What Kind Of Potato To Plant? (10+ Best Potatoes To Grow)

If you are starting a new garden or planting potatoes for the first time, you know that there is a huge variety of potatoes to choose from. The best choice depends on where they will be growing (sunny or shady spot, clay or sandy soil, container or ground).

So, what kind of potatoes are the best to grow? Early season potatoes (like Red Norland) are the best to grow if you want to harvest sooner. Fingerling potatoes (like Pinto Gold or Russian Banana) are best to grow in containers with limited space. Large potatoes (like Yukon Gold) are best if you want to harvest big tubers.

Of course, you have lots of choices when it comes to which potatoes to grow.

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In this article, we’ll talk about what kind of potatoes to plant in various circumstances (for example, when growing in containers). There are over 10 varieties listed here, so I think you will find something that is perfect for your garden.

Let’s get started.

What Kind Of Potato To Plant? (Best Potatoes To Grow)

The best kind of potato to plant will depend on several factors, including:

Disease Resistance (late blight can be a big problem for potatoes, and it can spread to tomatoes)
Geography
Location (container or ground)
Skin Thickness
Sunlight
Time To Maturity
Type Of Soil (sandy, loamy, clay)

The time to maturity may be a very important factor if your growing season is short. Remember that the time to maturity for a potato plant is the number of days after planting that it will take to grow and produce tubers.

baby potato plant — Some potato varieties (early) will mature much faster than others (late).

According to Fedco Seeds, potatoes can be classified into 3 different groups, depending on the time to maturity:

Early Season – early season potatoes are fast-maturing. In fact, some of them take as little as 60 to 80 days after planting to produce tubers. For instance, the Red Norland potato from Gurney’s takes 70 days to mature.
Mid-Season – mid-season potatoes take more time to mature, and will produce tubers 80 to 90 days after planting. For example, the Red Pontiac potato from Burpee takes 80 days to mature.
Late Season – late season potatoes take the most time to mature, needing more than 3 months (90 days) to produce tubers for harvest. For example, the Princess Laratte potato from Burpee takes 90 to 110 days to mature.

You can see an infographic and some selected varieties of early, mid, and late season potatoes here.

You can learn about early potatoes (and some selected varieties) here.

You can learn more about these types of potatoes (and when to plant them) in my article here.

In general, you can plant potatoes 4 weeks before the last frost date. You can find the last frost date for your area with this tool from the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Another surprising factor to consider when choosing which potatoes to grow is skin thickness. According to the University of Georgia, potatoes with thicker skins do not grow well in the Southern U.S.

The University of Florida echoes this sentiment: russet potatoes do not grow well in Florida, due to the long growing season (up to 4 months!).

Now let’s take a closer look at what type of potatoes to grow, depending on how you are planting them. We’ll start with growing potatoes in containers.

Best Potatoes To Grow In Containers

Some of the best potatoes to grow in containers are smaller varieties, called fingerling potatoes. They are perfect for container growing, since the tubers won’t take up as much space.

(There are also lots of ways to prepare them, such as this recipe for roasted garlic parmesan fingerling potatoes from AllRecipes).

Here are a few varieties of fingerling potatoes that you can try growing:

French Fingerling – this small potato variety has pink skin and yellow flesh. The tubers are a bit larger than the Russian Banana potato variety. They are a late mid-season potato. You can learn more about French Fingerling potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Magic Molly – this small potato variety has dark purple skin and dark purple flesh. The tubers have an earthy flavor. They are a late mid-season potato. You can learn more about Magic Molly potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Pinto Gold – this small potato variety has reddish pink skin and yellow flesh. They are a late season potato from the University of Maine. You can learn more about Pinto Gold potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Russian Banana – this small potato variety has light yellow skin and light yellow flesh. They are a late season heirloom potato. You can learn more about Russian Banana potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.

You might need a larger container (with a length and width of at least 2 to 3 feet) if you want grow more than a few potato plants.

Remember that you can also harvest “new’ potatoes from any potato plant before the tubers reach full size. These new potatoes are smaller, and they have thinner skin that rubs off more easily.

New potatoes are perfect for baking, roasting, or for adding whole to soup or stew! Growing fingerling potatoes in containers is a good option if you have limited space in your garden (or if you want to grow indoors).

(You can learn more about how to grow with limited space in my article here).

If you want to grow potatoes in containers, avoid the varieties with large tubers. According to the University of Illinois Extension, larger potato varieties (such as Yukon Gold) will get too big for most containers.

Containers For Growing Potatoes

You can use 5-gallon buckets, large pots, or grow bags as containers for growing potatoes.

Keep in mind that a 5-gallon bucket might not be deep enough for larger potato varieties. In addition, you might need to drill some drainage holes in the bottom of the bucket to keep the soil from staying too wet.

Grow bags will drain out more easily than buckets or pots. You can bring a grow bag indoors if you have a saucer to put underneath (to catch any water that drains out).

You can even find biodegradable fabric grow bags, such as this 10-gallon grow bag from Amazing Garden. The best part about this particular grow bag is that it also has an opening on the side.

This opening allows you to easily check on the progress of your tubers during the growing season. Of course, you can install your own hatch that opens on hinges if using another type of container to grow your potatoes.

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A complete reference and an ultimate guide that teaches you everything you need to know about potato selection, planting, care, harvest, and storage.

