When to plant potatoes in the UK depends on the type, but the short version is this: first earlies go in from mid March, second earlies from early April, and maincrop from mid April into early May. The one rule that overrides all of it is frost. Potato shoots are killed by it, so wherever you are, the soil needs to be warming and the worst of the frosts behind you before the tubers go in. Get the timing right and potatoes are about the most rewarding crop a beginner can grow. Plant into cold wet ground and they just sit there and sulk.
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Potatoes were the first thing I ever grew that made me feel like a proper gardener. They are forgiving, they crop heavily, and there is nothing quite like tipping out the first bucket of earlies and finding it heavier than you expected. But they taught me the timing lesson the hard way, because the one year I rushed them into cold March ground on the back of a mild week, half the row got frosted as it emerged and the other half rotted before it started. So this guide is built around the two things that actually matter: the type you are growing, and the state of the soil you are putting it into.
The Short Answer, by Potato Type
Potatoes are sold in three groups, and the group decides the planting window far more than the calendar does. First earlies are the new potatoes you plant from mid to late March and lift in June and July, small, waxy and worth growing for flavour alone. Because they come out of the ground early, they usually dodge the late blight that arrives later in summer. If you are buying seed, look for first early seed potatoes like Rocket or Swift.
Second earlies follow on, planted from early to mid April for a mid-summer harvest, which makes second early seed potatoes such as Charlotte a good middle option. Maincrop are the big storing potatoes, planted mid April through early May and left in the ground the longest, giving the heavy crop you dig in autumn to see you through winter. Maincrop varieties need the most space and the most patience, but they also give the most food. If you want the wider growing detail rather than just the timing, that lives in how to grow potatoes in the UK.
Soil Temperature Beats the Calendar
Every planting date on this page is a guide, and the soil overrules all of them. Potatoes want soil that has warmed to around 7 to 10C before they will do anything useful, and a thermometer pushed into the ground tells you more than any date printed on a seed packet. That is the mistake I made: I trusted the mild air in March and never checked the soil, which was still cold and wet a few inches down.
The feel of the soil is a decent guide if you have no thermometer. If it is cold and sticky and clings to your boots, it is too early. If it has dried enough to crumble in your hand, it is close. On my heavy Oxfordshire clay that point always comes later than the books suggest, sometimes two or three weeks later than lighter soils down the road, which is worth remembering if you garden on clay. Covering the bed with black plastic or cloches for a fortnight beforehand genuinely helps, and if your ground stays wet it is worth improving the drainage before you do anything else.
Should You Chit Potatoes First?
Chitting means letting seed potatoes sprout before planting, and it is one of those jobs that sounds fussier than it is. Stand them in an old egg box on a cool, bright windowsill a few weeks before planting, eyes pointing up, and let them grow short green shoots. It gives them a head start and is genuinely worth doing for first earlies, where every week earlier means an earlier crop.
For maincrop it matters far less, and plenty of good growers skip it entirely. The one thing to avoid is chitting somewhere warm and dark, which gives you long, pale, brittle shoots that snap off when you plant. Cool and light is the whole trick. If you are ordering online, some gardeners stick to reliable seed potatoes suited to UK conditions rather than gambling on supermarket ones, which are often treated to stop them sprouting.
Month by Month
March
First earlies go in from mid to late March in most of the country, once the soil is workable and the shoots have somewhere warm enough to emerge into. In the north, hold off until the end of the month or into April. This is also the month to finish chitting and to get beds prepared.
April
The busiest potato month. Second earlies go in early to mid April, maincrop from mid April onwards, and any first earlies you did not get in during March. Keep an eye on the frost forecast, because early shoots can appear within a few weeks and they are vulnerable the moment they break the surface.
May
Your last chance for maincrop, ideally in the first half of the month, and the main job now shifts to earthing up the earlier plantings as they grow. May-planted potatoes still crop well, they just run later into autumn, so lift them before the first frosts. There is more on the wider month in my guide to what to plant in May.
Frost Is the Real Enemy
The tubers underground are safe enough, but the moment shoots break the surface they are at the mercy of a cold night. A single sharp frost blackens the new growth, and while the plant usually recovers by pushing out fresh shoots, it loses time and yield doing it. This is the single biggest reason not to plant too early.
Two things protect them. The first is earthing up: drawing soil over emerging shoots buries and insulates them, which is why the job does double duty. The second is fleece on frosty nights, and garden fleece thrown over the row when a frost is forecast is cheap insurance. If you would rather not lose plants at all, I have gone through the options in detail in protecting potato shoots from frost, and if a frost has already caught you out, frost damage on plants covers the recovery. Check your own dates with the last frost date checker before you commit.
Where You Live Shifts the Dates
The dates above are for the middle of the country, and the UK spreads them out by a month from end to end. In the South West and along the south coast, mild winters mean first earlies can go in from late February in a good year, and the whole season runs early. London and the South East are similar, helped by the warmth cities hold. Across the Midlands the standard dates apply as written.
In northern England, push everything back a couple of weeks and start earlies in early April rather than March. In Scotland, later still, with earlies going in mid to late April and the whole season shifted right, though Scotland grows superb seed potatoes precisely because its cool climate keeps them healthy. Local knowledge beats any of this, and the wider picture for everything else going in at the same time sits in the vegetable planting calendar.
