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POTATO GUIDES

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Growing your own potato can be a fantastic way to become more self - sufficient . But can you farm potatoes from store - bought potatoes ?

The answer is that yes , youcangrow potatoes from storage - buy potatoes – but a proficient question is perhaps whether doing so is a good idea .

potatoes on a wooden surface with a bag in the background

Late blight

You might be attracted by the idea of planting store - bought potatoes rather than buying seed potato – but this may not always be the most sensible selection , and you might not always achieve the good results .

We ’ll help you decide whether or not this is the best option for you , help you choose potato varieties , and explain how to make and plant them in your garden .

Why Grow From Store-Bought Potatoes?

Growing potatoesfrom memory board - bought potatoes can be alluring .

It is a much more affordable option than buying extra seed potatoes for the purpose .

Store - bought potato are ordinarily inexpensive , and you will often have to pay off more for seed potatoes .

potato scraps with eyes

What is more , you do n’t even necessarily have to plant the whole of a buy potato in the ground .

you’re able to also run through some of a potato and plant small refuse with ‘ eyes ’ on them once you are done .

Using scraps to grow new food can be a beneficial way to deoxidize waste and to get started with grow your own for less .

Late blight on potatoes

Late blight

If you successfully grow intelligent tubers the first twelvemonth , you may potentially make unnecessary tubers from your own organically grow plants to plant the undermentioned year .

Why It’s Not Always A Good Idea

Unfortunately , while it may be allure to grow from shop - bought potatoes , this is not always a good idea .

The independent reason is that shop - buy potatoes are not certified seminal fluid potato , which means that they can acquaint harmful Irish potato disease into your stain which will be unmanageable , or even near inconceivable , to get free of once they get .

murphy can be infected with a range of soil - carry fungal diseases such as wilt , shameful acid and – worst of all , Solanum tuberosum blight , which can be a peculiar job here in the UK .

leaves of potato plant suffering from wilt

“ Certified germ Irish potato are disease - free , meaning that you are starting with a blank slate whereas you may import disease on certified potatoes , ” part Colin Skelly , a Horticultural Consultant .

“ Viruses are a major cause of   damage   to potato crops and can not be tackled by the family grower other than by nullify them in the first place by grease one’s palms demonstrate stock .

“ Diseases can of course of action find their manner onto the tater once they ’re in the ground but start from an assurance that you are n’t introducing them is a secure style to go . ”

an old potato that has been sprayed with sprout inhibitor

tuber can moulder in the ground before they even sprout , and the micro - organisms which cause the problem will remain in the territory and have in mind that you may not grow potatoes or any other susceptible plant in this produce area for a number of years .

In the yesteryear in the UK ( and presently in North America and other legal power ) another reason why it is not a good melodic theme to use entrepot - bought potatoes is that potato for sales agreement were ( are ) often treated with a sprout inhibitor call off Chlorpropham.1University of Hertfordshire . ( n.d.).Chlorpropham . Pesticide Properties DataBase . call back March 23 , 2023 , fromhttps://sitem.herts.ac.uk/aeru/ppdb/en/Reports/153.htm

This has been banned in the EU and UK since 2019 and was prohibited for sales agreement from January 2020.2Chlorpropham ( CIPC ) banned by the EU . ( n.d . ) . NFU . find March 23 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.nfuonline.com/archive?treeid=119530

young plant growing from a potato just visible poking from soil

However , it is still used in North America .

Chlorpropham will rinse and tire out off over sentence , and sometimes , buy potatoes would still spud after a certain time period , but this sum last out in the environment for a longsighted time and may bioaccumulate .

It has been detect in white potato even after they are boiled.3Sakaliene , O. , Koskinen , W. C. , Blazauskiene , G. , & Petroviene , I. ( 2008 ) . story and fate of chlorpropham in potatoes during storage and processing . Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part B - Pesticides Food Contaminants and Agricultural Wastes,44(1 ) , 1–6.https://doi.org/10.1080/03601230802519470

potato plant growing from large grow bag

Therefore , if you live somewhere ( outside of the UK ) where a sprout - inhibitor is used , we would certainly not recommend choose to develop from potatoes on which it was used .

Is It A Good Idea For You?

Whether or not you should grow potatoes from store - buy white potato vine very much depends on your priorities , and on how much risk you are happy to take in your garden .

First thing first , think about where you have purchased your Irish potato .

Organic potatoes produced by local , sustainable farmers on a local farm will belike pose far less of a risk than those from a major supermarket store .

seed potatoes in a basket

If your budget is very tight , growing from storage - bought potato may sometimes be a better choice than not growing at all .

So while it does come with risk of diseases , it can still sometimes be worthwhile to take that risk .

If you do adjudicate to grow from shop - bought white potato vine or potato flake , we would recommend growingin containersorgrow bags .

Potatoes chitting in egg cartons

Potatoes chitting in egg cartons

That way , at least you know that you will not be introduce diseases to your garden territory .

The following yr , providing that you have not encountered any effect , you could look at save up back a few of the tubers to constitute in a larger garden area the next year , to save more money in your garden actuate forward .

Just think to do harvest rotary motion to ensure that you do not make up disease , and think that you may still get proficient results if you purchase in certified semen murphy instead .

hand planting a sprouting potato into soil

Choosing Seed Potatoes

If you would rather not take the peril , and can yield to do so , choosing and purchasing certified seed murphy is certainly the adept option .

recall to do your research and guess about which potatoes you like to eat , and how you care to fake them .

There are first other , 2nd early and maincrop potatoes which are typically harvest at dissimilar time , and at different size .

It is always best to verify that you purchase through a trustworthy provider , and to select organic seed potatoes where potential .

seeded player potato sold in England and Wales must be register under the Seed Potato Classification Scheme ( SPCS ) certified by DEFRA4The Seed Potato Classification Scheme . ( 2022 , October 12 ) . GOV.UK . think March 23 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-seed-potato-classification-scheme , and those in Scotland under a separate SPCS , certify by SASA.5Seed & Ware Potatoes | SASA ( Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture ) . ( n.d . ) . Retrieved March 23 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.sasa.gov.uk/seed-ware-potatoes

These schemes assure that the ejaculate murphy run across specified minimum wellness and tone standard .

These seed potatoes must be healthy , true to variety and free from potpourri – guarantees which you will obviously not get if you plant random white potato from the shop class .

How To Chit Potatoes

While not strictly essential , it can in my public opinion be a good idea to chit Solanum tuberosum before you implant them in the ground or put them in containers .

Whether you are using stock - bought or certified germ potatoes , this can tolerate you to swan that the tubers have sprouted with green shoots before you place them below the ground .

Chitting potatoes begins too soon in the year , when you only order the Solanum tuberosum or certified cum white potato vine on a cool yet bright windowsill to sprout green shoot from the small dimple known as centre .

You should do this around 6 - 8 weeks before you plan to establish out your tater .

Planting Store-Bought Potatoes

In leaping , when the time fare to found out your potatoes where you live , simply prepare your growing area or containers and cautiously transfer your white potato vine to the place where they are to produce .

Just be measured not to strike hard off the shoots if you chitted them first .

Put them into place with the shoot facing upwards , then gently cover them over with soil/ potting medium .

For better results , you should see add up some comfrey leave or other organic textile into the planting hole to provide fertility .

Then simply irrigate them into place .

Seeour computer storage guidelinesfor tips on go along potatoes quick to eat .

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