The TOP 5 Potato Growing Misconceptions Dispelled

Misconceptions are something that we at Migardener try to dispel, so you get the most accurate information, and the purest form of information to use in your garden. In today’s episode I am going to be breaking down the top 5 most common potato growing misconceptions.

[@thejordanlight]

I must have got really lucky! First time gardener and I planted 3 non organic red potatoes from the grocery store just as an experiment and they yielded a total of 45 potatoes! I was shocked.

[@DjChelan]

congrats!

[@gardeningtipswithvicky]

Wow...I only had 6 potatoes from 1 seed- potatoe in 1O litres sack

[@chuckp3335]

I've already harvested 7 potato plants and I have another 6 planted and I will plant some more in July. Keep up the great work and remember we all appreciate your time and effort to help us!

[@MsKaty0311]

What area are you located….haven’t done mine yet but still plan too in midcoast Maine

[@chuckp3335]

@@MsKaty0311 I live in Tennessee around Memphis. We have mild winters and it doesn't get cold until November so I plant potatoes in February inside then outside first of April

[@cordelia7313]

@@chuckp3335 thanks for your info!! I also live in TN about half between Memphis and Nashville. We have grown potatoes several times but this will be the first time to try growing a second planting in July. All those I know around here say “You have to have them out of the ground by the 4th of July or they will rot.” We have found that to be untrue and that they can be over wintered in the ground here. Excited to do something different from the norm here!! If you don’t mind my asking. About when do you dig your second crop and do you feel like one produces better than the other??

[@chuckp3335]

@@cordelia7313 depends on the variety you grow I grow alot of Yukon gold potatoes only about 70days and yes they do over winter here in the ground because I leave some in the ground and as soon as the soil warms up they start growing.

[@cordelia7313]

@@chuckp3335 thank you!!! I have Yukon gold in the ground now and was thinking of going with them again and will try leaving some to over winter. Good luck with yours and hopefully I will have a little luck with mine also!!

[@ontariogardening]

I am your neighbour in Ontario- I am finding great success in growing my potatoes in those fabric bags this year (as opposed to in the ground in the past). Total experiment for this year, and they are going nuts! I would definitely recommend to anyone who doesn't have the ground/garden space, or wants to try on a patio.

[@suegendron2260]

This was SO helpful, as I've seen lots of 'debate' around determinate vs. indeterminate, and hilling to 'get more potatoes". Thank you for a hugely informative video!!

[@suzanne529]

My best potato crop ever was accidental-- grown in my compost pile from potato peelings!!

[@sherlockbonez]

Like my yearly cherry tomatoes in my compost

[@petekooshian5595]

Same here!

[@zwren3693]

I have a massive pumpkin plant growing in mine now. I don’t want my compost to go to waste but I kinda want to see what happens. I’m conflicted

[@petekooshian5595]

@@zwren3693 You can always use the compost next year too. And if it's growing stuff, is it really a waste? ;)

[@pamalvarado1563]

The same thing just happened to me! I started a compost pile I can old horse trough. I was putting all my potato peelings in it. Suddenly plays started growing! I was shocked. I had no idea what they were. It turned out to be potatoes and bell peppers! I only found out they were potatoes because they bloomed and I looked up the flower. The plants were die g and I took them out and dig around and had beautiful baking potatoes everywhere! Lots of small boiling potatoes as well. The tiny ones I left in and waiting to see if they grow. I bet we have 3 growing seasons here in mid Calif. It doesn’t really freeze here and winter weather lasts about 2 weeks.

[@TheCoolCookieKitchen]

First year growing potatoes and this is great info!

[@tinapayne2367]

Same here😊

[@zarahsgarden2097]

They are so fun to harvest!! And the baby potatoes are seriously delicious. Once they flower you can harvest, or wait until the foliage dies back for bigger potatoes. Good luck growing! 🌱💕

[@koalamama2]

Me too =) I chucked some potato scraps into a recycling bin holding some compost soil and they grew into giant plants. I have no idea what I'm doing, which is what brought me here (it helps that Luke is psychic)...

