Seed Potatoes

[Shallot Man]

Seed Potatoes arrived, I feel that seed potatoes 4inches long [sorry I am still imperial] are a bit on the large size. The label size them as 35mmx60mm.
I know I could cut them lengthwise prior to planting. But I think this will be the last time I send away for seed potatoes. Shallotman

[John]

Hello Shallot Man
Can I ask where you got your pots from?
I'm still waiting for mine from Tuckers but can't say I'm in any hurry for them at the moment. They have always been very good on size and quality (and price).

John

[Shallot Man]

Hi John, From "Kings" via our allotment society, if I had not been so lazy and driven 4/5 miles, I could have selected each potato individually by hand from wooden barrels at a nursery. No fool like an old fool. Shallotman

[alan refail]

John
My potatoes are also coming from Tuckers, as for some years past. I have never had any complaints, in fact I have been pleased at the small size of tubers - after all the smaller the tuber the more to the 3 kilo bag

SM
Seed potatoes 4 inches (100 mm) long are a rip-off. After chitting all you need are the shoots. Large seed potatoes just cost a fortune to transport, and make the growers a nice, undeserved profit. If saving your own potatoes for seed, or buying, the traditional advice is to chose tubers the size of an egg (approx 60mmx40mm). In years gone by I used to bring seed potatoes home from France - most of them were half that size and always grew brilliantly.
I believe that in World War 2, to save transport costs, potato eyes were sold. I have heard that this is still done in USA. It would be interesting to hear anyone else can add to this.

[Shallot Man]

Hi Alan. In WW2 I cannot recall as a boy having seed potatoes, my late mum would cut about an inch down from the sprouting head, these were left face down for a few days to callous, then would be chitted on in the normal way. Shallotman

[Shallot Man]

Hi Alan, would make more sense if I had said cut face up for a few days. [senile decay setting in] Shallotman

[alan refail]

SM
You sound the same vintage as me.
We used to do the similar with seed potatoes - we certainly couldn't buy them. My grandfather used to cut up the tubers and rub the cut side on the earth, then plant it. I don't recall any failures.

Old Welsh saying:

Henach henach, ffolach ffolach.
They older you get the dafter you get.

[Bren]

My mother always saved her potatoes for seed, she used to cut the potato into sections and left them to chit, we never bought any seed, but we needed alot as my father planted a whole field of them, They always sprayed against blight, but had no other problems or diseases.

Martha

[John]

Hello again Shallot Man
If your early seed potato is a bit on the large size, I don't think it matters too much. If the plants tops are knocked back by a late frost then plants grown from a larger tuber will recover quickly and grow on well because there's still plenty of energy in reserves underground. You won't fare nearly as well with plants grown from small tubers. With larger tubers just rub out the weaker chits to leave 3 or strong ones for growing on.

John

[Shallot Man]

I agree, but when you buy graded potatoes 35mm x 60mm you do not expect to receive 100mm. [conversion courtesy Alan Refail]if all had been the size I paid for, I would have received more. Shallotman

[alan refail]

Hi Shallot Man

Further to my first post, here is an Amaerican take on the seed potato situation. It is from William Woys Weaver,Heirloom Vegetable Gardening,Henry Holt, New York, 1997.

"Regardless of the variety, all potatoes are planted essentially the same way. Seed potatoes...are cut into pieces, each with an "eye"... These eyes produce shoots that develop into plants. There is no real advantage to planting a whole potato instead of an eye. The only exception is in ground with very poor soil. In moderately rich ground, potatoes should be cut in half or quartered, otherwise cut them into eyes. I tried planting whole potatoes one year... With some varieties the resulting crop produced fewer potatoes than those planted from eyes."

He is talking about Pennsylvania, which I don't think is one of the hotter places in the US. At least the current max. temperatures there are just above freezing.

There is a lot of very interesting American info. Try googling "Growing potatoes from eyes"

[Shallot Man]

Hi Alan, If you carry on in this vein, I can see the potato seed producers putting a hit contract out on you. Shallot Man

[alan refail]

And there was I trying to get back in their good books after saving my own seed stock for years.

I hope my order from Tuckers this year doesn't consist of giant spuds