potatoes

http://www.rachaelray.com/2011/08/is-it-safe-to-eat-sprouted-potatoes

It is such a bummer because you pay an arm and a leg for organic potatoes at the store!

Can I put the discarded potatoes in the compost pile?

You can, but don't be surprised if they start growing there! :-)

I've heard that some people take them and just plant them when they sprout.  If I had anywhere to do that this time of year, I'd certainly try it.

That's how Mrs TD grew potatoes last year. She cut the sprouting potatoes into pieces so that each piece had a at least one sprout and then planted the chunks in regular soil. Here is some of what she got with virtually no effort. 

Hmmmmm, interesting! So I can use some of my harvested potatoes to plant my garden? I wasn't sure if the toxin would taint the compost pile? But if you ate them with no side effects, good news!

Good for her!!

I was given a bag of lovely home-grown potatoes last year by my neighbour,put them somewhere and for the life of me I could not find them.

A few minutes ago I went into my second bedroom which is, quite frankly, a tip, and found them while looking for an empty box.  

(As an aside:  my friend's young grandson visited last summer and he did not want to leave as he said. "Isn't this an interesting house and garden, Grandma?  Can we stay a bit longer?") His Granma's garden is immaculate. No compost heaps for her.

Back to the topic.  I am going to re-pack them in a storage box with a covering of peat and place them in my utility room that has only the heat from the furnace working.  Potatoes kept well there the year before last.  These pots have only just started to sprout and they are still nice and firm.  I could eat them if I wanted but it would be a waste of good seed potatoes. They look like Yukon Golds to me.

My last 3 Yukon Gold just came up from the basement this past weekend. Put a few into some beef veg soup, partially sprouted but still firm. Some had open middles, they went to the compost pile. I love my spuds! I did 2 squares last year, will double at least! Good article!

I'm busily contemplating my spring garden.  That is, when this bronchitis doesn't have me coughing and hacking!

Anyway, I've been planting my potatoes four per square, and I haven't been too happy with my yields.

Has anyone tried planting two per square foot?  I like to grow several varieties, have many tiny potatoes from last season to plant, and hope to order a pound each of a couple of different varieties soon.  Currently, I have two 2' x 4' x 12" beds and two or three trugs that could be used for this purpose.

Thoughts?

Donna, I planted 1 whole seed potato per square, 2 squares, and had a nice mix of sizes, about 3-4# I would say.  I will do that again.

The ones clustered towards the middle are larger than my fist. Should have put something in for scale...that container is 18" diameter. That is from my 2 taters in 2 squares.

Scorpio Rising wrote:Here ya go!

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/search?search_keywords=Potatoes&typerecherche=interne&show_results=topics

And there are 3 pages if you search the archives for singular potato!  Lol

LOL! Did a search on "potato", found this thread, clicked on this link, and now I'm back to my search for potato. 

My problem is that I can't find a reliable source for seed potatoes until March. By June we could be hitting triple-digits. According to a source linked to here (Mother Earth News):

The most important thing to remember is that potatoes are a cool-season crop. They simply can’t take a lot of heat and can actually die in temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, my original question was if it's okay to plant those tiny potatoes that are too small to cook (grape size). I guess the answer will have to be "yes" because that's all I'm going to get unless I wait until next fall to plant potatoes I'll have to buy in the spring and hang onto until August. 

countrynaturals wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Here ya go!

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/search?search_keywords=Potatoes&typerecherche=interne&show_results=topics

And there are 3 pages if you search the archives for singular potato!  Lol

LOL! Did a search on "potato", found this thread, clicked on this link, and now I'm back to my search for potato. 

My problem is that I can't find a reliable source for seed potatoes until March. By June we could be hitting triple-digits. According to a source linked to here (Mother Earth News):

The most important thing to remember is that potatoes are a cool-season crop. They simply can’t take a lot of heat and can actually die in temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, my original question was if it's okay to plant those tiny potatoes that are too small to cook (grape size). I guess the answer will have to be "yes" because that's all I'm going to get unless I wait until next fall to plant potatoes I'll have to buy in the spring and hang onto until August. 

I think I found my answer:

Mother Earth News wrote:To greensprout your potatoes, start about four weeks before you expect soil temps to reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Place uncut tubers in a dark spot at 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit for about a week. Then move the spuds to a cooler location (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit) and expose them to light for about three weeks. The light will make the sprouts turn green and stay stocky.

If they don't form sprouts, they're too small for seeds, right?

countrynaturals wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Here ya go!

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/search?search_keywords=Potatoes&typerecherche=interne&show_results=topics

And there are 3 pages if you search the archives for singular potato!  Lol

LOL! Did a search on "potato", found this thread, clicked on this link, and now I'm back to my search for potato. 

My problem is that I can't find a reliable source for seed potatoes until March. By June we could be hitting triple-digits. According to a source linked to here (Mother Earth News):

The most important thing to remember is that potatoes are a cool-season crop. They simply can’t take a lot of heat and can actually die in temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, my original question was if it's okay to plant those tiny potatoes that are too small to cook (grape size). I guess the answer will have to be "yes" because that's all I'm going to get unless I wait until next fall to plant potatoes I'll have to buy in the spring and hang onto until August. 

I think I found my answer:

Mother Earth News wrote:To greensprout your potatoes, start about four weeks before you expect soil temps to reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Place uncut tubers in a dark spot at 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit for about a week. Then move the spuds to a cooler location (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit) and expose them to light for about three weeks. The light will make the sprouts turn green and stay stocky.

If they don't form sprouts, they're too small for seeds, right?

Now I'm reading that they need to go dormant before they'll sprout, so they should go into the fridge for a month before I greensprout them?