[@JenniferH1724]

@@zarahsgarden2097 not so much fun when you are harvesting 6-10 buchel the cuteness runs out after a couple buchel 😂

[@lisaj9545]

I have two bins of some russets from Aldi that had sprouted that I planted as an experiment. And you know what? They are growing super well with tons of foliage. I checked the other day and i have baby potatoes! Just used organic potting soil, black kow and of course some trifecta. Yay!

[@JerryB507]

I have 7 potatoes growing in last year's compost heap. They also were bought at a conventional grocery.

[@joshuatheregularguy8974]

Honestly, yeah, I bought a couple bags of little potatoes at the store to eat and picked out a dozen and planted them this year. The ones from the first bag clearly DID have some kind of sprout inhibitor on them, because sitting around and waiting on them to start sprouting from the eyes took forever UNTIL I gave them a good wash. Then they were off like a rocket. The ones from the second bag (same brand) got washed right off and they sprouted right off as well. All 12 plants are going great in the garden, too. Clearly they're flourishing. I can't wait to see how well they do at actually making potatoes. 🤞

[@mattkonetski9818]

​@@joshuatheregularguy8974 2y years later...Thanks the wash tip.

[@JNoMooreNumbers]

I saved some from last year. Lasted all winter with no rot and were sprouting when planted.

[@logosrisingbear]

Same here. I got some my first year gardening from an old lady that grew the same ones for 20years. This is my 2nd gen on those this year. They started to sprout around January of this year but worked out great they are growing nicely. Edit, not sprout in January but send the shooters out of the potatoes while in the paper bag.

[@raziarahmat4299]

I live in Karachi Pakistan I like your comments if you don't mind

[@raziarahmat4299]

@@logosrisingbear I live in Karachi Pakistan I like your comments

[@logosrisingbear]

@@raziarahmat4299 Thank you brother. I owe it all to God for planting the seed so to speak for gardening.

[@chuckp3335]

I put some baby potatoes in my worm bin at the end of last year and they popped up early this year

[@Victory646]

Love your videos! Great information. Appreciate so much that you always explain the reasoning and science of things and not just telling the facts. Growing potatoes in grow bags this year for the first time... so excited!

[@helenalderson6608]

I pulled up one of my reds for some baby potatoes. The original seed potato still looked pretty good, so I replanted it. It's looking good, can't wait to see how it did

[@jowoo7237]

Doing the ruth stout method for the second year with potatoes. No dig... store bought potatoes. Decent yield for nearly no work. Thanks for the info.

[@Infiniti25]

Ruth stout method definitely works and allows for inspection. You can then harvest at your preferred size or leave them to get bigger. The straw holds some of the moisture in the area as well as protecting from sunlight. If I tried that method again, I’d probably chop and drop some comfrey leaves on the ground before I place the potatoes and the straw.

[@isabellaabruzzi9611]

Hi Luke, I planted potatoes for the first time this year. Thank you for all you videos! I've learned a lot from you!

[@regenerated4life]

We've planted so many potatoes this year that its a little ridiculous, so this video is super helpful. Thank you!

[@doctorhousemd566]

Thank you for another wonderful video luke !

[@katejannuzzi2375]

As always Luke - excellent info thank you for everything you do to teach us! ❤️

[@grannygct]

Great information on growing potatoes. Thanks for clearing up those misconceptions in the growing process. I have 3 potato plants growing now and flowering. Can’t wait to see what is under the soil! Hope my first time growing is successful. Thank you so much for the video.

[@alexburba640]

Thank you for this very informative video! This is my first year growing potatoes. It's been very confusing with the mixed information I was getting online. I'm glad to know I don't have to keep mounding my potatoes anymore for the season!

[@HillbillyBoys]

i have ben watching your videos for about 5 months, i was literally pulling potatoes when your video premiered! thanks for the info and i just subscribed.sorry ,should have done it 5 months ago!

[@fancythat5136]

Your videos are timeless. I always learn something new! Thank you!

