Quickstarting potato eyes?!

I was late getting my potatoes for fall in the pantry! Any ideas for getting the eyes to develop faster? I have a two week window before they need to be in...

If you mean that you want to see the eyes sprouting first before you plant your seed potatoes, that's not necessary. If they are large, cut them up with two or three eyes on each piece. If they are small, you can leave the seed potato whole. The ones that you cut, leave them sitting somewhere (kitchen counter or wherever that is handy) for a day or two until the cut portion scabs over, then plant them.

Karen

Usually I save a few of my uglier red potatoes from the grocery store in the pantry for 3-4 weeks til the eyes really start producing. I haven't been able to get fall crop 'seed' potatoes and haven't really trusted that anything from the grocery store will grow unless it's really old... It sounds like I should be fine though. Thanks! What does letting them scab over do? I've heard of it, but never been able to find out...

Usually potatoes from the grocery store are treated with something that will retard sprouting. Of course, if they sprouted anyway, then you know they will grow. It's my understanding that organic potatoes at the grocery store do not have that treatment, and you should be fine with them as seed potatoes. I ordered potatoes the other day and got them in no time at all. I ordered from Potato Garden, but these are the same folks as Ronninger's Potatoes. They have many varieties still in stock: https://stores.myregisteredsite.com/user1433018/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=PG

Scab over -- OK, this is when you cut the potato in half or sometimes even quarters because it's a large potato. You only need a piece that has 3-4 eyes on it. When you cut it, these cut edges are raw and oozing potato juice. So, if you plant them like that, they will rot. You put them somewhere, bench in the garage, kitchen counter, whatever, and in a day or two these cut edges will be dried (scabbed over). Then they will not rot when you plant them.

BTW: Here's a first aid tip using potato juice. If someone is frying and has hot oil pop into his or her eye, grab a potato and grate it immediately. Don't bother stopping to peel it, just grate it ASAP. When you have about a half-teaspoon of grated potato, pick it up and squeeze the juice from it into the eye. You only need a few drops. The potato juice will prevent any damage from the hot oil. When my daughter was a teenager, she had this happen. I grabbed the potato, got the juice out, and put it in her eye. Immediately, no pain. The next morning there was no sign that anything had happened, no redness even, perfectly normal.

This is an old welder's trick for treating welding flash burns. I learned about this when I worked for the railroad.

Karen

Grownut (and others), the "anti-sprouting" stuff that is often sprayed on store-bought potatoes can be nullified by laying your spuds in in-direct sun for a week or so, even two weeks if you like. That breaks down the chemical they are sprayed with. Be careful because too much direct sun will cause them to green up and then begin to shrivel.

After that time period you can cut them into eye pieces and allow them to chit (grow eye lashes! :>)

Karen, thanks! I hadn't heard that about the organic potatoes but it sure makes good sense, eh? As for the welders eye, wished I'd known that twenty-something years ago (maybe 30?)...I was the victim of burnt eyes from welders burn, NOT a fun thing to go thru. (Picture having sandpaper on your eyeballs. No fun.)

Best,
Shoe

Shoe,

Didn't know that about putting them in the sun. I've seen that about the organic potatoes in several places, though. As you say, sounds reasonable -- no chemicals=no retardant on them.

Welding flash burns are truly nasty. I was really glad I had heard of it when she splashed the hot oil into her eye, you bet.

Karen

Great info and link! I'd already gotten enough red Po's to start with, but with what you both have said I think I'll try cutting and then laying them in the sun. Remembered an Amish farm that did theirs that way after reading your posts...hundreds of drying potato chunks along a sunny sidewalk. Hoping to kill 2 birds w/ one stone.

Like the tip about the potato juice. I've stopped earache with grated onion; potato in the eye sounds just as good! And I'm passing it on to a friend whose husband just got into welding.

Which came first- Chits of girls or chits of potatoes?

The potatoes on the sidewalk creates a great mental picture; doesn't it? They wouldn't have been trying to get rid of the chemical spray from supermarket potatoes so it was probably a good way to lay that many potatoes out to scab over. Just leave them out there long enough for the cut edges to dry.

Chit -- I looked it up -- has its beginnings in Middle English -- chitte (kitten, cub). Today it has a number of meanings, including a short memo, a receipt, an invoice, and a girl. Referring to a girl appears to be the oldest.

I remember my grandma referring to a seed potato as a chit. Grandma lived many years in the MO Ozarks and often used words and phrases that had originated in the Appalachian Mountains. Many of the original settlers of the MO Ozarks were from Appalachia. I love to find out about words and their history.

I'll put the grated onion for earache on my list of remedies. Thanks. Our family is prone to earaches.

Karen