How to get Potatoes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Potatoes are one of the most important vegetables in the world. Those humble spuds are the fourth largest food crop on the planet, behind only corn, wheat, and rice, and many countries of various developmental levels utilize them as a staple food. Frankly, it’s criminal that it took so long for such an important vegetable to make its way to Animal Crossing, but finally, you can get your hands on some potatoes. Here’s how to get potatoes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Potatoes, along with other crops, fruits, and vegetables, have been added to Animal Crossing: New Horizons as of the version 2.0 update. That’s the free update, incidentally; you don’t need the paid DLC for this. You can grow your own produce right on your island, harvest it, and combine it into tasty foods using a kitchen installation. Potatoes in particular are used in the creation of two dishes: Minestrone Soup and Gnocchi di Patate.

How to get Potatoes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

To get Potatoes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons:

1. Buy potato starts from Leif
2. Plant the starts anywhere on your island and water them
3. Wait four days, then harvest the potatoes

The island communities’ favorite plant husbandry expert, Leif, has begun stocking produce starts in his shop as of the version 2.0 update. You can check his wares whenever he comes to your island, or you can visit him on a more regular basis once he sets up his stand on Harv’s Island. If he’s got potato starts in stock, you can buy one for 280 Bells, or five for 1,400 Bells. If Leif doesn’t have potato starts in stock, you’ll have to wait until he changes his stock, which he does every Monday. 

Once you’ve got your potato starts, find a nice, big patch of land somewhere on your island. You might as well get a whole garden started while you’re at it, since you’ll need more than just potatoes if you want to cook anything interesting. Anyway, when you’ve got your land picked out, select the potato start in your pocket and click “Plant 1” to stick it in the ground. 

Now comes the waiting game. It’ll take four real days for your potatoes to grow into a harvestable state. You can time travel to expedite this process if you’re feeling impatient, though it does bear mentioning that if you remember to water the potatoes all four days, you’ll get more of them come harvest time. Watering is not a requirement to grow the potatoes, though, so you can still get the baseline amount by just jumping ahead four days.

When harvest day comes, you can collect the potatoes from the ground by just picking them up, the same way you’d grab a flower or weed. The potato starts will remain in the ground and continue to yield potatoes every two days. They won’t die or anything, so as long as you remember to harvest them every two days, you’re basically set on potatoes for life.