Can You Grow Potatoes Indoors? Secrets to Bigger Yields

Can you grow potatoes indoors? Yes! LED grow lights even enable you to grow healthy and safe potatoes for your family by yourself indoors. You will find valuable advice in this article whether your living space is modest with limited area and dimply lit. In addition, we present the Casyoo series of grow lights featuring adjustable full-spectrum light and high-power chips for better PPFD—your top choice for indoor potato growing.

Optimal Conditions for Growing Potatoes Indoors

1. Light Requirements for Indoor Potato Growth

• Light Spectrum

Just like any plant, potatoes need a complete spectrum of light to grow, especially red and blue spectrums. The wavelength of blue light within a 430–450 nm range promotes vegetative growth through leaf expansion and root growth development. Red light (640–660 nm) promotes photosynthesis and tuberization. Natural light has both of these necessary spectrums but in low quantities. LED grow lights, however, not only provide the entire spectrum but also drastically increase the quantity of blue and red light.

• Light Intensity

The optimum light intensity for the growth of potatoes is 200 to 400 μmol/m²/s. Tip burn occurs due to excessive light intensity whereas inadequate light causes plant growth to decline.

• Light Duration

The ideal daily light period for potatoes ranges between 14 to 16 hours because it mimics extended summer daylight. When a photoperiod remains stable it enables plants to grow continuously and achieve their highest amount of tubers.

2. Ideal Temperature and Humidity for Growing Potatoes Indoors

The ideal temperature for the growth of potatoes is 15–20°C, although the various stages of growth have somewhat different requirements. Sprouting is best at 10–15°C, and tuber enlargement at 15–18°C. Below 0°C, there is frost damage, and above 30°C, growth stops or even rotting is fostered. In the summer, cooling is assisted by fans and air conditioners, and heaters in winter—although keep potatoes away from sources of heat.

Potatoes need quite a high humidity, 80–90%. The humidity in the soil should be 50–60%. Too high humidity will encourage fungus, so there needs to be good air circulation and drainage. A temperature and humidity sensor will give a check that conditions are appropriate, and misting can be employed to offset dry air.

Case Study: Germination rate of indoor potatoes under varying temperature and humidity conditions

• Between 6–8°C, the eyes of the potato start to sprout but slowly.
• 15–20°C, sprouting is hastened considerably and thus is the most preferable range.
• Sprouting is delayed or uneven at temperatures over 25°C.

Keeping the indoor temperature at 15–20°C and relative humidity at 60% promotes quick and even sprouting.

3. Indoor Potato Growing Kit: Pots vs. Grow Bags vs. Hydroponics

We conducted tests on three popular indoor plant containers considering various evaluation criteria. Users should choose the growing container that matches their space requirements and their personal gardening abilities.

Fabric grow bags provide the best balance of yield, price, and convenience for the majority of home growers. Hydroponic setups will be commercial growers’ choice for highest yields, and traditional pots are still best for small test grows.

4. The Right Soil Type to Grow Potatoes Indoors

The production system in hydroponics reaches peak water and nutrient absorption capability through the combination of perlite or rockwool media with a nutritional solution. Potatoes may struggle with mechanical support and pH fluctuations (target pH ~6).

For beginners the inert growing medium known as potting mix using sand perlite or soil makes a convenient option. The growing medium creates artificial root resistance like soil while preventing the issues that come with hydroponics.

Pro Tip: Cost-Effective DIY Soil Recipe

A good DIY potting mix should be nutrient-rich but not fertilizer-rich because it can induce early senescence of the leaves. The mixture should also be easy to expand with roots. The following is a simple and effective recipe:

1. 40% Coconut coir/peat moss (retains moisture)
2. 30% Perlite/vermiculite (drainage)
3. 20% Compost (slow-release nutrients)
4. 10% Sand (prevents compaction)

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Grow Potatoes Indoor

1. Selecting the Best Seed Potatoes for Indoor Growing

Plant certified disease-free seed potatoes because supermarket potatoes can be sprayed with sprout suppressors or may harbor disease. For container cultivation select any of these potato types: ‘Yukon Gold’, ‘Red Pontiac’, or ‘Fingerling’. Cut up large seed potatoes into 1.5–2 oz pieces with at least 1–2 eyes each. Cure cut pieces for 1–2 days to avoid rot.

Troubleshooting: What Caused My Seed Pieces to Develop Molds after I Cut Them?

• Cause 1: Improper Cutting Technique – Less than 20g slices are susceptible to mold. Dull knives also produce jagged edges where pathogens can be attracted.

Solution: Sterilize sharp knives using isopropyl alcohol between cuts and maintain seed pieces at 25–40g.

• Cause 2: Low-Quality or Infected Growing Medium – Reused soil could contain pathogens. Soil with more than 80% moisture or inappropriate pH (<5.5 or >7.5) would also be conducive to the growth of bacteria.

Solution: Use sterile seed-starting medium based on coconut coir or peat-perlite mix in your propagation process. Maintain moisture and proper pH level.

2. Sprouting Potatoes Indoors

Place seed potatoes, eyes facing upwards, in an egg carton, 4–5 cm apart to prevent entwining. Place the carton near an east-facing window or under an LED grow light tilted at 45° to receive even illumination. Set the LED light at 30–40% blue and 50–60% red with a dash of far-red light and vary the distance to 25–35 cm based on power. Sprouting for 4–6 weeks will produce short, stout green shoots.

