Kennebec potatoes

Kennebec is an all-purpose white potato released by the USDA and the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station in 1948. The tubers are oblong with thin, creamy tan skin and white flesh. They bake, boil, and mash well and make some of the best French fries and potato chips. Kennebec is a late-season variety with big, spreading plants and high yields. Plant seed potatoes 2 to 4 weeks before your last spring frost, in full sun and loose, slightly acidic soil. Hill the plants as they grow.

Looking for a classic all-purpose potato to grow in your garden? Try the delicious Kennebec potato!

Kennebec potatoes are an all-purpose variety with white flesh and thin, creamy tan skin. They bake, boil, fry, and stew well, and they are one of the best potatoes for French fries and chips.

Introduction to Kennebec potatoes

Pick Kennebec if you want one main-crop potato that does everything in the kitchen. Skip it if your garden has a history of Verticillium wilt, since Kennebec is prone to it. University of Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program lists it as released “by the USDA and Maine Agricultural Experiment Station in 1948,” rates its maturity as “Late-season,” and calls it “Excellent for boiling and baking” and “ideal for chipping and French frying.”

Kennebec is a good all-around variety for home gardeners. Commercial growers raise it for potato chips and French fries.

Where to buy Kennebec seed potatoes

To grow potatoes, you’ll need to find some seed potatoes of this variety. These are certified disease-free potatoes selected especially for planting. Many online retailers and garden centers sell Kennebec seed potatoes in spring.

When to plant Kennebec potatoes

Plant Kennebec seed potatoes about 2 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost. That can be as early as February in the South and as late as May in cold climates. Here is an estimate based on gardening zone:

• Zone 10+: January
• Zone 9: early February
• Zone 8: late February
• Zone 7: early March
• Zone 6: late March
• Zone 5: early April
• Zone 4: late April
• Zone 3: early May
• Zone 2-: late May

Kennebec is a late-season variety, so it needs a full growing season before the main harvest.

Preparing seed potatoes for planting

Cut the seed potatoes into pieces, leaving one to three eyes on each piece. Let the cut surfaces dry for a day or two before planting. Dry cuts are less likely to rot in the ground.

How to plant Kennebec potatoes

Plant Kennebec potatoes in full sun and well-drained soil. The variety adapts to many soil types and grows best in slightly acidic soil, pH 5.5 to 6.5. Wait until the soil is workable and no longer cold and wet.

Start by digging holes or a trench that’s about 6″ deep. You can also plant them in grow bags.

When planting, set the potato pieces 3-6 inches deep and about 12 inches apart. Set them with the sprouts pointing up. Cover with a few inches of soil and water well.

Growing Kennebec potatoes

Kennebec potatoes need hilling like other potatoes. To hill, pull soil up around the main stem. Most gardeners hill every two weeks, or each time the stems grow a few more inches.

The hills keep sunlight off the tubers, which turns them green. Hills also smother weeds and give the tubers more loose soil to grow in.

Watering requirements for Kennebec potatoes

Kennebec potatoes need steady water to produce a good harvest. Water at least once a week, and more often in hot or dry weather.

Keep the soil moist but not muddy. Aim for about an inch of water per week from rain and watering combined. Too much water rots the tubers.

There are a few different methods that can be used to water Kennebec Potatoes. A soaker hose or drip line waters the soil without wetting the leaves. Set up the system so it’s easy to set aside when hilling up the plants.

A garden hose on a gentle spray works too. Soak the ground around the plants and keep the leaves dry. After watering, allow the soil to drain completely so that the roots don’t become waterlogged. If you use an overhead sprinkler, run it in the morning so the leaves dry before evening.

Fertilizing Kennebec potatoes

Kennebec potatoes don’t need much fertilizer. Use a balanced fertilizer on young plants and follow the label rate. Too much nitrogen grows leaves at the expense of tubers.

Some good choices for fertilizers for Kennebec potatoes include organic options like compost, manure, or fish emulsion. These build the soil and feed the plants.

Harvesting Kennebec potatoes

Kennebec potatoes are ready in late summer or early fall, depending on your climate. Small new potatoes form first near the surface. You can dig a few of these early and let the rest grow to full size. Replace the soil after you take them.

For full-size potatoes, wait until the vines die back. Lift the whole plant with a garden fork, working from the outside in to avoid spearing tubers. UW notes that Kennebec tubers “readily detach from vines at harvest.”

Companion plants for Kennebec potatoes

Common companion plants for potatoes include peas, onions, lettuce, and nasturtiums. Space them so they don’t shade the potato plants or get buried when you hill.

Read more about companion plants for potatoes.

Pests affecting Kennebec potatoes

Potatoes attract slugs, aphids, Colorado potato beetles, and caterpillars. These pests chew the leaves and tubers and cut your yield.

Check the plants each week and remove any pests you find. You can also use barriers like row covers or netting to keep pests from getting to the plants in the first place. For heavy damage, an organic insecticide labeled for potatoes may help.

Diseases affecting Kennebec potatoes

University of Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program says Kennebec is “highly resistant to common races (R1 gene resistance) of late blight” but “Highly susceptible to Verticillium wilt and pink eye.” It is also “susceptible to common scab and Rhizoctonia.”

Plant certified disease-free seed potatoes, and don’t plant potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, or eggplant in the same spot two years in a row. Rotation keeps soil-borne diseases from building up.

FAQs about the Kennebec potato variety