potato dilemma!

[laurask]

Hi it is my first time on the site and fairly new to growing my own vegetables.
I have been doing a mixture of things for a couple of years and had various stumble points along the way but this is my strangest yet!
I have grown potatoes in grow bags numerous of times with good results however this time I have planted some in August ready for Christmas pulling and no shoots or leaves are appearing at all!
I dug down to one of the tubers potatoes to see what was going on and it looks like there are small potatoes growing off the seeds but still no signs of shoots for leaves?!
I normally top up the soil each time I see shoots until I get to near the top of the bag and then let the plant florish.
has anyone got any answers for me please!!!?? worried they may not grow or maybe not edible?! never has a potato plant before with no plant at all!

[taff]

funnily enough, my were-to-be seed potatoes have done that too, and they aren't planted or never got planted. Tiny little potatoes are coming off them rather than shoots.
They have competely dried out so it's possible that has something to do with it, otherwise, you'll have to wait for an expert to come along and explain....

[solway cropper]

Did you keep your own or use propper seed potatoes?

I've tried growing them from potatoes kept back from the early crop and got nothing.

This year I put some of Tattieman's seed in planter bags late August and they have stormed away so I'm very hopeful of new potatoes this winter.

[Qzy]

I have used my own Sharpes Express for Christmas seed this year and they are growing very well (apart from a little powdery mildew as they are in the Greenhouse) - I put them in the bottom of the fridge for 2 weeks though and allowed them to chit afterwards.

[maytreefrannie]

I have grown potatoes in grow bags numerous of times with good results however this time I have planted some in August ready for Christmas pulling and no shoots or leaves are appearing at all!
I dug down to one of the tubers potatoes to see what was going on and it looks like there are small potatoes growing off the seeds but still no signs of shoots for leaves?!

Sorry I can't help you with your query - I've never seen "small potatoes growing off the seeds but still no signs of shoots for leaves" - but others will be more knowledgeable.

BUT - I take it from your post that you've grown potatoes for Christmas before and actually got some results.

Even though we usually grow potatoes and pick and eat them in Summer/Autumn, I've tried loads of years to grow them for Christmas with never a spud.

[laurask]

Thank you for your quick replies!
No I bought these from a garden centre that I use regularly but not had this happen before. I stored them the same as usual but they just don't seem to be doing what they should be doing!

Does anyone know if I am best to pull them up and discard them for this year or keep growing them to see??
I would want to poison anyone on christmas day!!

[tattieman]

I would say you have little potato disorder. Its normally caused by storing old seed at warm temperatures and then being planted in cold wet conditions.

I have never seen it before but I would say they will not grow much bigger than what they are just now. You could always leave them and see what happens.

[laurask]

Hi again,
I have decided to dig them up and give them up for this year! when i dug down 3 of them were large with small potatoes all over them, but still no signs of shoots coming off them to make them a plant, but the other 2 that i dug up were really soft and popped like custard was inside of them??!! eeeek i think ill have to have another try again over Christmas ! any tip would be VERY welcomed!!
I have just a small town yard so use large grow bags! Many thanks!

[snohare]

Yes, I've seen this before, quite a few times. (Shows how disorganised I am !)
Don't know about the cold and wet, but any old tattie that is left to get too warm before planting will do the bulbil thing. The bulbils might grow if detached - I don't know - but no matter what you do to that tattie, it will not grow as normal, consider it utterly useless.
It's my understanding that only certain types of potato are suitable for growing Christmas potatoes - some varieties are sensitive to daylength, others not - but others will be able to advise you better on that.

[laurask]

Hi,
thank you everyone for your comments, i decided to dig them up and yes found lots of little potatoes and the tubers had got bigger and firmer but still not shoots to suggest plants growing! some of the tubers also had gone soft and with what looked like custard in them!! eeeek! never mind i will try again for first earlies!