[@lulalulu1204]

Luke, I was really surprised what you said about determinate/indeterminate varieties. I think you need to address this in a further video. Potato determinism is not the same as tomato determinism. Determinate potatoes grow at all one layer, just under the surface, indeterminate potatoes grow throughout the root system, however they are still limited by the growing patterns of the plant. I would love it if you could delve deeper into potato cultivars. Pun intended.

[@tinytexasgarden9420]

I always feel like perhaps the gardening community is getting stuck on the terminology. I agree with you. There are definitely some that will grow at multiple levels.

[@beckysteinmiller338]

Yet another great vlog. I am learning so much, thank you!

[@ilovetheoutdoors1]

Just received my first order from your website, very happy with how quickly it got here!

[@freddythefrog]

So easy to listen to MI gardener on such in depth topics as potato nutrient requirements. My big takeaway from this video was that Luke stated the obvious… Plant successive crops of potatoes…. 🙄 … and he said it with a smile like he knew I’d never thought of another crop o spuds… here we go… 🐸

[@sherrymurphy-kleine4592]

Me too!!

[@suejarrard2221]

I love your videos on myths and false information. Far to many people put out false information about gardening and discourage gardeners as well as wasting their time, energy, and money. Blessings

[@cherylbartelt9716]

Thank you so much, MIgardener for telling me about Freedom Homestead. I love them. And I think it's so cool that you make the truth known. At least about gardening.

[@StahlHammer01]

I would like to respectfully disagree about growing depth for potatoes. I grow them in all size containers and get great results where all depths of the container are full. The deepest container I used was a 3ft deep koi pond converted into potato bucket. I place my seed potatoes in 3 in of soil then completely cover and when I flip the container to harvest all levels of soil are filled with potatoes. I heard potatoes have determinates and indeterminates just like tomatoes. Maybe your planting determinates and that's why you get a certain amount every time. Who knows maybe I'm crazy and someone is planting potatoes a foot above the ones I've planted but I doubt it. Other than that I love your channel luke please don't stop sharing!

[@evaj558]

I have worked in potatoes all my life. There are no determinate vs indeteriminate. Some potatoes do grow deeper than others, some shallower but all the same

[@gayleg2521]

Yes, same with mine. I kept covering the growing plants with more soil until the pot was full. I've harvested 2 pots and they both had potatoes at multiple levels, including the top.

[@kendrae7407]

We too had similar results with a 3ft high box. Planted at the ground level and piled 3 ft hight and had potatoes at multiple levels; however there were the most and the biggest at the bottom level. We did it with both red and purple potatoes. Still seems like a good space saver as long as you know to keep planting at each level as you mound up.

[@OliviaLovesPugs]

Great video, very educational! Cleared up a lot of things for me regarding potatoes.

[@homesteadrewind3948]

Great video! You have given me the information that gives me confidence to pull up my taters and start new ones. I absolutely love your channel!

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

This was an extremely helpful video. Thank you!

[@donnajoacrey2699]

Excellent information! Thanks for sharing! I've wondered about a couple of those myths. Godspeed!

[@mikemurphy9960]

Excellent video, love the content man. Keep up the great work and spreading the knowledge!

[@sharonmcintyre9034]

Great video thanks for the information.

[@sues6847]

Thank you for saving me time and money today...this video is very much appreciated.

[@sharonlynn3358]

Best video yet!!! So informative 👏

[@kellystiner1005]

Yep always knew about hilling- and June 26 we are about to hill the 1100 lbs in the community patch- praying for an excellent crop this year for the local food cupboard!

[@sherrymurphy-kleine4592]

Thank you again, Luke!! Very informative!

[@debbieflores7256]

THANK YOU for this Luke! SO HELPFUL!!!!

[@BlackDogDesigns]

Great video Luke, thank you for sharing 👩🏼‍🌾

[@josephfennell1904]

I work in a produce dept. And we have 🥔 eye all the time. I grew 50+ lbs from non organic grocery store 🥔 been growing them.from 3 years now. During the winter I grow them in buckets from bakery dept in garage. I live in WV and grow all year..