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How Deep Should A Container Be For Potatoes?

I would suggest a height of at least 16 inches for a container if you want to grow potatoes. (You can learn more about the depth and spacing for potato plants in my article here.)

potatoes soil — Potato tubers and roots will take up some space underground, so a container should have a height of at least 16 inches to accomodate them.

A height of at least 16 inches leaves enough space for the potato tubers and roots to grow in the soil. It also leaves some space at the top of the container for hilling later in the season.

“Hilling” means adding soil at the base of the potato plant as it grows taller during the season. This is done to protect the tubers from sunlight.

(When exposed to sunlight, potatoes will turn green and may develop a toxic substance called solanine).

You can learn more about how to hill potatoes (and why to do it) in my article here.

rows of potatoes — Hilling potatoes keeps the tubers from turning green in sunlight.

How Many Potatoes Can I Plant In A Container?

You can probably only fit one large potato plant in a single 5-gallon bucket, since space is limited (a 5-gallon bucket is only about 1 foot across). Usually, it is best to leave about 12 inches between potato plants.

If you grow smaller fingerling potato varieties in a 5-gallon bucket, you might consider planting up to 4 seed potatoes (one in each “quadrant” or quarter of the bucket).

small potatoes new potatoes — You will get more tubers if you grow fingerling potatoes (but they will be smaller!) You can also harvest new potatoes before maturity, like these red ones.

For a larger container, keep the potato plants a foot apart. This means each potato plant needs about 1 square foot of space around it.

For example, if you have a container that has an area of 4 square feet, then you can plant up to 4 potato plants in it.

Best Potatoes To Grow In Clay Soil

Unfortunately, potatoes do not grow so well in clay soil. Luckily, there are some ways to improve clay soil for potatoes.

One of the best ways to make clay soil better for potatoes is to add some compost or aged manure. Not only will this improve soil texture, it will add nutrients.

Compost or aged manure will also add organic matter to your soil. This organic matter attracts organisms (such as earthworms or bacteria) that will help to further improve your soil.

If the soil in your garden is very heavy clay, it might be worth giving container gardening a try instead. You could also try growing potatoes in straw bales as another alternative.

Best Potatoes To Grow In Sandy Soil

Most potatoes will grow well in sandy soil, since it is loose and drains well. This keeps the soil aerated and allows the potato tubers to grow without rotting (as they would in wet soil).

Of course, if your soil is too sandy, it might drain too fast, which could mean trouble keeping your plants watered. If you are having trouble with dry soil, check out my article on how to treat it.

Best Potatoes To Grow In Shade

Potatoes do not grow well in shade. They grow best in full sun, which means 8 or more hours of sunlight per day.

large and small potatoes — The small potatoes (in the yellow bowl) were grown in shade, and the large potatoes (in the metal bowl) were grown in sun.

Without enough sunlight, potato plants will be stunted. Even if the plants grow tall, the tubers will not get large enough to make growing them worthwhile. I had this experience with potatoes planted in shade this past year – you can read about it (and learn what to avoid) in my article here.

You can learn more about where to plant potatoes in my article here.

Best Early Potatoes To Grow

If you want some fast-maturing varieties, here are a few early potatoes that will produce tubers in short order:

Adirondack Blue – these early mid-season potatoes have dark purple skin and dark purple flesh. You can find Adirondack Blue seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Dark Red Norland – these early season potatoes are almost round, and have red skin with white flesh. You can find Dark Red Norland seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Yukon Gold – these early mid-season potatoes come from large plants. The tubers are large ovals with thin, yellow skin and yellow flesh. You can find Yukon Gold seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.

Yukon Gold Potatoes — Yukon Gold is an early mid-season potato that comes from large plants.

Best Mid-Season Potatoes To Grow

These mid-season potatoes take a little longer to mature, but they are worth the wait:

Gold Rush – this mid-season potato is a russet variety with thick, rough, brown skin and white flesh. You can find Gold Rush seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Kennebec – this high-yielding mid-season potato has smooth skin and white flesh. The tubers store well. You can find Kennebec seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Strawberry Paw – this high-yielding mid-season potato has red skin and smooth white flesh. The tubers store well. You can find Strawberry Paw seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.

Kennebec potatoes — Kennebec is a mid-season potato variety with high yield.

Best Late Potatoes to Grow

These late season potatoes take the longest time to mature:

Elba – this high-yielding late season potato produces tubers with smooth, light brown skin and white flesh. The tubers store well. You can find Elba seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Pinto Gold – this gourmet late season potato from the University of Maine produces tubers with reddish pink skin and yellow flesh. The tubers are oval or fingerling shaped. You can find Pinto Gold seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Russian Banana – this late season potato produces small tubers that look like bananas. They have light yellow skin and flesh. The small tubers make them good for growing in containers as well. You can find Russian Banana seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.

Best Red Potatoes to Grow

If you want red potatoes with a rounder shape and thinner skin than russets, here are some varieties for you to try:

Dark Red Norland – these early season potatoes are almost round, and have red skin with white flesh. You can find Dark Red Norland seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.
Strawberry Paw – this high-yielding midseason potato has red skin and smooth white flesh. The tubers store well. You can find Strawberry Paw seed potatoes on the Johnny’s Selected Seeds website.

You can find lots of other red-skinned potato varieties here.