Plant record

Potato

Solanum tuberosum

Potatoes like cool soil and a little mystery. Tuck them in, hill them up, and let the underground work happen.

Rankspeciesderived
GenusSolanumSolanaceae
Species anchorSolanum tuberosumThis record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
Library score76/100strong garden record

Garden timing

Plant seed potatoes in cool workable soil.

Space-saving method: grow with hill support.

Plant intelligence

Use one square per plant and watch neighbors as it matures.

foodvertical

Lifecycle: annual

Habit: sprawling

Record score

76/100strong garden record
Taxonomy confidence94Solanum tuberosum in Solanaceae; 2 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness921 per square with hill support.
Timing and care depth711 planting window, 45F minimum soil, 2 cautions.
Species and variety drill-down400 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence70Food crop with companion context.
Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.

Species identity

This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.

ScientificSolanum tuberosumFamilySolanaceaeLookup namesPotato, Solanum tuberosum

Garden decision matrix

Square-foot fit1 per square
92Use one square per plant and watch neighbors as it matures. Support: hill.
Season behaviorsemi-hardy
71Direct sow. One main planting.
Care loadsteady water
70Hill or mulch as plants grow. Avoid planting near tomatoes when disease pressure is a concern. Soil minimum 45F.
Bed ecosystem rolefood, vertical
70Food-first crop with companion context.
Variety depth0 options
40Choose variety by mature habit first, then flavor or bloom.

Companions

bean, cabbage, calendula

Cautions

Hill or mulch as plants grow.

Avoid planting near tomatoes when disease pressure is a concern.

External enrichment

Cached name: Solanum tuberosum. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.

Open enrichment JSON

Data layers

FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.

API source score

Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.

Michigan State University Extension

Michigan vegetable-garden timing, frost awareness, and practical garden planning.

Source reference

Cornell Vegetable Growing Guides

Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.

Source reference

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