Troubleshooting: Why Are My Potato Sprouts Leggy and Weak?

• Cause 1: Inadequate or One-Directional Light – Stems stretch as a reaction to one-directional light.

Solution: Angle the lighting source at 45 degrees for uniform lighting exposure.

• Cause 2: Red/Far-Red Ratio Imbalance – Too much far-red light encourages stem stretching by moving the growth hormones.

Solution: Raise the red-light proportion to combat excessive elongation.

3. Planting

① Soil Placement

Choose a 10L, 20L, or 40L pot or bag that has drainage holes in the bottom. Though usually flower pots have pre-drilled drainage holes, in grow bags you need to drill 6–8 holes approximately 1–2 cm in diameter.

The bottom layer (around 5 cm) must be drainage material like coarse sand or small rocks to allow excess water to drain and root rot to be avoided. The core layer (around 23–25 cm) must be filled with a loose, well-mixed substrate, preferably in the form of the DIY soil mix described above.

Put the sprouted seed potato in the middle, with the most vigorous sprout facing upwards. Add a 5 cm layer of growing media over it and press gently.

② Growing Potatoes under Grow Lights

The LED lighting will have to be controlled based on the various growth stages of the potato plant. The suggested placement is as follows:

4. Hilling Indoor Potato Plants

Hilling is the process of putting soil or growing medium around the potato stems as they grow. This keeps the tubers from being exposed to sunlight, which will make them turn green and produce toxic solanine.

• First Hilling(when stems reach 15 cm): Use pre-moistened soil mixture (70% peat moss and 30% vermiculite with 35% moisture) to fill up to two-thirds of the plant stem at a 6 cm distance from the base.
• Second Hilling (7 days later): Add another 3 cm of medium.
• Third Hilling (7 days later): Spray with 1/4 strength seaweed extract and top up with another 2 cm of medium.

Do this repeatedly until you fill the soil two-thirds of the stem’s height. Two weeks prior to harvesting, drop humidity to 40–45%.

5. Harvesting Potatoes Grown Indoors: When & How

Discontinue watering 7–10 days prior to when you plan to harvest. Dig the potatoes out by hand by turning the pot upside down to prevent scratching their skin. Dry brushing away soil with a cloth is needed instead of water washing. Before storage of potatoes you should place them in a cool well-ventilated environment for 3 to 5 days to dry.

• How Long Does It Take to Grow Potatoes Indoors?

Early potatoes mature in 70–90 days. They are mature when 90% of the leaves on the plants are yellow and the tubers have firm, unpeeling skin.

• How Many Potatoes Can One Plant Produce?

In ideal conditions, 5–10 quality tubers can be obtained from every seed potato. A 10L bag generally has 1–2 seed potatoes, and 5–10 tubers are obtained. A 20L bag can have 2–3 seed potatoes and produce 10–20 tubers, and so on.

Natural Light vs. LED Grow Lights for Indoor Potatoes

Investing in LED grow lights in the beginning requires costs but they provide benefits including higher harvests and superior plant quality with reduced cycle periods. Following is a sample calculation of the added expense of powering a 100W LED grow light.

1. Cost

A 100W LED grow light will cost you anywhere from $50 to $150.

2. Electricity Cost

Assuming 16 hours of usage per day and an electric rate of $0.15/kWh, the cost of electricity for a 90-day potato growing cycle is:

100×16×0.15×90=21.6$

3. Yield Comparison

For the 20L container, the sunlight will normally yield 1–5 lbs of potatoes per crop. With the LED grow lights, there is an increase of 30–50% yield, which gives 1.5–7.5 lbs of potatoes. Potatoes grown with LEDs also have a more uniform size and volume.

The lowest overall cost of cultivating potatoes in LED light is:

50 + 21.6 = 71.6$

On the other hand, natural light is free but unreliable due to weather and seasonal variations. However, LED grow lights present a stable and controlled solution for achieving rapid growth of high-quality potatoes.

Why Casyoo Grow Lights Are Best for Growing Potatoes Indoors

The Casyoo Grow Light Series is a great option for growing potatoes indoors, some of its most important benefits being:

• Adjustable Full-Spectrum Lighting:

Casyoo grow lights also offer various lighting modes, like 660nm red light for tuber growth and 450nm blue light for leaf growth, actually boosting yield.

• Superior Light Distribution & High PPFD:

Quantum Board high-power LEDs supply consistent strong illumination to these lamps. Optimized light-focusing lens design for high efficiency.

• Excellent Heat Dissipation:

Casyoo lights use high-thermal conductivity silicone coatings together with metal fin heat sinks that lead to improved heat transfer efficiency thus enhancing the lights’ operational lifespan.

Conclusion

To grow potatoes indoors, some of the fundamental elements are lighting, seed potatoes, containers, temperature and humidity, and soil. Select the optimal possible conditions relative to your setup and your seed potatoes’ growth needs, follow our step-by-step instructions, and you’ll finish the process of indoor growing without any issues. The implementation of Casyoo grow lights enables users to achieve rapid high-quality production of healthier potato yields. Contact us now to receive information about grow light products and indoor growing firsthand knowledge.

Related reading:

• How Does Infrared Light Affect Plant Growth?
• The Complete Guide to Tomato Grow Lights for Indoor Growing
• 7 Best Grow Lights for Indoor Plants