Seed potato size

[MelanieSW]

My seed potatoes from Pennards have arrived, and the International Kidney are genuinely the biggest seed potatoes I've ever seen - 1kg, 8 potatoes!
In fact probably the biggest international kidney/jersey royals I've ever seen full stop.

It's not enough for a row.

I have seen elsewhere that chitted potatoes can be cut into pieces (with at least an eye each). Is that advisable, or does it introduce additional disease risk?

A pic of the monsters to illustrate ...

[smallblueplanet]

Well they used to cut them up in t'olden days. Bet Snadger still does he's a bit olden!

Think I might send them a picture and demand a refund, I always thought seed potatoes should be 'hens egg' size? So the one on the back row middle looks right!

[nick the grief]

it should say what size riddle they used. Thats why I go to a local shop to get mine. If I want 3 he will sell me 3.

Over the years I've bought 6 of a variety to plant a couple of pots up to try till I found the ones I like, but I noticed that there were quite a lot of larger sized in his this year - I guess theyre at the mercy of the producers

My dad used to cut them in half and dust the cut end with flowers of sulphur ... don't know if you can still get that

[Plot70]

Potatoes can almost be grown from the chitted eyes.
Peelings from supermarket bought ones sprout easily enough.
Just cut them and allow the cut to dry off for a day or two.

[ameno]

As long as both pieces have eyes they should both grow. Just be sure to cut them a few days ahead of planting to allow the cut edge to dry, as said above. I'd also plant them so that the cut edge is vertical, that was water won't settle on it.

[Penellype]

I've cut seed potatoes into pieces before now and not noticed any difference from whole ones. As long as there is an eye to grow from they should be fine.

[Bren In Pots]

I've cut seed potatoes into pieces before now and not noticed any difference from whole ones. As long as there is an eye to grow from they should be fine.

Move found that as well Pen. I tried it as an experiment once and have carried on cutting large ones in half.

[Nicos]

I hada similar problem a few years ago!

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...large-potatoes

I ended up , once they had chitted , cutting them into 2 or three and left the raw flesh to dry for a couple of days before planting

Have to say they all survived and I had a decent crop.
I think the secret is ( having read on a few other places) that making sure the raw flesh has dried out before planting is part of the success story.?

[Grafitti]

Turns out the potatoes we like best are the Elfe or Butter Gold ones at Lidl, I buy a couple bags and leave them till the eyes start budding, then cut them in 2 or more sections each with a couple buds, the cut ends scab over pretty quickly. I cut them a month ago, looking at them chitting now there's no difference in the shoot size between the whole and split ones

[Nicos]

I’d never though about cutting before chitting!

[MelanieSW]

Thanks all for your replies, I'll give it a try then .

Think I might send them a picture and demand a refund, I always thought seed potatoes should be 'hens egg' size? So the one on the back row middle looks right!

Funnily enough the enclosed leaflet talks about hen's egg size, but these are more goose eggs... Otherwise ouch for the poor chickens.

Sadly not many options to get seed potatoes locally, in normal years I'd get some from a potato day but that's not happening. And the local DIY store, which usually has a reasonable selection, is about to close and be turned into housing.

[Purple Primrose]

My seed tatties have arrived from Kings and they are quite a mix of sizes. Is there any advantage to leaving the large ones to grow on as they are compared to cutting them in two? I don't really need any more plants, I'm just curious if the larger seed tatties will be likely to give a bigger yield per plant.

[nick the grief]

Thanks all for your replies, I'll give it a try then .



Funnily enough the enclosed leaflet talks about hen's egg size, but these are more goose eggs... Otherwise ouch for the poor chickens.

Sadly not many options to get seed potatoes locally, in normal years I'd get some from a potato day but that's not happening. And the local DIY store, which usually has a reasonable selection, is about to close and be turned into housing.

is there a local allotment shop where you can get them? at least you're supporting an allotment site rather than some conglomerate full of share holders.

[MelanieSW]

is there a local allotment shop where you can get them? at least you're supporting an allotment site rather than some conglomerate full of share holders.

Our allotment shop is small (and closed until March) - I'm one of the people running it , but people mostly want compost, manure, fertilizer and canes. Not so much seeds and plants now. We offer an annual order for members through the kings seeds allotment scheme, but not so many potato options in there.

[MelanieSW]

My seed tatties have arrived from Kings and they are quite a mix of sizes. Is there any advantage to leaving the large ones to grow on as they are compared to cutting them in two? I don't really need any more plants, I'm just curious if the larger seed tatties will be likely to give a bigger yield per plant.

I read somewhere that small seed potatoes will result in fewer but large potatoes, while big seed potatoes result in smaller but more potatoes.
Admittedly not something I've ever empirically tested!