[Crops 101] How To Sow & Harvest Potatoes

Welcome to your next "Crops 101" lesson of the Farming Simulator Academy! This time, we’re focusing on potatoes and how to plant, care for, harvest, and use them.

What Is Special About Potatoes?

• Potatoes require specialized planting and harvesting equipment, so getting started can be more expensive than with many other crops.
• You can use potatoes from your last harvest to plant new ones.
• You can use potatoes as part of the feed for pigs.
• Beehives near a potato field can increase its yield.

What You Need For Potatoes

Potatoes need some specialized equipment, especially for planting and harvesting. Prepare the machines shown above before heading to the field:

• Tractor: You need a tractor with enough power for the field work and attached equipment.
• Cultivator: Prepares the field before planting. If the field information says plowing is required, use a plow instead.
• Potato planter: Plants potatoes and must be filled before you start working.
• Fertilizer spreader: Use it for solid fertilizer and, if the machine supports it, for lime as well.
• Hoe: Removes weeds between the potato rows before they reduce your yield.
• Potato harvester: A specialized harvester is required to lift the potatoes from the ground.
• Trailer: Transports the harvested potatoes to a selling point, production facility, or storage area.

Tip! Specialized potato machinery can be expensive. Leasing the planter or harvester can reduce your initial investment if you only need the machines occasionally.

Let’s Get To Work!

If seasonal growth is enabled, plant potatoes in March or April. They will be ready for harvest between August and September.

Step 1: Applying lime

Check the field information to see whether lime is required. If so, fill a compatible fertilizer spreader with lime and cover the entire field. If lime is not required, skip this step.

Step 2: Cultivating the field

Check the field information before you start. If it says plowing is required, use a plow instead of a cultivator. Otherwise, lower the cultivator and work the entire field to prepare the soil for planting.

Need a refresher? See how field preparation works.

Step 3: Planting potatoes

Fill the potato planter and attach it to your tractor. You can use purchased planting material or potatoes from a previous harvest. Lower and activate the machine, then work across the field in straight rows until the entire area is planted.

New to planting? Here’s our seeding and planting guide.

Step 4: Fertilizing

Apply fertilizer to improve your yield. Potatoes can be fertilized twice during one crop cycle, but there needs to be another growth stage between the two applications. If you used the same spreader for lime, unload any leftovers before filling it with fertilizer.

Want the full rundown? Read our fertilizing guide.

Step 5: Removing weeds

Weeds may appear while the potatoes are growing. Since potatoes grow in rows, use a hoe to remove them. Deal with weeds early; once they become too large, you will need herbicide instead. If crop destruction is enabled, switch to narrow tires once the plants have sprouted.

Want to know more about weed control?

Step 6: Harvesting potatoes

Once the potatoes are ready between August and September, bring out the potato harvester. Lower and activate the machine, then work through the field row by row. Keep a trailer nearby so you can unload the harvester when it fills up and continue without long interruptions.

Step 7: Selling and using potatoes

Check the prices screen if you want to sell the potatoes directly, then drive to a suitable selling point and unload in the designated area. You can also feed part of the harvest to pigs or take the potatoes to a production facility.

Tip! Potatoes cannot be stored in a regular silo. If you want to keep them for later, unload them on the ground or use another suitable storage option.

Processing Potatoes: Products

Instead of selling potatoes directly, you can process them into higher-value products. At the potato processing plant, potatoes are combined with oil to make potato chips. Potatoes can also be turned into potato soup at the soup factory.

Well Done!

Congratulations! You now know the basics of growing potatoes in Farming Simulator. When you’re ready, continue with the next Farming Simulator Academy lesson!