoes develop on underground stems, mainly above the original seed potato. Adding mix around the lower stems protects them from light. Leave foliage exposed so the plant can keep growing. Once the pot is filled to 2 inches below the rim, stop raising the level; cover any later exposed tuber with a little extra mix without burying the leaves.

Harvest gently and keep potatoes dark

For a few small new potatoes, gently check near the pot edge once the plant is established and tubers have formed; cover the remaining crop again. For mature potatoes, let the vines die back and wait about 2 weeks for skins to firm. Tip the pot onto a tarp and collect the tubers gently. Brush off loose mix and keep them out of light. Use sound tubers with minor harvest nicks promptly; discard rotten ones. Store only sound, ungreened potatoes in a cool, dark, ventilated place.

Help with your next step.

Sources, dates & detailed PDF

Editorial plans, not results from a Plant Care Steps growing trial. Compiled with AI assistance; they have not yet had an independent horticultural review. Editorial approach.

Something needs updating? Suggest a correction

Published · Updated

By jennyzhuang

Sources checked View sources ↗

Detailed PDF ↓

Full reference edition with expanded explanations and illustrations. Its publication dates appear in the file.

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Soil: Fresh vegetable potting mix with starter nutrients, such as Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Mix (US, feeds for up to 2 months). Keep spare mix for adding around the stems. Avoid garden soil and do not add lime without a reason.

By jennyzhuang

Sources checked View sources ↗

Published · Updated

Read the online Sources section for linked references and the full reference PDF.

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Plant Care Steps · Care card

Potato

Solanum tuberosum ‘Yukon Gold’

Water
Check each morning. Water as the top inch starts drying, wet the root zone, and drain. Keep moisture even while tubers grow; reduce watering as mature vines die back.
Light
At least 6 hours of sun. The leaves need sun; the developing potatoes must stay covered and dark.
Temperature
Cool to mild growing season. Outdoors, on a sunny patio during a mild growing season
Common problems
Can I grow potatoes from grocery-store potatoes. Use certified seed potatoes for this plan. Grocery tubers may carry disease or sprout inhibitors. A sprouted kitchen potato is not inspected planting stock.