Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-215
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
Potato is a cool-season crop, not the heat-tolerant garden staple many gardeners expect: tubers stop bulking once summer soil gets hot, so it grows in a spring window for a May-June harvest and a second fall planting for a November-December one. It wants loose, acidic ground - alkaline clay both stunts it and causes scab, a skin disease - so growers hill it into raised beds built up with sand, compost and acidifying organic matter rather than planting straight into heavy clay. Culled and undersized tubers make a genuine winter livestock feed once cooked, but the green sprouts, light-exposed peel, and the haulms themselves are poisonous and must never go to stock.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 2–11
- Soil
- Sand · Loam
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moderate
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 5–6
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 12–18 in
- Mature spread
- 12–18 in
- Plant spacing
- 12 in
- Root type
- Stolon
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
Adzuki is the odd one out among the beans in this group: a very hot summer is actively too hot for it, since heat above about 35C damages…
Herbaceous · USDA 3–11
African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
African Eggplant, also called gboma or scarlet eggplant, is a West and Central African relative of eggplant that gives two harvests from one…
Herbaceous · USDA 8–12
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted perennial legume grown worldwide as one of the richest forage crops available, its taproot running six metres or…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–11
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera
Aloe Vera is a stemless, clump-forming succulent with thick, spiny-edged leaves that store a clear gel used to soothe burns, wounds and skin…
Herbaceous · USDA 10–12
Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
Alsike Clover fixes nitrogen in wet, acid ground too cold and heavy for red clover to thrive in, and its flowers keep bees working all season…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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