Seed Potato Dilemma

Sawdust

Sawdust

Jim from Kentucky
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I know some do & some don't but how many of you let your potatoes scale over before you plant. If so how long. Fours years out here in the country & only one good year for potatoes. That was the first year & my wife cut the spuds & planted right away, bountiful harvest. Last year I planted twice & they rotted. This year planted three 40' rows & only a few have came up. I dug up a few places yesterday & found they've rotted again. The only thing different we've done is the three times planted with rot we let them scale over a couple of days before planting. Before we moved out here it had been 30 plus years of no garden because of living in the city. We were so excited the first year we actually forgot about letting them scale over before planting. Each year it's been different places we planted. Let me know what you do.
 
I noticed only sitting in the sun for a day & planting the next they took on a black color on the cut side. I'm going to pick up some more tomorrow, cut & plant.
 
I cut the potatoes into sets, or seeds, and try to have at least two eyes or more. And when I cut them for planting time, I pit them out in the sun, and let them scale or dry until they are dry to the touch, then in the ground they go. I had some potatoes up thru the ground last year about two to six inches. Frost came third week of June, all plants were black, firgued they were done. But no, they all came back and grew. I have never had rotting trouble. Hehe, maybe I will this year.

Noel
 
I have done both, and neither method seems to affect the resulting amount of taters.

What does affect my crop is the amount of rain we get. Too much, they rot. In the area of "rain but not too much", the wetter it is the less taters we get.

This year, I planted in the high end of our garden spot to ensure good drainage. Glad I did, because we have had a TON of rain. I will poke around and see how they are doing sometime this week. Tops look excellent!

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I planted my garden on May 11, only about half of my seeds came up, the others rotted. I planted some different squash type plants, half of them rotted. We are getting so much rain and my garden is partly clay. I'll be lucky if everything doesn't drown.
 
TAHOE said:
I planted my garden on May 11, only about half of my seeds came up, the others rotted. I planted some different squash type plants, half of them rotted. We are getting so much rain and my garden is partly clay. I'll be lucky if everything doesn't drown.
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Same thing here Marty. I think between so much rain & these didnt have a lot of eyes they didn't have a chance.
 
I stopped at a local nursery about 45 minutes from home for some more seed potatoes. They only had three varieties left. Yukon Gold I've heard of but the other two I haven't Red Norman, & Pearl Red. I got eight pounds of each. I basically hoed out a trench in the same rows.I did cut & let them dry for an hour or so then planted.
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I've never dried my potatoes. I cut them into chunks with at least an eye, or two, on them and drop them in my furrow. I hill them two to three times while they are growing. Neither my granddaddy or my daddy ever dried theirs either. PawPaw did plant by the signs and always had great gardens when his neighbors didn't do so well.
 
Yukon gold are a great tasteing potato and store very well. The other two I’ve never heard of.
Why don’t you go to the grocery store and buy the ones you like to eat. Cut them up and plant them.

Noel
 
Propane1 said:
Yukon gold are a great tasteing potato and store very well. The other two I’ve never heard of.
Why don’t you go to the grocery store and buy the ones you like to eat. Cut them up and plant them.

Noel
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Most store bought potatoes are treated with a sprout inhibitor. Seed potatoes are certified for planting purposes only. I'm sure if you planted store bought with eyes they would grow. I wouldn't think the yield would be that good.
 
Sawdust is right, grocery store potatoes are sprayed with spout inhibitor, that's why grocery store potatoes look so different in January/February then the best keep home-stored potato look completely different. Actually, potatoes are one the worst veg to buy due to pesticide/miticides/fungicides used. Soils are fumigated for blights, sprayed for weed control, neo-nics are sprayed onto seed potato and absorbed into tuber and become systemic for Colorado potato beetle control...it goes on and on. Potatoes are then sprayed in the storage bins for sprout control and fungicides to prevent rot.

That is why I grow my potatoes. I don't do to save money...as it is a losing proposition, it is for health reasons.
 
Are they Red Norlands? If so I think they are just a larger variety of the Red Pearl. More "normal" sized.

The Red Pearls are small 2" or so diameter potatoes. My wife buys them slices them in half, boils them about 3/4 the way, then throws them in the oven with garlic, butter, and other spices. They are amazing....
 
Toomanytoys84 said:
Are they Red Norlands? If so I think they are just a larger variety of the Red Pearl. More "normal" sized.

The Red Pearls are small 2" or so diameter potatoes. My wife buys them slices them in half, boils them about 3/4 the way, then throws them in the oven with garlic, butter, and other spices. They are amazing....
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That's funny Aaron my wife told me last night no such thing as a norman. I didn't tell her I never had my glasses. She said last night norland was probably what we have. Thanks
 
Shotgun Wedding said:
Sawdust is right, grocery store potatoes are sprayed with spout inhibitor, that's why grocery store potatoes look so different in January/February then the best keep home-stored potato look completely different. Actually, potatoes are one the worst veg to buy due to pesticide/miticides/fungicides used. Soils are fumigated for blights, sprayed for weed control, neo-nics are sprayed onto seed potato and absorbed into tuber and become systemic for Colorado potato beetle control...it goes on and on. Potatoes are then sprayed in the storage bins for sprout control and fungicides to prevent rot.
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This ought to be a pin. In addition, every generation saved from seed potatoes becomes increasingly prone to diseases.
 
TAHOE said:
I planted my garden on May 11, only about half of my seeds came up, the others rotted. I planted some different squash type plants, half of them rotted. We are getting so much rain and my garden is partly clay. I'll be lucky if everything doesn't drown.
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Refering to my previous posts about Ruth Stout the mulching lady; if you used her method of growing potatoes(lay them on the ground and pile 6" of straw to cover), it might be an aid in case of excessive rain.
 
I kinda figured they were norland. I don’t grow them any more. Wire worm seems to love them.

The Yukon gold I bought two weeks ago at the grocery store had small sprouts in the eyes.

I didn’t think they were allowed to spray potatoes any more to keep the eyes from sprouting. Health reasons.

But what do I know.

Noel
 
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