[@lydiamakedalerigab5126]

Thank you so much!!! I always learn a lot watching your videos!!😄✨

[@ah3ll0]

Thank you for teaching me to have success. Ive been missing this info and I didn’t know it!!

[@kensearle4892]

I grow with potatoes from the grocery store. Getting the timing of the eyes sprouting is tricky though, for me 1-3 months in a dark kitchen cupboard. 2 varieties are sprouting but reds aren't yet. Still experimenting. Mostly smaller potatoes than the originals so far but taste better fresh from the garden. Good that I don't have to hill them. I cover them with chopped leaves to prevent weeds and think it will prevent direct sunlight from greening them. Good Tips MI :-)

[@TwoSense2640]

I bet if you just threw them in the ground, all that would happen on its own.

[@ontariogardening]

I have chitted grocery store spuds with success, it just seems to take a few weeks (so I started back in March). They say if you buy organic spuds it is better, as other ones are sprayed with chemicals to stop the 'eyes' from growing. Hope you are finding success in them!

[@jadea.2694]

Someone mentioned giving them a good wash, try it with the reds and see if you get results.

[@chinatownboy7482]

Those red potato could have been sprayed with a chemical growth inhibitor.

[@SnailHatan]

@@TwoSense2640 Yup. Grown probably 100 plants by now, and every one was just popped in the ground after teeny tiny buds were spotted. I’ve experimented with timing and size of the eyes and it made no difference

[@lynettemunson7953]

Omg! Thank you! Changing my ways today!

[@lisabrown5976]

Great information as always!

[@ggfarmgirl7605]

Did a grow bag experiment with a few (4) store-bought russets. I wanted to see how veggies would grow for me in one those bags, and also wanted to know if I could grow some from grocery store potatoes that had sprouted some. My vines never flowered but I dumped the bag anyway after about 75-80 days. Amazingly, I got about 25-30 little boiling potatoes! Glad to know I could prob grow another batch. We have a pretty long growing season here in zone 7A.

[@theurzamachine]

Your explanation of Indeterminate vs Determinate potatoes is very helpful. I always thought that indeterminate potatoes would be able to grow slightly more if they were buried a bit more. My strategy for this year is just to plant very densely to (hopefully) get a higher yield as well as use the foliage to cover the soil.

[@liztrotter725]

Very informative, thank you.

[@theenchantedgardendream8787]

Super helpful thank you 🙏🏻

[@markstevenson9080]

great information. Thank you!

[@joycecuffy9421]

Great and informative video. Thanks

[@regtlives4698]

I needed this video TODAY thank you !!!

[@jeffreiling5348]

Great information thank you.

[@MsNeadie888]

Excellent video!!Great info!!

[@debkincaid2891]

Super helpful! Thanks for making the video. 😉

[@bigflatsominxy9038]

I learned a lot from that video. Thanks so much.

[@exoticwater]

I’m currently growing potatoes from an organic grocery store. They are Dutch cream potatoes and I planted them in winter after they sprouted ‘grew eyes’ as an experiment. Plants are growing like crazy and it only took 10 days to see above ground growth.. This is in winter, here in Melbourne Australia where the temperature gets down to 3-4 degrees Celsius. I’m actually quite amazed as I thought I’d have to wait until spring! Will see the results after they die back in a few months! Thank you for your informative video 😊

[@colleenstinton-czuprynski9894]

Thanks Luke! Great video ❤️

[@babichevi7950]

I love those little new potatoes fresh from the garden, they are so good!

[@rockybernard2997]

great discussion! TY!

[@smhollanshead]

Luke, please put a link to your other potato videos in the description!!!

[@camijensen9364]

I love your videos and appreciate all your advice. The one thing I want to throw out there is I have successfully grown yukon golds in my garden from some potatoes I got from the grocery store. They were not organic and taste wonderful and maybe it is the variety, but they have worked perfectly each time

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

I've never had any problems with grocery store potatoes, either. I've actually done better with grocery store stuff than with official seed potatoes.

