When to plant potatoes
In zone 8, most of the UK: plant seed potatoes from March to May. First harvest about 100 days later.
Growing stages
Potatoes: calendar by hardiness zone
| Zone | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | |||||||
| Zone 7 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | |||||
| Zone 8reference | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | |||||
| Zone 9 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Sowing or planting, Harvest | Harvest | ||||
| Zone 10 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest |
- Zone 6
- −23 to −18 °C (−10 to 0 °F): high mountains
- Zone 7
- −18 to −12 °C (0 to 10 °F): upland Britain, eastern France, the Alps
- Zone 8
- −12 to −7 °C (10 to 20 °F): most of the UK and France
- Zone 9
- −7 to −1 °C (20 to 30 °F): south-west England, Brittany, Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts
- Zone 10
- −1 to 4 °C (30 to 40 °F): Isles of Scilly, the French Riviera, coastal Corsica
Indicative months. A cold year or a garden at altitude shifts everything by a month; watch the frosts too.
Potatoes in practice
- Spacing
- 35 cm along the row, 60 cm between rows
- Sun
- full sun
- Watering
- moderate
- Difficulty
- easy
- In a pot
- no
- Support
- none
- Family
- Nightshades (Solanaceae)
- Watch for
- slugs
Good companions for potatoes
Keep apart
Questions about potatoes
When to plant potatoes?
In zone 8: plant seed potatoes from March to May. The four other zones are in the calendar above; at altitude or after a long winter, aim for the end of the window.
How long until harvest?
About 100 days after planting in zone 8, then the harvest lasts about 20 days.
How far apart?
35 cm between plants along the row and 60 cm between rows.
Can you grow potatoes in a pot?
Open ground is better: the crop needs room and depth that a pot does not give.
What to plant nearby?
Good companions: broad bean, dwarf bean and cabbage. Keep apart: cherry tomato, cucumber, melon, red kuri squash, raspberry, winter squash, sunflower and tomato.
Updated 20 October 2026, Hortipix catalogue version 1. Windows still being checked against Le Guide Clause, Vilmorin and Terre vivante (RHS and Cornell for the UK and the US), compared with OpenFarm (CC0). They remain indicative.