Growing potatoes in Florida is a great way to really get into gardening. They are easy to grow and these plants produce a lot of food.
Florida can grow regular potatoes and sweet potatoes. Plant varieties like Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac, and Beaureguard in loose soil and in a spot that gets at least 8 hours of sun.
Sweet potatoes can be planted in the summertime here in Florida and regular potatoes can be planted in early spring and fall.
You can grow potatoes straight into the garden if you would like or you can grow them vertically in a canister. Read on to find out more Florida friendly varieties and get a better understanding of growing potatoes in Florida.
Best Potatoes For Florida
You can grow standard, Irish potatoes, as well as sweet potatoes in Florida.
Common sweet potato varieties that can be grown in Florida are Beauregard, Boniato, Centennial, Hernandez, and Vardman.
Common Irish potato varieties that can be grown in Florida are Gold Rush, Red Pontiac, and Yukon Gold.
I’m most familiar with the Beauregard sweet potato. I had no problem growing this plant. It literally took over an entire garden bed, acting like a living mulch. But as you can see, the number of potatoes that we can grow in Florida is not limited.
When To Plant Potatoes In Florida
Sweet potatoes can be grown during summer in Florida and white potatoes can be grown from fall through winter.
Irish potatoes:
- North Florida: Jan-Feb
- Central Florida: Nov-Feb
- South Florida: Oct-Jan
Sweet Potatoes:
- North Florida: Mar-Jun
- Central Florida: Feb-Jun
- South Florida: Dec-Sep
Sweet potatoes are one of those rare vegetables that can actually take our intense summer heat. So if you do get the urge to garden out there in the warm months, don’t forget to grow sweet potatoes, Okra is another summer vegetable that you can grow alongside with sweet potatoes.
In south Florida, you can plant sweet potatoes almost year-round.
Irish potatoes enjoy being planted in our cooler months, basically right through our “winter”.
How To Plant Potatoes
You can buy potato slips (Check price) or you can buy an organic potato, that has not been sprayed with pesticides, and wait for it to grow eyes. That’s where the potato plant comes from.
You can plant potatoes directly into the ground with a little prep, or you can grow them in something.
That something could be a stack of old tires or a potato bag. Tall cylinders are a great option to grow potatoes up instead of out. this lets you grow a ton of potatoes in a small space.
I’ve always used the potatoes that I’ve grown as ground covers. They are a great option for that as well but if you are dealing with limited space growing your potatoes up instead of out is a great option.
If planting potatoes directly into the ground dig a trench about 12 inches deep and plant your slips, or potato eyes tight in there. Cover them with a few inches of dirt and water them in.
As they grow, slowly cover more and more of the plant with the dirt from the sides of your trenches. As the plant grows if you cover the stem you will cause the plant to produce more roots which equal more potatoes.
If planting into a bag, fill it with 12 inches of dirt and plant your potato slips. As the plant grows, fill the bag with dirt until the plant reaches the top. Some of the bags have a neat window that you can open on the side that allows for easy harvesting.
plant potatoes about 10 inches apart and each row of potatoes 2-3 feet apart.
Growing Potatoes
Plant in full sun and well-draining soil.
Potatoes will not grow in dense soil. Most of Florida has sandy loose soil. However, there are some parts of north Florida that have a good amount of clay in their soil and this is not ideal for Potatoes.
Since potatoes are a root crop they need something to grow in that allows them to expand easily.
If planting directly into the ground you should at the very least take your spading fork and turn up the dirt for at least a foot all the way around your planting area.
Enrich your soil with plenty of compost and a thick layer of mulch.
If planting into a bag or raised bed you can always purchase a quality bagged soil, or you can make your own. I’ve always had good luck with a soil mix that looks like this:
- 40% Coco coir (Check price on Amazon)
- 40% Compost (You can get it on Amazon but I’ve found it way cheaper at local stores)
- 20% perlite (Check price on Amazon)
- Worm castings (Check price on Amazon)
- Mykos (Check price on Amazon)
You can replace coco coir with peat moss, and it is a little bit cheaper but I think coco coir is a better choice for the environment and in the long term it doesn’t acidify your soil.
Watering And Fertilizing
Potatoes are heavy feeders. You need to water them every day. They do not enjoy drying out.
Potatoes also need to be fertilized with a well-balanced fertilizer. Something like a 10-10-10 is perfect.
If you don’t know, the three numbers represent nitrogen(N), phosphorus(P), and Potassium(K). Each of these nutrients does something different for you plant.
Nitrogen Helps your plant make green leafy growth. Phosphorus helps your plant grow healthy roots and produce flowers, and potassium is a good overall health booster.
Harvesting Potatoes
Potatoes can be harvested at any time in the growing phase. Dig up some of the tubers and see if you are pleased with their size. However, the roots will stop growing when the foliage starts to turn yellow.
At this point, your potatoes are as large as their gonna get and this usually takes about 85-130 days.
You can eat the potatoes fresh out of the garden but in order to store your massive harvest of potatoes, you need to “cure” them. This is when the skin on the potato begins to thicken up.
We can do that super easily in Florida, the best environment to cure potatoes in is one with high humidity and moderate temperatures. So any old closet or cupboard will be the best place to store your potatoes.
Potato Pests In Florida
I’ve never had many pests on my potatoes, but I have read that you may see a potato beetle or two while growing potatoes in Florida.
The easiest way to handle any pest in the garden is to attract more wildlife. You can plant beneficial plants in your garden that bring all sorts of bugs and birds. There are far more good bugs than there are bad so the more you attract the better your odds are.
However, if you must resort to chemical control, Spinosad and Neem are the best options.
Grow Potatoes In Florida
- Plant Irish potatoes in our cooler months and sweet potatoes in our warm summer months
- Plant in full sun and compost-enriched, well-draining soil
- Irish potato varieties that can be grown in Florida are Gold Rush, Red Pontiac, and Yukon Gold
- Sweet potato varieties that can be grown in Florida are Beauregard, Boniato, Centennial, Hernandez, and Vardman
- Potatoes are fully mature in 85-130 days
- Water regularly and fertilize with a well-balanced fertilizer
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