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| Sorted potatoes and ripe Roma tomatoes |
"We just discovered that we can plant Irish potatoes at the end of this month, and were wondering if it is possible to sprout some of the ones from the grocery store (to have them ready by the end of this month). I checked my potato bin in the pantry, and some potatoes have little eyes.....could I put a potato in some water, or would that just make them rot?" Ginny Lindsay - Paris TennesseePotatoes have a natural dormancy from the time they are harvested to when they begin to sprout, starting their next growth cycle. This can only be modified slightly by storage conditions. Though this dormancy varies from variety to variety, six-months is about average.
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| Sprouting potato, before dividing. |
It is always best to use organically grown potatoes for seed as chemically grown potatoes have often been sprayed with a sprout retardant. While it doesn't usually stop potatoes from sprouting entirely, it can seriously slow them down.
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| Sprouting potato, after dividing. Each chunk is at least as big as a chicken's egg and has one or more sprouts. |
How to Plant Potatoes
Planting Potatoes in Clay Soil
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ReplyDeleteCan I plant potato before sprouting
ReplyDeletePotatoes must go through a dormancy period before they will sprout and grow again. There is no advantage to planting potatoes before they begin to sprout. Also, for best results, sprout and CHIT potatoes (expose them to indirect sun-light). This will give you the best chance for success. (See our other posts - linked above) for details on chitting. (Sprouting Potatoes; What to Do).
DeleteHi, I bought newly this year potatoes and I wanted to plant them this September 2020 I damp them on direct sun light for three days they all shrinked then I take them to in door on moist clay sand today is this possible for them to sprouts? Please help. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHello - I am repeating the answer we gave to another question (above)...Hope this helps!
DeletePotatoes must go through a dormancy period before they will sprout and grow again. There is no advantage to planting potatoes before they begin to sprout. Also, for best results, sprout and CHIT potatoes (expose them to indirect sun-light). This will give you the best chance for success. (See our other posts - linked above) for details on chitting (Sprouting Potatoes; What to Do). (Or copy and paste this LINK: https://thesharinggardens.blogspot.com/2011/06/sprouting-potatoes-what-to-do.html
Hi, I goofed and cut my potatoes before they sprouted. Can I still put them in a dark place to sprout or did I completely mess up and make them unable to grow?
ReplyDeleteHi Michele - There's no way we can give you an answer based on what you wrote. Whether they sprout once you plant them has to do with whether they completed their dormancy period (they won't sprout before that time); whether they were sprayed with a sprout-inhibitor (as non-organic potatoes sometimes are); how big the pieces you cut them into are (smaller than a chicken's egg are not likely to do very well) as well as soil temperature/moisture and other factors too numerous to mention. So, our advice would be either to start over and go through the proper steps to ensure success, or to alternate between the potatoes you already cut, interspersed with potatoes that have been properly prepared and then you'll learn from your mistake. Happy planting! Llyn and Chris
DeleteI harvested a nice crop recently (planted March 1, harvested late May in zone 8b) and have saved some for fall planting, optimally in Sept. Any way to speed up the normal 6 month dormancy to 3-4 months?
ReplyDeleteGood day to you! We wish we could be more helpful but we really don't know the answer. With our cool, wet, clay soil (in the Pacific NW) we are usually trying to slow down our potatoes' sprouting to wait for the most conducive conditions.
DeleteIt seems you're in the perfect situation to do a test comparing different solutions to your challenge... We'd be very interested in your results. You can contact us directly through the link on the right-hand side of our site called 'Meet the Founders - Contact Us'. If you discover anything conclusive we'd be happy to publish your results on our site. Happy Planting!
Chris and Llyn - Sharing Gardens
Thank you. Will do. I am trying three strategies — indoors in a covered box with holes to let air through; in a refrigerator for 6 weeks, then in light; and outdoors in Texas heat on a covered patio. Last year I had tried keeping them under a light the entire time as light typically stimulates sprouting. But since they were dormant, nothing happened. On a related note — Good seed potatoes are impossible to find for the fall growing season. 1/3 of the country can probably grow 2 crops of potatoes each year but no grower sells them and few blogs seem to promote it. Maybe the best approach is to buy extra seed potatoes in the spring, then try to delay sprouting til Sept.
DeleteIt will be very interesting to hear of your results! Your idea of procuring extra seed potatoes in the spring and keeping them in dormancy till the fall may be your best bet. Many of the potatoes we save from our last harvests in the fall start resprouting in Feb or March which is too early for replanting here in Oregon. We try to catch them before the sprouts get much more than 1-inch and then set them out on a cool, north-facing, enclosed porch to chit them. They are safe from freezing and only get indirect sunlight. We are able to wait to plant them for an extra 4-6 weeks. It's important not to let the sprouts get too long as they are at risk of breaking when you plant them out. The chitting turns the potatoes green and hardens the sprouts. Hope that helps!
DeleteInteresting testing, how did it turn out?
DeleteSo it's OK to plant chits that have a bit of green inside? I know it's not sage to eat green potatoes but I wasn't sure about planting them.
I bought them with little sprouts, and set on open egg carton in indirect light, cut open and saw green, so I was nervous if I should've kept them in tbe dark. And would these green chits be safe to plant?
I harvested a nice crop recently (planted March 1, harvested late May in zone 8b) and have saved some for fall planting, optimally in Sept. Any way to speed up the normal 6 month dormancy to 3-4 months?
ReplyDeleteThank you for this opportunity availed to me. I have learnt something on seed preparation for potatoes. Thank you so much
ReplyDeleteLearning something as a new potatoes farmer
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm a new farming enthusiast(no experience at all) learnt a lot from ur posts... Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteI have a few questions;
How long should I keep potatoes in the dark before exposing to indirect light? they've already started growing very tinny eyes. Should I wait a bit longer?
Hello - It is best if you let the sprouts grow out about 1-2 centimeters before putting them in indirect light. Potatoes have a natural dormancy period of about 90 days and they won't begin to sprout until that dormancy is done. Also, NON-organically grown potatoes sometimes get sprayed with a sprout-inhibitor so be sure to use organic potatoes for "seed" potatoes. For more in-depth info on sprouting potatoes, read: https://thesharinggardens.blogspot.com/2011/06/sprouting-potatoes-what-to-do.html
DeleteGood luck! Llyn and Chris
Hi, thank you for all the input. I’m in Oregon and I heard that you can plant potatoes and garlic in the winter and they’ll come up in the spring. Any advice
ReplyDeleteHi there, You didn't say what part of Oregon you're in, or your USDA grow zone (we're 7B). Here in the Willamette Valley (near Corvallis) we plant garlic in mid-September and harvest it in June.
DeleteTheoretically, potatoes left in the ground over winter, or planted intentionally in the fall might complete their dormancy and sprout and grow successfully in the spring but you run into two possible problems: If you have really wet soil in the winter, your potatoes may rot in the ground AND secondly, potato leaves are very sensitive to cold temps so, if they sprout in the spring and leaves are above ground during a spring frost, it can kill all their foliage which means a "low" yield, or "no" yield. We haven't felt it was worth the gamble...