How to Plant Red Potatoes in Texas

Red Potatoes grow happily in the warm Texas climate. The weather is great for healthy potatoes as they love lots of sun and cooler evening temperatures. Red La Soda and Viking potatoes are the favorite red potato varieties in the Lone Star state as they are well-adapted to most Texas soils (as long as they are kept well-drained). These varieties are grown throughout the plains of North and Central Texas as well as The Rio Grande Valley.

Shovel

Compost

Straw

Potato Eyes

Water

Fertilizer

Prepare the soil. Use a till to deeply break up, loosen and aerate the soil. Mid- to late-February, 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost possibility, usually is the best time to plant.

Place a potato eye on the dirt. Each eye should be about 1 foot apart. These can be found at garden centers, online seed stores or in your own kitchen cabinet.

Build mounds. Pile a mixture of dirt, compost and straw on top of the potato eye 6 inches high. This helps keep the roots cool in hot Texas summers.

Water thoroughly. Potatoes should be watered each morning to give the leaves a chance to dry out before evening. Make sure soil is draining properly.

Rebuild mounds each week. It is crucial to protect the potatoes from sunlight. Inspect your potato plants weekly and recover the mounds with additional dirt.

Fertilize. At least once a month, apply a fertilizer with low levels of nitrogen and high levels of phosphorous to keep your plants green with healthy tuber formation.

Harvest your potatoes when the leaves die back in the fall. If you want new potatoes, start harvesting as early as May in Texas.

If potatoes are exposed to sunlight, they will produce a dangerous toxin that is poisonous to ingest. Discard any green potatoes.