[@priestesslucy3299]

My store potatoes always grow eyes eventually in my cabinet. I've had stalks up to about 2 feet grown out of them 😂 sitting in the cabinet

[@deniseallee2802]

Thank You for this potato video very helpful

[@eileenredfern8364]

Thank you for this info.

[@johannaforst8265]

Great information, thank you! I do have to throw one thing out there.. Last year I used a combination of seed potatoes and store bought organic. I actually had the better yield from the store bought. I will add that my seed potatoes were the last ones that the store had, so it had been picked through. Maybe that was a factor??

[@ACryin_Shame]

Hot dang luke great timing. Hubby and i were just fertilizing with extra k for my tomatoes and pepper will make sure to hit the taters too

[@jeromesassani9537]

Lots of Good Stuff. Thank you.

[@k.p.1139]

I am glad you put this out! My plants are starting to fall over and turn brown. But, the calendar says I have 10 more days to dig. However, going with the 65 to 70 days, I'm in there! I do have several plants that are currently in flower, so I will leave them alone. 😊 I might dig a tater this week..

[@MrKevinStraub]

days to maturity is flexible with any plant...there are so many variables that this is only to be taken as a rough guidliine

[@moregardening5014]

I’m in zone 6b/7a and I just starting digging up new potatoes. I found some potatoes from last season that I forgot to plant so I’m going to give a second succession a try this year!

[@miss8blu]

dang ... wish I'd have seen this 3 weeks ago .... good info, thank you

[@nannykat1057]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! You have a new subscriber. Blessings from Texas! 🤠

[@gildasmith5336]

Thanks again for the update

[@mikemccleery7253]

Great information

[@staceystrukel1917]

Almost 1 million! So exciting!!!!

[@suzyspencer4668]

Great info! Didn’t know I could get 2 crops

[@letitgrow1846]

I tried growing potatoes in a potato box that I built, but didn't have much luck. This year I tried just putting them in large pots with a couple varieties of organic store bought potatoes and so far so good. I'll have to try and supplement with potassium after watching this video.

[@logosrisingbear]

Thanks for the tips. In my 3rd year of gardening SW PA. I must have a gardening angle lol. I dont use anything. No pest control No fertilizer. Just add a soil mix every 2 years (60% mush compost,30% topsoil and this year added 10%sand for drainage. Everything i grow does awesome. At about 12 different crops. Potatoes were the only thing that didn't do well last year due to that long heat wave. This year i have a shade net im going to use for the super hot days.

[@moredataforya.7548]

Wish I saw this video years ago. Good stuff.

[@thebullwhisperer916]

Thank you so much!

[@Caddywoman]

So glad I watched this. I thought when the flowers died potatoes were ready to harvest. I have been stressing as when I pulled them up last year there was nothing but little stuff. Won't make thst mistake again. Thanks

[@leemayzes1200]

Thank you for that. I was all freaked out that I hadn't hilled my potatos. The plants are huge, and I check regularly to ensure that nothing is exposed. But honestly, the plants themselves are so thick that I don't think any sunlight can get into the base. I'm just watching out for flowers now. And off to the garden I go!! :) (and I'm in a zone 9, so I'll be planting basically all year)

[@reginamoats9088]

I am using store bought potatoes, they grew eyes and I planted them. They are doing great!

[@SuperStruct]

Without this video I wouldn't have planted some potatoes. I will ASAP because we have a 308 day growing season! Barely a frost in late December-January

[@KeeKeeSoto]

Oh wow! Lucky you!!

[@fillmorehillmore8239]

I had frost last week of May and usually, 2nd week of Sept. Consider yourself in a very fortunate situation when it comes to growing.

[@theIAMofME]

I LOVE your videos. But, I want to dispell one thing you said. I have had poor or less than expected results from seed potatoes I bought and had shipped to me. Last year during co vid, I was only able to get potatoes at the grocery store. I bought the potatoes in bags. A lot of them. They lasted us all last year and into the winter. In February they all started to sprout. This was BAGGED potatoes that were red (no idea what variety), white and yukon gold. This is what I am harvesting from right now. They were not organic. I would have never believed this before. But, it was a co vid world and I was doing the best I could. I planted in March and April. I'm just starting to harvest from the buckets and totes I planted them in throughout a month period each week. I'm surprised and happy with what I'm getting. Buy the potatoes in bags!! I was shocked at all the sprouting from those. I have potatoes now because of it.

