To cut or not to cut...

ericam 8/25/2012, 9:11 pm

OK, first time potato grower here, I bought a bag of seed potatoes from the hardware store
To cut or not to cut... 36922e417a15577c26a74669f9bd292a

and I also bought some potato bags as I don't have enough room in my SFG
To cut or not to cut... 105b6cfd106ff14dc385e4a9cea09c12

As you can see the potatoes are already sprouting (and will require some microsurgery to get some of them out of the net bag without damaging the sprouts!) but at this stage there is only one sprout per potato.

Should I cut them and will that get me more sprouts or should I leave them whole and just buy some more? What would you do?

Also how many can I plant in each bag, I know it's 4 per square but this is round and it's about 36cm in diameter (approx 1'2"). Can I do 5 or should I stick to 4?

**camprn** 8/25/2012, 9:27 pm

Get them out of the bag and just let them sit around for a week, some of the other eyes will most likely sprout. I cut mine, then leave them in a light area, not direct sunlight, to grow sprouts and let the open tuber heal before planting. Have you read about chitting the potatoes?

ericam 8/25/2012, 9:53 pm

Thanks camprn, I did read about chitting but I was curious as to what most people did as from what I've read some cut some don't.

I was also a bit confused about when to cut them. Do you cut them and wait for sprouts or do you wait for the sprout then cut and keep it out to grow a bit more and for the cut to dry?

Does that make sense? Not sure I worded that too well but I had a late night last night and even though it's now nearly 12pm my brain still isn't functioning well!

**camprn** 8/25/2012, 9:56 pm

I wait to cut them up until I see some growth at the eyes. That way I know how many pieces I can get out of that potato. After cutting, certainly allow the open tuber to heal and for a bit of a skin before planting. OOooooh I'm so excited you are getting your garden going! bounce

On the package of the potato bags, how many do they suggest planting?

ericam 8/25/2012, 11:10 pm

Just went and looked and the packaging just says to plant them 20cm apart, since the diameter is 36cm I guess I treat each bag like a square foot and do 4 in each.

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