Crops › New Potato
How to grow New Potato
in the US
Sow March to April, harvest June. About 60 days from seed to plate.
Shown for zone 6. Zone table further down.
There's nothing quite like a proper new potato, dug fresh from the earth. They're a bit of a treat, you know, tender and sweet, and honestly, they're one of the easiest crops to get going on the plot. You can be enjoying your first harvest in just 60 days, which is pretty cracking.
Sowing
Getting your new potatoes started is straightforward business. You'll want to plant your seed potatoes directly outdoors once the danger of the last hard frost has passed for your area. For folks in USDA Zone 9, that could be as early as January or February, heading right up to May for the colder Zone 3 growers. I usually plant mine about 4 to 6 inches deep and space them a good 12 inches apart, giving them plenty of room to grow into decent spuds. They don't need any special treatment indoors, just a good spot outside.
Growing on
Since we're planting these chaps straight into the ground, there's no messing about with pricking out or hardening off. Once they start to poke their heads up, about 6-8 inches tall, you'll want to hill them up a bit, drawing soil around the stems. This keeps the tubers from turning green and helps protect them from light, you know. They do well in large containers too if you're short on plot space.
Looking after it
New potatoes like a steady supply of water, especially as they get going and the tubers start to form underground. A good layer of mulch around them can help keep the moisture in and those pesky weeds down. You can plant some marigolds nearby, or even some beans and herbs, they're good companions for potatoes, like I say. Don't go mad with high-nitrogen feeds though, you want tubers, not just leaves!
What goes wrong
To be honest, new potatoes are usually pretty trouble-free. The main bother can be flea beetles, which munch little holes in the leaves, or wireworms that might get into the spuds themselves. Keeping your plot tidy and rotating your crops each year helps a lot, you know. For flea beetles, a bit of row cover in the early days can make a difference, but often the plants grow through it.
Harvest
The best part, eh? You're looking for harvest about 60 days after planting, or as soon as the plants start to flower. That's your sign for proper tender skins. Just gently dig around the base of the plant with your hands or a fork, careful not to damage the spuds. New potatoes don't store for long, so grab what you need and use them fresh within a couple of weeks. No curing needed for these beauties.
I always try to plant a few extra, just so I can have that first proper taste early on, even if it means sacrificing a plant for a tiny yield.
Dates for your plot
Type your zone and the plant-out advice shifts to your frost dates.
Varieties, and whether the club would grow them again
| Variety | Club verdict |
|---|---|
| Red Norland This is a cracking classic, an early red potato known for its lovely tender skin. It's a reliable choice if you're after that fresh-dug flavor nice and early. | No club votes yet |
| Yukon Nugget A proper early yellow potato, Yukon Nugget gives you a wonderfully creamy texture. It's a grand option for those who like their spuds smooth and buttery. | No club votes yet |
| Dark Red Norland Like its cousin, this one boasts a deep red skin but with equally tender flesh inside. It's a striking early potato that performs really well in the garden. | No club votes yet |
| Caribe Caribe is a rather striking potato with its vibrant purple skin and contrasting white flesh. It's an early variety that gives you good-sized spuds, which is always a bonus. | No club votes yet |
| Irish Cobbler This is an old heirloom variety, a real classic early potato with a taste that's hard to beat. If you appreciate historical varieties and top-notch flavor, this one's for you. | No club votes yet |
| Onaway For gardeners in cooler spots, Onaway is a fantastic and reliable early variety. It's known for being quite cold-hardy, making it a good bet for northern climates. | No club votes yet |
| Swift True to its name, Swift is one of the quickest potatoes you can grow, ready in just 55-60 days. If you're impatient for that first harvest, this variety is a proper winner. | No club votes yet |
| Warba Pink Eye This is a bit of a novelty with its creamy flesh and distinctive pink eyes, a cracking early potato. It offers a lovely texture and certainly stands out on the plate. | No club votes yet |
Votes are members rating varieties in their Seed Tin, one vote per gardener. Tap a variety for the full page and where to buy.
Buy New Potato seeds
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Sowing by USDA zone
| Zone | Sow / plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May | July |
| Zone 4 | April to May | June to July |
| Zone 5 | April | June |
| Zone 6 | March to April | June |
| Zone 7 | March | June |
| Zone 8 | February to March | May to June |
| Zone 9 | January to February | May |
| Zone 10 | March to April | June to July |
Cook the harvest
The classic chilled potato and leek soup made with first-of-season new potatoes — cleaner and sweeter than the winter version made with stored potatoes. Silky, pale, and elegant, this is a summer soup that's served ice cold and tastes completely refreshing. One of the great classic first courses for a dinner party.
50 min · easyA bright, sweet summer chowder that pairs waxy new potatoes with fresh-cut corn, smoky bacon, and a creamy broth that's light enough for hot weather. New potatoes hold their shape perfectly and their natural sweetness echoes the corn. This is early summer cooking at its most joyful.
40 min · easyFreshly dug new potatoes steamed until just tender, then tossed in salted butter with a handful of fresh mint — perhaps the most perfect expression of early summer produce imaginable. New potatoes have a delicate, thin skin and sweet, waxy flesh that needs nothing more than this. A side dish in its purest form.
23 min · easyA celebration of early summer produce — new potatoes and asparagus roasted together on a sheet pan with lemon and herbs, served with a creamy herb dipping sauce. Two seasonal crops that peak simultaneously, cooked side by side, needing almost no preparation. A weeknight dinner that tastes like a farmers market.
40 min · easyWatch for, and grow alongside
Companions: Herbs, Beans, Marigolds
Questions people ask
When do you sow New Potato in the US?
Sow New Potato from March to April in zone 6, earlier or later by zone.
How long does New Potato take from sowing to harvest?
Roughly 60 days, with the harvest June.
Which New Potato varieties do gardeners grow again?
Club members rate every variety they grow. This page shows the grow-again votes for Red Norland, Yukon Nugget, Dark Red Norland, Caribe and more.
Track your New Potato from packet to plate
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.
Allotment keeper in the North East of England, the voice behind the Tony C Smith YouTube channel, and the gardener who built GrowMore CookMore. Club numbers on this page update as members log their plots. Last updated 3 September 2026.