Anyone planting potatoes? Or whatnot?

Windmills

I don't use Johnnyseeds.com anymore. They tend to deal in hybrid varieties, which are poor choices for seed saving. You sometimes end up with sterile seeds in the next generation or plants whose traits don't hold up well. I think it's better to try local, organic heirloom seeds.

GoghGoner · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 10, 2008 Posts: 80

Okay, I have my seed potatoes and tires but I cannot find any info on how to save and use my own seed potatoes? Anybody got the knowledge? I would like to plant my own next year instead of ordering it on the web.

bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 387

When you dig your potatoes just store them well. I've got a big box of small potatoes left over from last summer's crop that are now sprouting like mad. If you can't keep them over the winter just replant some in the Fall, they'll sit in the ground all winter and start sprouting in the Spring. Once you've grown them in a spot for a while it's actually kind of hard to get rid of them. I planted mine about 3 weeks ago and there's just as many sprouts coming up in the walkways as in the beds because of all the small potatoes left in the ground from last year.

My experiment this year is a fall crop. Didn't get around to it last year, have been told that if I plant in early September and water well I can get a second crop around Thanksgiving.

WisJim

For potatoes, saving the seed potatoes for the following year, remember that you want to save them from the hills that did the best. A small potato from a hill that did well would be better seed next year than a big potato from a hill with few potatoes. In other words, save seed from plants that produced the most, just like you would save your regular vegetable seed from a productive healthy plant, not pick out the nicest looking seed (such as from beans or other plants.)