I FINALLY got my see potatoes from Moose Tubers - a little late for this area, but if they were ready, I could still get them in.
Here's my dilemma... In the past I've received cut potatoes with eyes, easy to figure out what to do with them. This time, however, i received 2 2.5 bags of potates - sans eyes!!! (Ok, there are some VERY beginning eyes, but nothing I would consider earth ready.)
What do I do to hurry them along???
Potato concern
put them in the dark in a room temp environment but NOT WET. or, just cut them up and plant anyway in pieces with at least one starting eye on each. they take a little longer to push through but i've often used potatoes that we forgot about under the cupboard and they worked just fine. if it's too early in your area to be done with all the heavy frosts, that's to your benefit as by the time they are visible should be at just the right time.
The white kennebecs I got from Ronninger's didn't have very many sprouts when I cut and planted them. I just made sure each piece had a couple of eye-wannabes on them and planted. They took longer to come up than the pieces that already had a good start on the growth, but they did come up eventually and are doing great! So, if you don't have time to let them sit for a week or two, go ahead and cut and plant.
Our ground is totally workable and the potatoes and onions really should have been planted out a couple of weeks ago. I'm really relieved to hear that I don't have a major issue! My friend and I were like, Geez...maybe we should just eat these and plant the ones in the cupboards - those are much more ready to go!!!
Thank you both - I will be MUCH more comfortable planting them now!
Same here Sequee... My Yukon Golds didn't have any real eyes, just eye wannabees. Like Steph's they took longer to emerge from the soil, but now I really can't tell any difference. Once the green sprouts emerged they took off and caught up to the early emergers in a big 'ol hurry... So plant 'em and fagitaboutit!
From your mouth to God's ears - let 'em rip!
I've heard that when you cut them, you should coat them with wood ash and leave them out for a few days on a tray in low-light.
Does anyone do that?
nope, never heard of it, we always just cut them and planted asap. it would be a fun experiment to try a select group of them and see if you notice any difference. i've noticed that if i wasn't able to plant them immediately after cutting that they start to shrivel - that could be because i'm in a desert climate though and maybe isn't a concern for other people.
Never heard about the wood ash, but leaving them sit a couple days after cutting is to let them callus up and reduces rot when they go into the ground.
Still waiting for my 'tatoes too - email'd and they said that they weren't shipping to my zone yet - even though everyone around here has already planted.
That's the conundrum..."they" ship according to "their" schedule, meanwhile my neighbors, the locals, have already planted.
Hopefully "we" will catch up.
Meanwhile, I shall cut and an "treat" and prepare them for planting.
The wood ash is supposed to act like a fungicide while they callus, I leave mine over night before planting. I think it reduces rot, I've actually found seed pieces when harvesting. Ric
How do you know when you've found a seed potato?
This message was edited Apr 19, 2010 1:01 PM
Try Ronniger's - they ship when YOU want them to.
Ronninger's is the best. Don't forget if you are a senior or master gardener they give you 10% off.
Sequee, I found a quatered potato attached to the plant, I'm sure it was the "seed". Ric
Gotcha - they probably don't grow in quarters! LOL!