How to Plant Potatoes From a Grocery Store

Use store-bought potatoes to grow your own.

You might think that you need to buy small potato plants or potato seeds from a home and garden store when you want to grow potatoes in your garden. But you can actually use potatoes from your local grocery store to grow more potatoes. Choose potatoes that have eyes on them, which are the small indentations in the skin of the potatoes. As potatoes age, white growths will begin forming on the eyes, which are actually the potatoes sprouting.

Things You'll Need

• Potatoes with eyes
• Knife
• Shovel
• Garden bed or large planter

Instructions

1. Select the potatoes that you will use for your garden. Choose potatoes that have lots of eyes on them, rather than mostly smooth skin.

2. Place the potatoes in a cool, dry place and wait for them to begin sprouting. Waiting to see whether the eyes will sprout is a must when you are using grocery store potatoes because some of them may be treated with a substance that prevents them from sprouting. It could take the potatoes up to a week or more before they sprout, but this will depend on how long the potato has been out of the ground.

3. Cut the potatoes into pieces that have one to two sprouted eyes on them.

4. Prepare your garden bed or a large container for the potatoes. Potatoes grow best in well-drained, moist and acidic soil. When to plant your potatoes will depend on the climate of your region, but potatoes should be planted about two weeks before the last anticipated freeze in your area.

5. Plant the potatoes about 4 inches deep with the eyes facing up. Make sure the potato pieces are about 18 inches apart. Water them thoroughly after planting. Keep them watered during the growing season so that the soil remains moist. The frequency of waterings will depend on the temperature and amount of rainfall in your area.

References

• Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
• Mother Earth News: When and How to Plant Potatoes