ok first question. can you use the grocery store potatoes , i read that you cant because of viruses . if you cant ,can you explain about how they were grown in the first place if they are virused . and last ,which direction do the eyes go ? thanks
a few questions about growing potatoes
iris,
I always put the eye sprouts upward. Grocery potatoes haven't been inspected[certified disease free]. Does it matter?........Maybe not usually for small plantings. Preferrably you would let the sprouts not get long and gangly but rather they would be short, thick, and a bit green.[exposed to more light for a few days].
I always use grocery store potatoes for seed because of problems getting seed potatoes at the right time. Some thrive better than others but I'm not sure I've ever had a virus.
Here are some of mine in a large tree pot.
Farmers spend exorbitant amounts of money buying "seed potatoes" which are certified disease free.
The viruses, funguses, bacteria, etc. that make growing your own potatoes from grocery store potatoes problematic are present in the soil and are transferred to the potatoes. The original plants grow and produce potatoes in ~3 months and most diseases take longer than that to run their course.
The other issue is grocery store potatoes are typically sprayed with an anti-sprouting product.