Succession Planting for Year-Round Harvests
Succession planting is the secret to enjoying garden-fresh potatoes for months instead of just a few weeks. By staggering your plantings and choosing the right varieties, you can harvest “new” potatoes from early summer right into fall—and even have spuds for Christmas!
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October is the perfect time to prepare your garden
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Keep growing through autumn by starting suitable hardy crops under cover.
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What is Succession Planting?
- Planting batches of potatoes at intervals, rather than all at once.
- Aims to spread out your harvest: as one crop finishes, the next is coming ready.
How to Plan Succession Planting
- Variety Selection:
- Start with first earlies for fast, early crops.
- Follow with second earlies and maincrops for summer and autumn harvests.
- Planting Schedule:
- Plant first earlies as soon as soil is workable (late Feb–March).
- Second earlies 2–3 weeks later.
- Maincrops late March–May.
- In mild climates or with protection, late summer/early autumn plantings can deliver Christmas or New Year’s potatoes.
Top Tips for Success
- Use Containers & Beds:
Start earliest batches in bags or tubs in greenhouses/porches, then move to beds for midsummer and late crops. - Chit (sprout) each batch:
For fast emergence and healthy growth. - Choose Diverse Varieties:
Early, mid, and late season types have different growth lengths and storage lives.
Watering & Feeding Through the Season
- Water consistently as each batch flowers and tubers begin forming.
- Feed every 3–4 weeks with a balanced or high-potassium fertilizer.
Harvest Timing
- New potatoes: 10–12 weeks after planting, as each batch flowers.
- Maincrop: When tops yellow and die back, usually 20 weeks after planting.
Bonus: Harvest for Christmas
- Plant second earlies in late July–August in bags or containers kept frost-free.
- Move bags under cover in autumn and reduce watering as leaves die back.
- Dig “fresh” potatoes for the holiday table!