[@Infiniti25]

Sprout inhibitor doesn’t last forever, and you can scrub potatoes with a medium bristled brush under running water to remove it if you think there is any on the potatoes. Like luke said, it extends the shelf life up to a few months from weeks. I see the exact same results as you, store bought potatoes in bags, get lost in our pantry and you see the sprouts within a few weeks to a month, at least here in the UK.

[@erdiaz13]

I grow my potatoes I felt pots and it works great! Yukon golds primarily. Happy growing everyone! 🌱

[@sharonmorton6734]

Good info thanks

[@susiemiller2621]

My organic sweet potatoes and russets grow in my pantry shelf. Finally put them in some all purpose dirt mixed with my Lomi compost and a tad of fertilizer. Hoping for a first harvest. Total noob. I sprouted my peppers but none of them made it first time so I will try again. Thanks for this info! Subbed

[@gregdoh]

Oh, the theories people come up with without doing some simple research based on decades or hundreds of years of history. This is my first year growing potatoes (in mesh grow bags we had lying around, 30% of which were store bought potatoes that we didn't eat quick enough) and so far they look fantastic, but harvest time will tell. I'll continue to learn about growing them until I perfect them, so thanks for this video as every tip helps!

[@ValSpringer]

Great video!

[@flagbabygirl]

I decided to plant all my potatoes in containers this year ! I keep adding more and more and they are all at different stages! I should get good little harvests one right after another and I still have 3 more batches that I need containers for !

[@silverskyranch]

There's one grocery store near me that sells locally grown redskin potatoes that while not labeled as 'organic', they did not have any sprout inhibitors, and gave me more and bigger potatoes in my garden than the more expensive seed potatoes I had gotten that same year because that variety was developed for the climate I live in. I tried it as an experiment, that one type of store-bought red potato vs redskin seed potatoes (from a local big box store) and was quite surprised, and happy, with the results.

[@KathySarich]

I’m waiting to see how my potatoes do this year... had a whole bunch of grocery store ones sprouting, so I just used them, the plants up top look really good, I guess I’ll see what’s going on under the soil this fall. Lol!

[@HereWeMowAgain]

My potato plants are growing like crazy. A couple have some flowers which seems super early but I am just going to leave them be. I like watching them grow…it’s oddly satisfying 🥔🥔

[@DawnieGTheBeekeeper]

Great video

[@courtneylee2187]

I wish I'd had this before February 🤣🤣🤣 I have been waiting my timeee

[@williambell2188]

Well done 👍

[@johnniemills2644]

I enjoy your knowledge I help us a lot I live in North central tx and I have almost finished my potato harvest a super crop but I need information for storing I don't have e a barn but have a good storm caller I have them stacked I n milk crates where they get plenty of ventilation I need thoughts on how they will keep in storm shelter it's a 10 ft round cellar keep up the good work and you are so young to know all this. Thanks again

[@sallyweiner4180]

Thank you!

[@triciaofcarrolltoon9339]

I didn't know you could grow more than one crop. I will be growing two this year. Yes I have heard you can't grow from potatoes you got in a store but I grow from store brought potatoes. Thanks for helping us.

[@lindap9079]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

[@longwinters4304]

I just put straw around my potato plants..When its time to harvest I scrape the straw off and many of the potatoes are just laying there, very little digging.

[@rachelmcrobert3848]

I am trying this for first time this year and so far looks good! So much easier!

[@sues6847]

I attempted this last year as an experiment with just two plants but I didn't put enough straw on top because the potatoes that where big enough to use were green. My lesson learned is make sure you put enough straw on top and secure it with netting or something so it doesn't get blown off.

[@bobmichalak2874]

Better yet, Just grow them IN THE STRAW BAIL,👍 I did this this year with GREAT success 👍👍👍