Are my seed potatoes ok?!

[clairebear]

Hi all. I bought two bags of Charlotte seed potatoes today. However one bag of them look quite a bit darker than the others, some are starting to go green and one of the potatoes looks like it's starting to rot a little. It looks a bit to my uneducated inexperienced eye that the damp has got to them a bit. I don't mind losing the rotten one but do you think the rest of the bag are ok to carry on chitting or would I be wasting my time and be better taking them back and getting another bag?

[WendyC]

Firstly take them out of the bag and spread them out in something, ideally like egg boxes, or a seed tray. You want the sprouty end upwards. It is opposite where the potato was joined to the plant. You want somewhere cool and bright, definitely frost free. A bedroom vacated by a son at uni, I find is ideal! It doesn't matter if they are going green as you are not going to eat these ones. If the potato is rotten it will smell absolutely disgusting, so get rid of it. Another advantage of spreading them out is you can keep and eye on them.

[Alison]

Can you put up a photo as that will help. Green doesn't matter for seed potatoes as you aren't eating them and they go greeny when chatting anyway. Do the others still feel firm?

[starloc]

They go green when sprouting as they are in the light, they often never look like the ones you will eat they are quite old by the time its time to plant them and often are a lot darker to look at , often the seed potato bags from suppliers have a damaged/squashed one in , i usually plant it and it usually grows

If there are the start of shoots just appearing then its 100% alive, if nothing yet then its probably still dormant and just wants light to start to chit

[fishpond]

Can you put up a photo as that will help. Green doesn't matter for seed potatoes as you aren't eating them and they go greeny when chatting anyway. Do the others still feel firm?

I wonder how many people talk to potatoes?
What do you talk about?

[Alison]

I wonder how many people talk to potatoes?
What do you talk about?

Bloomin' predictive text......

[Penellype]

I talk to all my plants, chitting potatoes included

[clairebear]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've just had a look and they've got the beginnings of shoots on them so I assume thats a good thing! It's just that they're so much darker than the other bag of the same variety that had me worried. I'll put a picture up tomorrow for you all to have a nosey at x

[danny31]

My daughter's bedroom is spud central while she is at uni. If you do have damaged spuds you may be able to cut away the bad part and the cut should heal over if it's kept dry. You can also dip it in dilute bleach to deter pathogens. A darker green probably means those were the ones on top of the pile in storage. Not a problem for seed potatoes.

[clairebear]

Right all, I've taken a piccie. They don't look as bad today I don't think (unless it's because I keep staring at them!). In the picture they're the one's on the right side off the egg tray. One has a split/rotten area but, like I said before, I don't mind losing one :-)

[WendyC]

They look fine to me. Just keep an eye on the dodgy one and be prepared to sacrifice it.

[Kristen]

Hi all. I bought two bags of Charlotte seed potatoes today. However one bag of them look quite a bit darker than the others,

The seed tray, in your photo, is labelled as Charlotte on the right, but Vales Emerald on the left. They definitely look different to me ... although both lots look absolutely fine - although the chits are getting quite long already, there is a while yet before they will be planted, if you agree? than either more light and/or less heat (but must not freeze) would be better.

[clairebear]

The seed tray, in your photo, is labelled as Charlotte on the right, but Vales Emerald on the left. They definitely look different to me ... although both lots look absolutely fine - although the chits are getting quite long already, there is a while yet before they will be planted, if you agree? than either more light and/or less heat (but must not freeze) would be better.

Sorry if I've confused things but the tray I use is one from a couple of years ago and it's old writing on it lol. They are all definitely Charlottes on the tray :-)
Thanks for the help as always. I think I'll stick with them but just keep an eye on them

[Kristen]

They are all definitely Charlottes on the tray

Odd that they look different ... the Chits have the same colour characteristics though. Hopefully you haven't been sold a pack that has been wrongly labelled ... worth planting them separately, just in case, so that at least you know which-is-which if that has happened. They all look fine ... just "different"