“Po-Ta-Toes – Boil e’m, mash them, stick them in a stew!”
Growing potatoes in your garden can be a rewarding and interesting experience. Unlike most other garden plants, potatoes grow from seed potatoes rather than seeds (You know those sprouts you see when you’ve left them in the bottom of the pantry too long). Many also insist that homegrown potatoes taste better. Interesting experiences and better tasting potatoes may be enough for some, but others will want to know – Is it cheaper to grow your own?
On average, potatoes are not the most cost effective crop. For the first harvest, potatoes will likely cost you $10s-$100s for a garden of 4-32 potato plants. Consecutive harvests are likely to either break even or have a positive ROI. The variety of the potato matters greatly, with some varieties resulting in harvests with much larger ‘savings’.
| 1st Harvest 2ft x 2ft | 1st Harvest 4ft x 8ft | Consecutive Harvest 2ft x 2ft | Consecutive Harvest 4ft x 8ft | Lbs per Plant | Cost/lb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White/Red Potatoes | $(34.50) | $(212.86) | $5.50 | $43.25 | 3 | $0.98 |
| Russet Potatoes | $(37.23) | $(234.75) | $2.77 | $21.36 | 3 | $0.75 |
| Fingerling Potatoes | $(16.23) | $(66.75) | $23.77 | $189.36 | 3 | $2.50 |
| Sweet Potatoes | $(38.23) | $(242.75) | $1.77 | $13.36 | 2 | $2.50 |
Check out the table in Is a Home Garden Worth It as Produce Costs Rise? To see how potatoes compare to other crops. Continue reading that article to learn more about the costs of having a home garden and other, non-monetary, benefits.
How Much Do Potatoes Cost?
White/Red Potatoes
In February 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics listed white potatoes per pound at ~$0.98. I found this to be relatively true when compared to various shopping sources for white and red potatoes.
Russet Potatoes
Russet Potatoes tend to be cheaper per pound which I listed here at about ~$0.75. You would probably be better off leaving these on the shopping list to make room for more interesting varieties.
Fingerling Potatoes
On average, fingerling potatoes are much more expensive per pound and harder to find in general. This is not to say you cannot find them at all, just that they are not as widely available. For the purposes of our examples I settled on ~$2.50 per pound, making them significantly more profitable (or more likely to save you money).
Sweet Potatoes
These could really be their own crop category, but I have included them here as a comparison against other types of potatoes. They actually sell for approximately the same per pound as white potatoes. For our examples, I have listed them at $1. However, there are many different varieties that you can grow that you are not likely to find at your local grocery store that would cost you a bit more. My personal favorites are the colorful purple varieties.
How much does the average potato plant produce?
The internet consensus seems to be that a potato plant produces approximately 3 lbs of potatoes. While I am sure your experience may vary, I did not find much dissent from this number. However, I also did not find much in the way of specific numbers by potato variety. For our examples, I have used the same 3 lbs for everything except sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes, being almost a separate category, seemed to average less than other potato plants. For our examples I have used 2 lbs for sweet potatoes.
I unfortunately do not have first hand measurements of what a potato plant produces in a harvest (perhaps this is something I can follow up on this season if I am diligent).
Of course, these numbers, as always, depend on many factors including water, soil, sun, spacing etc.
How Many Potato Plants Should I Grow?
You should grow ~6 potato plants per person.
This number falls within almost every suggested range of any potato plant I researched including sweet potatoes. With sources calling for ranges such as 5-10 or 4-6 per person, feel free to plant a couple more if you are sure you’ll need a large harvest.
Growing For Two
If you were to grow potatoes for two people, it is suggested you should grow ~8-20 plants.
All potato plants, even with intensive spacing, will take up about one square foot.
A 4ftx4ft bed would fall perfectly in this range providing room for ~16 plants.
This is likely to produce ~48 lbs of potatoes, or ~32 lbs of sweet potatoes.
In this scenario, your first harvest is likely to end in a loss of ~$100-$140 depending on the variety of potato, with an exception for fingerling potatoes (and perhaps other, more unique varieties we are looking at here in detail). Fingerling potatoes are likely to result in a first harvest of only approximately half of this loss, in the ~$40-$50 range.
Consecutive harvests in this scenario for most potato plants are likely to result in $5-$25 ‘savings’, depending on the variety. The exception again, as our example of a more unique variety, is the fingerling potatoes. These would likely result in ~$95 dollars in savings per harvest!
At these rates, it would take 4+ non-fingerling harvests to ‘break even’. Fingerling potatoes would more than pay for themselves after just two harvests.
Growing For A Family of Four
If you were to grow potatoes for four people, it is suggested you should grow ~16-24 plants.
With potato plants taking up approximately one square foot, you need ~24 square feet to hit the high end of this range.
The equivalent of a 4ftx6ft bed would provide room for ~24 plants.
This is likely to produce ~72 lbs of potatoes, or ~48 lbs of sweet potatoes.
In this scenario, your first harvest is likely to end in a loss of ~$150-$200 depending on the variety of potato, with an exception for fingerling potatoes (and perhaps other, more unique varieties we are looking at here in detail). Fingerling potatoes are likely to result in a first harvest of less than half of this loss, somewhere closer to a ~$60 loss.
Consecutive harvests in this scenario for most potato plants are likely to result in $10-$30 ‘savings’, depending on the variety. The exception again, as our example of a more unique variety, is the fingerling potatoes. These would likely result in ~$145 dollars in savings per harvest!
At these rates, it would take 5+ non-fingerling harvests to ‘break even’. Fingerling potatoes would more than pay for themselves after just two harvests.
Disclaimer: Nothing written here is meant to imply a guarantee or to provide financial advice. It is possible your entire crop fails or that your experience results that are different from the estimates provided here. Please do your own additional research before pursuing anything as a financial investment.