Supermarket taters may be treated not to sprout ... peel one, put it in the dark if it sprouts, ok. I threw peels in the compost and they sprouted .. instant potatoes. Seed potatotes may be best.

If you had younger children involved you could call them The Tater Tots. The old response to this question is that supermarket spuds may be treated to retard sprouting. Check on that planting time, if it's too late for them to do much I'd skip it. Meanwhile, you can even get the buttery yellow potatoes by the bag at CostCo.

I have planted taters on St Patrick's day for as long as I can remember. What I can't recall is when I harvest! I know it's still balmy out as there's a ritual roasting of the first spuds in the fire pit, and the punkins are still green. Taters are cheap and absolutely the most fun to harvest...why not try? If you buy organic spuds, they won't be treated.

Hi Eric,

Seed potatoes are certified to be free of disease & are recommended over grocery store spuds. I personally doubt you'll be hit with the great potato famine if you grow a few of the latter. I just checked the garage...I have several spuds in a bag that are definitely sprouting. I'll send you an email.

Patrick

My DH found seed taters marked down because it's the end of the season. They went in just over a week ago and are coming up now. I don't think it's too late and they are good for newly broken soil. Keep the weeds down too. Good luck.

I grow some potatoes every year and often use my own saved seed potatoes from the previous year with success. The problem with them is that potatoes are subject to many diseases which certified seed is meant to avoid (but doesn't always!). Advice I've seen is that one will surely encounter future problems if they try to use "saves" for three or more years. Most common problem I encounter is late blight, which occurs when the potato vines are rained on while its still warm in October. That's the reason for early planting, but if you are most interested in "new" potatoes, like me, late planting is fine - just plan on digging everything in October before it starts raining again.
John

My reds are blooming and the whites are growing, for some reason they got off to a slower start. I planted spuds from the grocery store partly because they were already sprouting. I may plant more. I don't intend to try to grow tons of them for storage but do like the new taters, yum! My understanding (and I could well have it wrong) is to avoid planting in the same spot year after year to help avoid problems. They'll also grow in a large planter.

Two things I did last year that gave us a bumper crop of potatos (150+ pounds in our relatively small garden): mulched with alfalfa hay, and , while my granddaughter was helping me plant them I told her that they were baby potatos that would grow into mama potatos and make lots more babies, so she started kissing them as she put them in the ground! I'm certain that was the secret.

Good thing you weren't trying to grow toads.

I have yet to buy potatos from the store that didn't sprout before I had a chance to use them all :)

Hi Eric,
the West Seattle nursery has seed potatoes still.
Since I have very little space left I grow potatoes in a trash can [devoted to them specifically]. They do ok but I'm sure better results would be in the ground.

I think its like store bought garlic for seeding, they never get as big as the untreated seed type.
I have planted them as late as now, go for it.

I have had wonderful luck growing potatoes in a garbage can with the bottom cut off. I plant the taters in the dirt under the can and keep adding shredded leaves mixed with a small amount of grass clipping as the plants grow. I keep adding that until the can is full to the top and then just keep the plants moist until the tops die off. Harvesting them is a snap, as you just pull the can off and they all fall out into a heap. I've grown remarkable amounts this way.n If you don't have leaves you can use straw that you've shredded.

Heather

This is all great info. I especially like the last method. Do they get enough light this way, being at the bottom of the can? Is it too late to start this method this year?
Thanks to all!
ERIC

eric, my experience is that they did NOT get enought light at the bottom of the container and that's why it works, presumably. The plants grow to the top looking for light and leave bunches of tubers along the way. once they get to the top, the plants start getting all lush, like they are saying "Aaaaahhhh, light!!" As for whether it's too late, I don't know the answer to that one. maybe ask in the veggie forum?

heather

great tiP AND also a great way to save space.......going to try that one for sure,

Not sure why this old thread got resurrected, but...

I just harvested a pathetic crop of spuds. Early this summer, little baby slugs showed up on my potato plants and within a week, the little buggars had completely eaten all but two plants. I had one Bison and one Peruvian Purple survive, and they yielded just enough spuds to overwinter for next year's seed. *whimper*

I use Ciscoe's method (see link below). I have two garbage cans and one 3x3x3 bin (actually one of the old wooden slat compost bins that Bellevue was giving out about 15 years ago).

I usually have a ton of spuds.

I have gotten seed from Ronnigers.com, Irish-eyes.com, and a couple of local nurseries. Actually, NOW is the time to pre-order if you want something special for next spring.

About when to harvest: Ciscoe says to wait until the stalks die back, then wait another two weeks after that. I've waited even longer, and the tubers seem to keep just fine in the dirt, as long as you don't have any bugs in the soil that start to munch on them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ciscoe Morris' page on growing potatoes.

My Uncle Henry told me forty years ago that it was time to plant taters when the dandelions bloom. It's always worked for me.