Can You Grow Seed Potatoes Indoors?
Do you want to grow potatoes this year but want to get a head start in your home? Join plant expert Matt Dursum as he covers how to grow seed potatoes indoors.
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Potatoes are hard not to love. They’re easy to grow and are staple ingredients for diverse cuisines, from Peruvian to Irish. If you’ve never made French fries with your home-grown spuds, you’re missing out.
Most gardeners plant seed potatoes when growing these starchy tubers; these are individual potatoes that have grown root structures. They’re genetically identical to their parent plant, and once they’re planted, they’ll mature in 60 to 90 days.
Although most gardeners plant their seed potatoes outdoors, some people choose to grow them inside. The reasons could be a lack of outdoor space, getting a head start on the season, or living in a cold climate.
Let’s dive into growing seed potatoes indoors and what you need to make it work.
Clancy Potato Seeds
- Award-Winning ‘Clancy’ Potato Variety
- Diverse Color Range and Smooth Skin
- Creamy Texture with Pale Yellow to White Interior
- Pelleted Seeds with Organic Coating for Easy Handling
The Short Answer
If you’re wondering if you can grow seed potatoes indoors, the short answer is yes. Potatoes are incredibly durable plants and as long as you satisfy their ideal growing conditions, you should get them to thrive inside.
However, there are a few extra steps and precautions to do it correctly. Also consider that the tubers will probably be smaller than their outdoor counterparts. Let’s look deeper into growing seed potatoes indoors below.
The Long Answer
Growing seed potatoes inside is possible, but you’ll have to follow a few extra steps. Below are the steps to getting wonderful spuds in your indoor garden.
Choose the Best Varieties
Seed potatoes are not true “seeds”; they are tubers that have already started sprouting new roots. The roots and new growth form from tiny axillary buds called ‘eyes’ on the tuber. Usually, you can find them at your local nursery or online.
Most people don’t realize that there are over 4,000 varieties of potatoes. Most grow in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia. In the U.S., we can sometimes find upwards of 100 varieties.
Choose smaller varieties, such as early varieties and fingerlings. They will grow easier in containers and indoor settings and be easier to harvest.
Chitting
Chitting is the process of getting the tubers to sprout ahead of planting. You don’t always have to do this step with seed potatoes, but it helps to get a head start. You can also do this with store-bought tubers.
Place the tubers with their eyes facing upwards in an egg carton. Put it near a sunny window, but make sure the temperature stays around 50° F. You should notice tiny new growth form from the eyes.
After you see the new growths form on the eyes, you can split the tubers. Let the cut ends callus over before planting.
Prepare the Right Soil
Getting the right soil mixture is a key part of growing delicious potatoes indoors. They prefer well-draining soil rich in organic material.
I prefer using a combination of organic compost, standard soil, and coconut coir like this one to improve drainage. Test your soil pH ahead of planting. Potatoes thrive in soil pH between 4.2 and 7.0. If you need to make your soil more acidic, try amending it with garden sulfur.
Use a Big Container
Even as indoor plants, your spuds will need a lot of room to grow. Use a container with a capacity of 10 to 15 gallons. As long as it has plenty of drainage holes, it should work perfectly.
Try not to use a container that’s taller than 3 feet. It will be difficult to water evenly. This could cause the surface to dry out while the bottom gets soggy.
Hill Your Plants
Start by filling your container about a quarter full of soil. Plant the seed potatoes about 6 to 8 inches apart. As they grow, apply more soil around them.
Potatoes are modified roots. If they’re exposed to light, they’ll turn green and mildly toxic. To prevent this, keep them buried with enough soil to cover the tubers at all times.
Grow bags work well for hilling because you can easily fold them up as the plants grow. To learn more about the process, check out this video explanation.
Give Them Enough Light
Whether you grow them near a large south-facing window or use full spectrum LED grow lights, your plants will need plenty of light. Aim for over 8 hours of light exposure. Without enough light, your young plants will stay small and weak.
If you live near a large south-facing window or have a greenhouse, your plants should do just fine. Make sure they get at least 8 hours of direct sunlight, and the temperatures stay around 70° F.
If light is an issue, you’ll need to use indoor grow lights. There are plenty of great lights on the market that deliver enough energy for the plants to thrive. Choose a space that’s large enough for your plants and the light setup, like a basement or empty room.
Water Thoroughly
Watering indoors can sometimes be the biggest challenge. That’s why using containers with plenty of drainage holes and well-drained soil is essential.
Try to water at the base of the plant. Avoid getting the leaves wet to prevent powdery mildew from forming.
Keep Hilling
As your plants grow, keep adding a little soil at their base. They’ll keep producing edible tubers as they grow.
As mentioned before, if they are exposed to light, they’ll turn green and produce the mildly poisonous chemicals solanine and chaconine. If you eat green spuds, you can experience symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, confusion, and headaches.
Stop Watering When They’re Ready to Harvest
Once you notice flowers develop, it’s a good sign new potatoes are fully formed. New potatoes are young tubers that haven’t developed their thick skins. These smaller spuds are the easiest to grow for indoor gardeners.
However, if you want main crop potatoes, just let them grow until the foliage becomes yellow or starts to dry. This is the natural cycle of their growing season. At this point, the potato skins should be fully formed, usually around 80 to 90 days after planting.
When you’re ready for harvest, stop watering. This gives them enough time to grow thick skins and prevents them from rotting under the soil.
Leave Main Crops in the Soil for Two Weeks
For main crops, leave them in the soil for about 10 to 12 days. As mentioned before, it’s important to stop watering them at this stage. Their skins will finish developing and dry out.
Time for Harvest
Now it’s time for the fun part! If you satisfy their growing conditions, you should have epic crops ready for harvesting indoors.
If you’re using grow bags or 10-gallon containers, set out a tarp at the base. Carefully pull the plants out over the tarp.
Carefully remove your harvest from the soil. Check for diseased tubers and throw them out.
Store Them Properly
After harvesting and combing through them for diseased potatoes, it’s time to store them. Put them in a wooden basket or mesh container with good aeration. Avoid using anything that’s plastic.
Store them in a cool, dry place around 45° to 50° F, such as an attic or basement. Once they’re completely dry, they’re ready to prepare.
Final Thoughts
Growing seed potatoes indoors can be tricky because they need a lot of light and space to grow. However, if you can keep up with their light, nutrition, and hilling, you should be able to enjoy a bountiful indoor harvest.
