Spacing
How far apart to plant potatoes
The short answer
Plant first and second earlies 30cm apart in rows 60cm apart, and maincrops 37cm apart in rows 75cm apart, each in a trench about 15cm deep (RHS). Garden Organic gives slightly different figures: 30cm in rows 50 to 60cm apart for earlies, and 40cm in rows 70cm apart for maincrops.
Potato rows look far apart when you plant them, and they are meant to. The gap is where the soil comes from when you earth them up, and maincrops, left in the ground longest, get the most room.
The spacing
| Crop | In the row | Between rows | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potatoes (first early) | 30cm | 60cm | (RHS) |
| Potatoes (second early) | 30cm | 50cm to 60cm | (Garden Organic) |
| Potatoes (maincrop) | 37cm | 75cm | (RHS) |
- Potatoes (first early): Garden Organic gives 50 to 60cm between rows; RHS gives 60cm.
- Potatoes (second early): RHS gives second earlies the same spacing as first earlies. Garden Organic gives 30cm in rows 50 to 60cm apart.
- Potatoes (maincrop): Garden Organic gives 40cm apart in rows 70cm apart; RHS gives 37cm and 75cm.
How many fit in a bed
Worked out with the same method as the plant spacing calculator, for three common bed sizes.
Why this spacing
- Earlies are smaller plants. They mature more quickly, which is also why they suit containers.(RHS)
- A 15cm trench. RHS and Garden Organic both plant seed potatoes about 15cm deep.(RHS, Garden Organic)
- Second earlies share the earlies’ spacing. RHS groups first and second earlies together as new potatoes.(RHS)
Pots, and how many seed potatoes to buy
Next steps
When to plant: when to plant potatoes. Growing them in a bag instead: growing potatoes in pots and bags. And when to dig: earlies and maincrops.
Put your beds on a plan, free
Add each bed with its size and what is growing in it. Vercro draws the plan to scale, keeps the record, and shows what each empty bed could take next.
Keep going
Where this comes from
Every spacing figure comes from the crop's RHS grow-your-own page, or Garden Organic where RHS gives none, linked beside the figure. The Vercro app's catalogue holds no spacing, so none of these numbers come from it. Reviewed 19 September 2026.
- Potatoes: grow your own, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- Potatoes, Garden Organic. Read 19 September 2026.