The Fastest Way to Grow Potatoes - Harvest in Just 10 Weeks!

This spring I can’t wait for those first, deliciously creamy potatoes so I want to grow them as fast as possible – and I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to pull that off!

Today I’m going to show you how to shrink the time it takes to go from planting to harvest from months down to a matter of just 10 weeks. There’s no time to waste – let’s get started!

Step 1: Choose a Fast Growing Variety

Different types of potato grow at different speeds, typically taking anywhere from 10 to 20 weeks to grow. Early season or first early varieties are the absolute speediest, and the great news is that these quick-growing potatoes are often the tastiest of all, with the very finest texture too – smooth, almost creamy. Early season potatoes are often ready well before the risk of diseases such as blight.

So, the first step in our quest for a quicker crop begins with choosing a variety bred to grow really rapidly. I’ve gone for the classic ‘Swift’ – no confusion as to its main selling point there! – and, new to me, a variety called ‘Francis’, which promises abundant yields despite being such an early riser. There are plenty of other fast-growing spuds to choose from too, for instance Caribe, Jennifer, Rocket, Sangre, Sharpe’s Express, Warba, or Yukon Gold.

Step 2: Chit Your Seed Potatoes

I bought my seed potatoes from my local garden center. They’re sold especially for planting and are certified disease-free, which grocery store potatoes aren’t, so to guarantee a strong start and healthy, trouble-free plants, I’d recommend paying a little extra for garden-ready seed potatoes.

You can plant them without any additional preparation, but a great way to speed things up is to pre-sprout or ‘chit’ them beforehand. The simplest way to do that is to lay them out in a light, airy spot for a few weeks ahead of planting. I like to nestle them into an egg carton, which holds the potatoes upright, with the end of the seed potato with the most ‘eyes’ (the little dimples where the shoots will sprout from) facing up.

Chitting potatoes is especially worthwhile earlier in the season when it’s still just a touch too cool to plant. Chitted potatoes with nice, firm, fat green sprouts will give you a head start of a week or two so the seed potatoes hit the rapidly-warming ground running the moment they’re planted.

A money-saving tip is to make your purchased, chitted seed potatoes go further by cutting them into chunks that contain at least one shoot on each piece. Do this a few days in advance so the cut can heal over before planting.

Step 3: Warm Up the Soil

While our potatoes are chitting we can get the soil ready for them. It’s no surprise that potatoes will grow faster in warmer conditions, with soil temperatures in the range of about 60-70ºF (15-21ºC) being ideal. So if we’re to grow them early in the season it pays to warm up the soil first.

I’m planting some of my potatoes into containers and the rest into one of my raised beds, which I’ve covered with clear plastic for the past few weeks. This acts just like a greenhouse – letting in the sun’s rays then trapping its heat to slowly but surely raise the temperature. That, combined with the fact I’m using a raised bed which will dry out and warm up faster than the surrounding ground, will give me the perfect conditions for growing speedier spuds at this time of year. Of course, if you’re in a warmer climate than mine, you’ll just be able to get on and plant without this extra step.

For my containers, I’m using a mix of all-purpose potting mix and some well-rotted compost, to keep costs down a bit, both of which I’ve brought indoors to warm up over a few days to room temperature. Now not everyone will want to drag compost indoors – I get that – but see if you can prewarm it by moving it somewhere a bit cozier, say into a greenhouse or cold frame, for example, or by covering your bags with a large plastic box to offer extra insulation and trap more heat. You could even by pop them behind an old window pane if you happen to have one lying about.

Step 4: Feed Your Potatoes

With potatoes chitted and soil warmed, it’s time to plant but first, let’s prepare the soil by ramping up the nutrition to really power up our potatoes!

Potatoes are quite a hungry crop, so we need to make sure they can access plenty of nutrients for fast growth. I’ve prepared my soil by spreading about an inch (2-3cm) layer of garden compost on the top and adding a few handfuls of organic potato fertilizer, which has a slightly higher proportion of potassium (K) to support tuber development. Potassium, along with the nitrogen (N) this contains, also encourages faster foliage growth, thereby maximizing the absorption of sunlight, which can only mean great things for our final harvest!

Plant your chitted seed potatoes about 16in (40cm) apart in each direction if you’re just planting a small area, or if you’re planting in longer rows, space them 1 foot (30cm) apart within the row with a gap of about 1 foot 6 in (50cm) between rows.

To plant, dig a hole, pop in the potato, and cover back over with soil. Then it’s just a question of watering everything in to set the clock to harvest-time ticking!

If you’re growing your potatoes in containers, start by mixing up the compost and potting mix, along with a handful of that lovely organic potato fertilizer. Add about 6 in (15cm) of this mix into the bottom of the container, then nestle in two or three seed potatoes. Cover them over with more mix until the container is to just a little more than half full. Plant another two or three potatoes, positioning them so they’re not directly above the the bottom ones so they’re not growing up through each other. Then finish filling the container right to the top.

Some gardeners like to top up the potting mix stages, as the shoots grow, but I’ve found this simply isn’t necessary. The shoots will find their way to the surface without any problems, so there’s no advantage to be had from adding it in bit by bit – it’s just a waste of your time!

Step 5: Water Your Potatoes

Finish by giving your potatoes a good drink of water. Early in the season, when temperatures are still cool, it can be worth pre-warming your water by filling your watering can a few hours before you need it and keeping it in a warm spot to avoid dragging the temperature of the potting mix back down when you water.

To finish, add a layer of straw. The hollow, open structure of straw traps air very effectively, insulating the soil early in the season then keeping things cooler in hotter weather.

My container potatoes are going to stay indoors, in my house, where it’s warmer day and night, to speed along growth. Then once the shoots poke through the surface, I’ll move them back out into the greenhouse. Of course, bringing them indoors isn’t essential, so long as you keep everything frost free.

Later plantings, on the other hand, may need to be kept cooler. Containers can get very warm in hot, sunny weather, so one way to keep the roots cool while the tops luxuriate in the sunshine is to simply cover them with shade netting or some other fabric that casts a shadow to shield the walls of the container from direct sun. You could also look for white-walled containers that will reflect more of the heat.

Almost all early potatoes are determinate varieties, which simply means they produce their tubers in a single layer. You can find out more about that in our Potato Growing Masterclass.

For potatoes planted in beds that means there’s no need to hill them up, though I might well apply a layer of straw later on just in case any developing spuds try to make their way to the soil surface, to stop them going green. One thing I will be doing, though, is keeping a row cover in place while temperatures are still on the cooler side.

Keep the soil or potting mix consistently moist for the fastest growth. For container potatoes, that means watering until water seeps out of the drainage holes at the bottom, before walking away and coming back a short while later to give things another good drink just to be sure. Never let the potting mix dry out or it will shrink away from the sides, making it very hard to re-wet. Potatoes really do need a lot of water, especially when growing in containers!

All being well, weI’ll be enjoying our first potatoes in record time. To harvest, feel around in the dirt to gauge whether the potatoes are big enough. Ideally, they’ll be at least the size of a hen’s egg.

Harvesting is absolutely the best bit! Dig up your potatoes or, if they’re in a pot, simply tip out the container onto a tarp, then revel in the absolute, unbridled joy of breaking apart the potting mix and going on the hunt for those truly exceptional tubers. I promise you, the first potatoes of the season are the very best – just outstanding! Gather them up and use them pronto, as fresh really is best when it comes to early season spuds.

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