How Deep, and How Far Apart
Plant tubers about 12cm deep with the shoots pointing up. Spacing depends on type: first and second earlies want roughly 30cm between tubers with 45 to 60cm between rows, while maincrop need more room, around 40cm apart with 75cm between rows, because they build bigger plants and bigger crops. Crowding maincrop is a false economy, since the plants shade each other and the tubers stay small.
The depth matters because potatoes form on the stem above the seed tuber, not below it, which is the whole reason earthing up works. There is a full guide to how to care for potato plants once they are in. Too shallow and the developing potatoes push up into the light and turn green, and green potatoes are mildly toxic and best not eaten. A bit deep does no harm; too shallow does.
Earthing Up as They Grow
Once the plants reach 15 to 20cm tall, draw soil up around the stems to form a ridge, leaving just the top few centimetres of leaf showing. Repeat it every couple of weeks as they grow. It sounds like a chore and it is the job that does the most for your crop, protecting shoots from late frost, stopping tubers greening, and giving the plant more buried stem to set potatoes along.
A draw hoe makes short work of it, and a garden hoe is the one tool I would not want to be without at potato time. On a small bed you can do it by hand, but your back will notice.
Potatoes in Bags and Containers
If you have no bed, or heavy soil you would rather not fight, potatoes grow brilliantly in bags and large containers, and first earlies are the best type for it. A big tub or a purpose-made potato bag, a couple of seed potatoes, and you are away. The compost warms faster than open ground too, so you can often plant a little earlier.
Start with about 15cm of compost, sit the tubers on it, and cover. As the shoots grow, keep adding compost to bury the lower stems, exactly like earthing up, until the container is full. The one thing bags punish is drought, because they dry out fast and a potato that runs short of water gives you a poor, knobbly crop, so keep them well watered once the plants are growing strongly.
When Will They Be Ready?
Roughly speaking, first earlies are ready about 10 to 12 weeks after planting, second earlies 13 to 15 weeks, and maincrop 18 to 20 weeks. So a mid-March first early is often ready to lift in June, while a late-April maincrop keeps you digging into September and October.
Earlies tell you they are ready when the flowers open, and the best test is simply to dig up one plant and see. Maincrop are left until the foliage yellows and dies back, then given another couple of weeks in the ground so the skins set firm for storage. If your plants are not growing as they should along the way, potato plants not growing works through the usual causes, and common potato problems covers the rest.
Planting Mistakes Worth Avoiding
Four things cause most potato disappointment, and they are all about timing and soil rather than skill. Planting into cold waterlogged ground, which rots the seed before it starts. Going too early on a mild spell and losing the shoots to frost. Overworking wet soil into a compacted mess, which potatoes hate. And planting too shallow, so the crop greens in the light.
Every one of those is avoidable by waiting for the soil rather than the date, and by keeping fleece to hand for the first few weeks after the shoots appear. Blight is the other big one, but that is a summer problem rather than a planting one, and choosing first earlies that crop before it arrives is half the answer.
Quick Reference
- First earlies: plant mid to late March, harvest June to July
- Second earlies: plant early to mid April, harvest July to August
- Maincrop: plant mid April to early May, harvest September to October
- Soil temperature: aim for 7 to 10C before planting
- Depth: about 12cm, shoots pointing up
- North and Scotland: push all dates back two to three weeks
When to Plant Potatoes in the UK: Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best month to plant potatoes in the UK?
It depends on the type. First earlies go in from mid to late March, second earlies from early to mid April, and maincrop from mid April into early May, once the soil has warmed and the worst frosts have passed.
Can I plant potatoes in March in the UK?
Yes, first earlies can go in from mid to late March in most of the UK once the soil is workable. In the north, wait until the end of March or into April.
How late can you plant potatoes in the UK?
Maincrop can be planted into early or mid May and still crop well, they just run later into autumn. Lift them before the first frosts.
Do potatoes need frost protection after planting?
The tubers are safe underground, but shoots are killed by frost once they emerge. Earth them up and keep fleece to hand for cold nights in spring.
Should I chit potatoes before planting?
Chitting helps first earlies get away faster and is worth doing. For maincrop it makes little difference. Chit somewhere cool and light, never warm and dark.
What soil temperature is best for planting potatoes?
Around 7 to 10C. Cold, wet soil is the main reason early plantings rot or stall, so the state of the soil matters more than the date.
Does planting early give bigger potatoes?
Not reliably. Planting into cold soil often checks or frosts the plants, and a slightly later planting into warm soil frequently overtakes an early one and crops better.
How deep should I plant potatoes?
About 12cm deep with the shoots pointing up. Potatoes form on the stem above the tuber, so depth plus earthing up is what stops the crop greening in the light.
A Sensible Place to Start
If it all feels like a lot, boil it down to this. Buy first earlies, chit them on a windowsill, and plant from mid March once the soil is no longer cold and sticky. That single row will teach you more about potatoes than any guide, and earlies are quick, forgiving, and almost impossible to get badly wrong.
Above all, watch the soil rather than the date, and keep a bit of fleece by the back door for the first few frosty weeks after the shoots come up. Do that and your biggest problem will be finding somewhere to store the crop. It is the vegetable I would tell any nervous beginner to grow first, because few things give so much back for so little.