Potatoes – using last years sprouting ones

[Gary.J.Kelsey]

Hello All

Just wondering whether to use some of my stored potatoes that are now starting to sprout as temperatures rise. Some say no because of diseases. What are peoples thoughts?

Many Thanks
Gary

[Don Foley]

Hi Gary,
What do you mean by “use them”? Plant them or eat them?
Don.

[charles]

I think its safest to grow plants from your own saved potatoes for one year, i.e. buy new seed every second year, to avoid any risk of virus building up.
However some save seed continuously.
So Gary on that basis you could plant those potatoes, depending what seed they grew from.

[Rhys]

I’m having a go this year using my own saved Desiree and Sarpo Mira. We’ll see how things turn out….

[Gary.J.Kelsey]

To plant out possibly. Yes, they were shop bought last year from Wilko, so I will plant some. I have purchase a small sample of other varieties, so it will be interesting to see how they fair against each other.

Thanks for your feedback.

[John]

I have pink for apple, salad blue, Gourmandine and Kerr pinks saved from last year. I will plant them but watch. Has anyone ever planted true potato seed (TPS) before…I am about to sow some in pots until the weather improves.

[Cleansweep]

In a ideal world ,bought seed potatoes would be 100% healthy, disease free, undamaged, well stored and true to type. However, it is dependant on selection,storage,handling, integrity and freedom from human error.
Regarding your saved potatoes, if you can identify and exclude defective tubers, knowing that all your crop has survived since harvest without any problems, and that each used potato was sound when cut through,that your competance is equal to the average grower, then you are in a sound position to utilise the ‘survivors’ as ‘seed’
Unfortunately ,in my experience, paying in the region of £4 per 2 Kg does not enhance the certainty of success.

[Rhys]

I have deliberately saved smaller tubers of Desiree and Sarpo Mira the past three years and crop yields are becoming more uniform. The tubers saved are of the same size, disease free. I have not yet tried saving early potatoes but my experience sith purchased tubers is that it is those which vary the most.

[Harry]

I saved several SETANTA potatoes from my 2016 allotment harvest and replanted them, after chitting, in April 2017.
I had a bumper crop of very large tubers. I will try them again this year – from saved seed.

[CraigJemy]

I have also saved a lot of mine that sprouted. I can’t tell which is which, so no idea if early or main crop. What do you guys think? Wait a little then plant all at same time?

[charles]

The most-sprouting are more likely to be first early so plant first, and the least-sprouting last in 3-4 weeks time.

[CraigJemy]

Thank you Charles!

[John]

I have to say that our saved pink fir apple are reasonably big and are now going into their third year of planting. It is the third year for self saved Kerr pinks too

[Author]

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