potatoes for next year

[Casha'sMommy]

I've never grown potatoes before, we've been planning to do this in 2012.

I bough some really lovely pink flesh potatoes from a farmer last year and still have a few left.

Here's my question, how can I keep these babies until they can go in the ground? OR Can I start them in the house now/soon in order to plant the plants later this year?

TIA

Cate

[kitchensqueen]

If they're still holding up well in your current storage for them, there's a good chance they'll hold until planting time. Whereabouts are you - a warmer or colder part of the country? Since potatoes produce tubers, they're not a plant that can easily be started in a pot and then transplanted? Just keep them dry and away from the light and I bet you can get them in the ground in a few months. :-)

[Chicky2]

Yup, what she said.  I would hang onto them.  Before you plant, cut them into pieces, w/eyes on each piece, and let them dry a few days to a week before you plant.

[laohaire]

I'm no expert, but I did this last year. I successfully grew potatoes using the ones from my CSA that sprouted before I used them.

Some notes for the benefit of others reading this: you don't do this with typical grocery store potatoes, as they are sprayed with a sprout-inhibiter (not to mention a bunch of other stuff, ugh). Also, if you plan to breed potatoes, starting from non certified "seed" is not recommended for reasons I have forgotten. But for someone who just wants to stuff some potatoes under the ground and dig em up later? Good enough.

I cut mine into pieces so there was one sprout per piece. I buried mine as deep as I could, allowing for the length of the sprout. Hill them up as they grow, so they are buried deeper and deeper.

They are very forgiving. I had no idea what I was doing and still got a crop. There were potato beetles that eventually ate the plants to the ground. I still got a crop. I'm sure I could do BETTER if I knew what I was doing, but the point is just that you don't really have to know.

[Chicky2]

This year I'm going to take scrap pieces of fencing we have (some welded wire, some goat, some chicken wire) and make a round pen.  I'll layer the bottom and sides (up to the top of the soil) w/newspaper, and plant my potatoes.  I'll add barn rakings straight to the potato pens as the plant grow (same as hilling).  When it's time to harvest I should be able to simply cut the wire holding the pen shut and knock over my hill of potatoes and let the kids find them all.  Don't see why it won't work, and our barn rakings are all cold manure, so straight onto the plants they go.

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Also, if you plan to breed potatoes, starting from non certified "seed" is not recommended for reasons I have forgotten.

If you mean actual seeds, it's not recommended because potatoes won't grow true to type when seeds are planted; the only way to get true to type potatoes is via propagating the tuber. 

[laohaire]

Yeah, that's why I put quotes around "seed" - people seem to refer to sprouted tuber pieces as "seed." And in fact if you order it online you'll get tuber pieces.