Normal Potatoes v seed potatoes

[Tracey]

Hi there

I am planning on growing potatoes this year. I have a bag of eating potatoes that I bought before xmas that are sprouting. Can I plant these or do I need to purchase seed potatoes? If it's ok to plant them when is the best time and what conditions do I need to keep them in in the meantime?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Kind regards
Tracey

[Skotch]

Hi there

I am planning on growing potatoes this year. I have a bag of eating potatoes that I bought before xmas that are sprouting. Can I plant these or do I need to purchase seed potatoes? If it's ok to plant them when is the best time and what conditions do I need to keep them in in the meantime?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Kind regards
Tracey

You probably could plant them having chitted them but, they are obviously not certified disease free. To keep chitting, keep in a light cool airy place (greenhouse or cold frame should do) and plant out when soil is warmer and shoots are about 1 - 1.5" long. Good luck

Skotch

[la cebolla grande]

When I was a kid I planted 5 of my mums spuds from the cupboard that were sprouting, and apart from the short mini-potato bed looking like a childs grave, I actually ended up winning the best potatoes in the village show that summer - much to the disgust of the local old duffers.

It WAS beginners luck, no doubt, but the point is that you can get perfectly decent results by planting 'eaters'. I guess you are just taking more of a risk of disease - and worse even if the spuds have been imported.

I could write a long boring piece, but basically there are 2 strains of Potato Blight, and we only get one here, but eaters imported from, particularly Egypt - spring King Edwards often come from here-, regularly carry spores etc from the second type. Definitely worth avoiding!!

If they are British, give it a go, if you are prepared to take the slight risk of disease. Lets face it devastating eel-worm and/or blight can hit even seed potatoes!

LCG

[sheep farmers other half]

I have some potatoes left from what I grew last year from seed potatoes which are sprouting, can I replant these?

[Tracey]

Hi there

Thanks for the advice, they are from Riverford Organic veg, so they are unlikely to have been imported, so i'll give it a go.

Thanks
Tracey

[carlseawolf]

i grow eaters from the local greengrocers as we buy sacks of spuds as we can not grow enough on the piece of ground we have so supliment by buying more from local grocers and use the small ones for planting as no one likes peeling them anyway .
planting time this year will be march , tried feb last year but the plot next to me planted in march and caught up with mine in no time.

[Tracey]

Hi there

Do you plant chit up or down and what depth?

Kind regards

Tracey

[rustylady]

Hi there

Do you plant chit up or down and what depth?

Kind regards

Tracey

Shoots on top makes their journey to the surface quicker, although even if you plant them upside down they do seem to sort themselves out. As for planting depth there are all sorts of advice. Some people dig a trench, plant spuds 3 or 4 inches deep and gradually fill in the trench as the shoots grow, some leave the ground level, plant deeper. Do some research on the net or Dr Hessayon Vegetable Expert is a good reference book.

[Tracey]

Thanks rustylady

[Two_Sheds]

Hold your horses, its too early to put taters in yet ... wait till Good Friday.
You can get them chitting if you have some sprouting already.
I always re-plant my own potatoes, I've never had blight so far (pride before a fall, I know). I don't trench them, just pop them in a 5 inch hole, and mulch with grass clippings to exclude light and prevent greening. I don't get show potatoes, but they are good enough for me for eating.