Have you ever grown a potato from a potato?

[limcid]

Do Farmers' Markets normally have seed potatoes? I can't think of anywhere nearby that might have them. I could probably find some on Amazon, but I would rather buy them locally.

 

[Trace]

Do Farmers' Markets normally have seed potatoes? I can't think of anywhere nearby that might have them. I could probably find some on Amazon, but I would rather buy them locally.

I think farmer's markets often have them, but if you go to the farmer's market and ask someone who's selling potatoes about buying them specifically as seed potatoes, that might yield some contacts. On the other hand, the potatoes you get at a farmer's market might be fine for seed potatoes anyway, especially if they're organic.

Many plant nurseries carry seed potatoes, as do many feed stores, both of which you should be able to find locally unless you live in a city.

Also, once you find your source (especially if that source is a local nursery or farmer), never be afraid to admit you're a novice. The ones who look down their noses at you, or tell you that you shouldn't bother aren't the sort of contacts you need, unless they'll tell you why you shouldn't, but still do what they can to help. These contacts can be awesome sources of information and help, and chances are they can put you in touch with others who can help you, even if they can't.

Another source of information and contacts is your Department of Agriculture. I tend to be more distrustful of this as a resource because it's a political thing that varies from place to place. Some will be genuinely helpful, while others will tell you what pesticides you have to use or overwhelm you with information you don't need unless you're going into commercial scale production.

 

[limcid]

Thanks for the info! I will keep this in mind when I get a chance to get to the Farmer's Market. It seems like an FM potato would at least be better that a grocer's potato so they might, like you said, be fine as seed potatoes.

 

[dconklin]

Do Farmers' Markets normally have seed potatoes? I can't think of anywhere nearby that might have them. I could probably find some on Amazon, but I would rather buy them locally.

I would imagine a Farmer's Market would have them. They usually have locally grown and quality produce (at least I know they do here.) And at the markets the people are usually not mass producing to provide huge grocery stores and such so they have better quality stuff from what I have experienced here anyway. They more or less just sell their produce locally with pride.

 

[Gardener]

I was just as curious as you are so I tried the exact same thing and cut a sprout off of a potato with a large portion of the potato attached to the sprouts, then I threw it into the garden and made a mountain of dirt on top of it. I then added more and more dirt on top of it and watered it weekly.The next thing I know is that there are three or four potatoes nearby and the mountain I had planted has become a huge potato. They don't require too much work and are really really easy to maintain.

 

[Daisy]

My sister tried that one time. She cut up and planted some old potatoes that she had bought from the store to see if they would grow. Needless to say, she didn't have a potato crop that year.

 

[loopyloo]

I have had potatoes from the store sprout while waiting for me to use them up so I just assumed that they would sprout fine. Do they put something on them to make the potatoes not produce? I would have been surprised when my crops didnt turn out.

 

[ACSAPA]

Don't try to grow potatoes from the seed produced in the potato apples that the plants produce either, (they look like tomatoes but will make you sick or abort if you eat them)

Did you say abort? As in miscarry a baby? I hope I'm reading that wrong because that is frightening. I thought about planting some sprouting potatoes I had, but it's probably for the best that I threw them out.
I don't want any more children ,but the idea of a vegetable making you sick enough to abort is unsettling.

 

[dim]

here are 15 foods that can be grow from 'scraps' .... potato is also mentioned:

http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2013/04/15-foods-that-can-be-regrown-from-scraps/

 

[Trace]

Did you say abort? As in miscarry a baby? I hope I'm reading that wrong because that is frightening. I thought about planting some sprouting potatoes I had, but it's probably for the best that I threw them out.
I don't want any more children ,but the idea of a vegetable making you sick enough to abort is unsettling.

There's no need for panic about this. Many plants have this ability, actually, but most of the time you would have to ingest a portion of the plant you normally would not (unless you're in a habit of trying things out by tasting them). In the case of the potato apple, most people don't try to eat that; it's the seed bearing fruit that grows on the above ground part of the plant. The potato we eat is the underground part. So, the warning was just not to eat that seed bearing part of the plant, not to avoid planting your kitchen sprouts.

In my view, the problem with growing your kitchen sprouts is that they probably won't produce as well as a seed potato (like from a nursery, seed store, farmer's market, etc), and may be vulnerable to diseases that could be spread to other parts of your garden, since many potatoes we get in grocery stores are "imported" from other parts of the country, rather than locally grown.

 

[zigs]

Sorry, I double checked that, Solanine is more likely to cause Spinal defects in a fetus, rather than abortion. Like Trace says, there are lots of plants that can cause abortion, Birthwort for one.

The advice is to limit your exposure to plants that may contain Solanine (Tomatoes and Potatoes) during pregnancy. So avoid any potatoes that have gone green, not just cut the green bit off, that is the potato's reaction to sunlight (Chlorophyll) Once exposed the tuber produces Solanine throughout the potato.

 

[Mariam]

I did not know about the whole blight thing. I do not recall anyone in my family saying anything about it either. The times I have grown potatoes, they were sprouts from store bought potatoes. I grew them in stacked tires. I am going to have to research this blight thing, I would hate to be the ruin of a neighbor's crops.

 

[zigs]

I did not know about the whole blight thing. I do not recall anyone in my family saying anything about it either. The times I have grown potatoes, they were sprouts from store bought potatoes. I grew them in stacked tires. I am going to have to research this blight thing, I would hate to be the ruin of a neighbor's crops.

Blight is the reason there are so many Irish in New York, they were fleeing from famine when the blight struck Ireland.

 

[cmckinney01]

I was told recently that you can grow a potato from a potato you have bought in the store when the potato starts sprouting. I love potatoes and find that the bags I buy at the store either have a lot of spots on them or they start growing sprouts before I use them all. So when I heard that you can cut a section of the potato with the sprouts and plant them, I got a little bit excited.

Is this true, will they grow if you plant the sprouts? If so how do you do this? I have never planted potatoes before so I wouldn't even know when to plant them.

Yes, you can grow a potato from a potato. Just bury them in the dirt of your garden in the spring, and watch them com up. The potatoes grow well on their own. There's not much you have to do except mulch, weed and water.

 

[Mariam]

Blight is the reason there are so many Irish in New York, they were fleeing from famine when the blight struck Ireland.

Oh, yes. That had skipped my mind. I am definitely buying seeds, now. I prefer not to start something so horrid.