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Thursday, February 1, 2024

Do I Need to Buy Seed Potatoes or Can I Just Grow Potatoes from the Grocery Store?

Buying seed potatoes from a nursery catalog can be pretty pricey and its not really necessary. The only real advantages are that they sort them for uniformity of size (not a big deal), you know that they're ready for planting (see the discussion about dormancy below) and you can find some exotic varieties. We just use potatoes we saved from last year's harvest or buy them straight out of the produce section at the grocery store.   

The term "seed-potato" can be misleading. Potatoes do, on occasion produce seeds, but growers do not grow their crops from them. Instead, they grow them from small sprouting potatoes. Any potato, with sprouting eyes, that's at least the size of a chicken egg has the means to yield up to five pounds of fresh potatoes (Generally speaking, the smaller varieties of potatoes grow to maturity faster but yield less harvest.)

These green spheres in Chris' hand contain actual potato seeds but rarely do people grow potatoes from seeds
Potatoes are unique in that their growth cycle is not determined by length of day (as so many other plants are.) Potatoes have an internal clock that requires them to be dormant for a prescribed amount of time--different lengths for different varieties of potatoes. They won't sprout until their dormancy cycle has been reached. This is why some potatoes are better storage potatoes, because they won't start sprouting before you've eaten all the ones you want to eat.

When we want to plant more potatoes than we've saved from the previous year's harvest, we start looking for seed potatoes at the grocery store in late January (mid-winter in northern latitudes) and continue to buy them through till mid-spring. Many of the potatoes that have been in storage for the winter start to sprout in the warehouses at that time and you can get them for better prices. When selecting potatoes to plant, look for ones that already show signs of budding/sprouting from the eyes as this way you know they are viable for growing. Choose the variety you like best. Potatoes do not "cross pollinate". This means that, if you plant a russet, by golly you'll get a russet. (Note: one of our favorites is the Yukon Gold. They last a long time in winter storage and we like the flavor/texture too.)

Ideally, seed potatoes should be about the size of a chicken-egg. Larger potatoes can be cut and skinned over before planting. be sure you have at least three "eyes" per potato.
Potatoes need 70-90 days from planting to maturity so count backwards from your first frost date, or when you wish to begin eating your harvest! The exotic potatoes that come into the markets, and the small, egg-sized, common varieties are usually quite fresh; as they don't keep a long time in storage. They too won't be ready for planting till they naturally go through their dormancy cycle—four to six months. We haven't tried this but I read that you can hasten the dormancy by storing the potatoes in a cool, moist place for a few months and then putting them in a dryer, warmer (but still dark) area.
It is important that you buy organic potatoes because many of the commercially grown ones are sprayed with a "sprout-retardant" which gives them a longer shelf-life and this can delay their sprouting until the potato actually rots.

If the potatoes you have are only just starting to sprout and the buds aren't very long, keep them in the dark to encourage more sprouting. Once the buds are at least 3/4 of an inch long, it's time to "chit" them. 
How many to get? Each plant will take up about 12 - 16 inches of row space. If stored well, they will last for up to six months before starting to sprout again. Figure on 3-5 pounds of yield per potato you plant.  

What size should you get? Ideally you will find them that are about the size of a chicken's egg. Larger potatoes can be cut and allowed to skin over so they won't rot when you plant them.

What if they aren't already sprouting? If you can find potatoes that already have "eyes" that are budding, so much the better. This way you know they are viable for planting. As long as you buy organic potatoes (that have not been sprayed with sprout retardant), and allow 3-4 months time for them to begin to sprout, they do not already need to be sprouting.

When is it time to plant potatoes? Here in the S. Willamette Valley, unless you have raised beds, you need to wait to plant them till the ground dries out a bit. We planted them in early-April one year, when things were especially cool and wet and they just rotted in the ground. Depending on the variety you plant, they take 13 to 17 weeks to ripen. You may wish to plant them in succession so you'll have some potatoes to eat fresh and, the later harvests will last longer through the winter.

If you buy them in a plastic bag, transfer them into a cardboard box or paper sack so they don't rot before you get to them. Keep them in a cool, dark place, with good air circulation until they sprout. Layering them in a tub with leaves or straw, or sawdust works too. Just be sure to keep them from freezing.
Potatoes stored in damp layers of damp leaves. These had already begun to sprout and this storage protected their sprouts from breaking off, or the potatoes from drying out until we had the right conditions for planting.

Links to our other potato blogs, go to:

Sprouting Potatoes? What to do.



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33 comments:

  1. Thanks for this info, have spent a good couple of hours trying to locate seeds to no avail....now I know why! lol Cheers!

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  2. Small correction: many common varieties of don't produce usable seeds, so growing from seed potatoes is the only way to propagate them. Wikipedia claims that new potatoes are always grown from seed.

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  3. what are the diseases that potatoes grown at high altitude avoid? In the UK we can get certified Scottish seed, but keeping your own seed is risky. I'd like to know WHY, so that I understand the risks and the solutions. Thanks

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    1. Our ancestors were not able to buy certified seed potatoes and kept theirs from year to year, apparently with no major difficulties. Any plants that are raised organically, with a wide range of available nutrients, are usually as healthy as people who follow the same guidelines. Most of the 'diseases' that afflict potatoes are cosmetic and of no danger to the people who consume them. We always rotate where our crops are grown in order to avoid any problems that might occur, and we carefully select the seed potatoes that do not show signs of scabbing or other blemishes. Of course the seed companies want you to believe that you need to buy new seed every year but that does not work in a sustainable scenario. Every region has it's own unique challenges so I would advise you to talk with your local people and seek out info specific to your own area. The old-timers who have been gardening for years in any given area are a valuable source of wisdom. Seek them out! Usually they will be thrilled to share their knowledge. Have a great season! Chris (and Llyn)

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    2. Guess you never heard of the Irish Potato Famine

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    3. As we understand it, the Irish Potato Famine occurred, in large part, because they were only growing one type of potato. Here at the Sharing Gardens, we regularly infuse our seed-stock with sprouting potatoes from other sources than our own fields (grocery stores, farmer's markets). As long as you're not growing potatoes exclusively from your own seed, year after year, AND you grow a VARIETY of potatoes (e.g. Russetts, Yukon Golds etc), you should be fine.

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    4. That's great to know! Thanks for leaving a comment.

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    5. Didn't have any seed potatoes a few years ago on my allotment so bought a couple of bags of normal potatoes from supermarket put them in had a very nice crop so yes it works.

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  5. Good sharing! I got some question on potatoes...
    1) Can potato seed grow to be harvest-able potato tuber? From your article, I know that farmers don't grow crop this way (maybe yield is too low?), but the seed will not contain virus found in tuber, hence won't have degeneration problem?
    I imagine that seed is the main method for wild potato in South America to spread. Since growing from tubers won't spread the plants further than 1 meter.

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    1. 2) How do our ancestor solve degeneration problem? We found that virus cause degeneration in 1950s...During 1700-1950, our ancestor import virus-free tubers from South America every 10 years? Or they just tolerate with 30%-50% yield after 200 years of degeneration?
      Thanks in advance, don't really find this info in internet

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    2. Hi Alfred We don't have any experience growing potatoes from "seed". As we mentioned above, we just save back some potatoes from each harvest, wait till they sprout and re-plant. All the best on your quest. Llyn and Chris - Sharing Gardens

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    3. Hi, I found that the "seed" is called "true potato seed". Earlier I used wrong keyword in google. Good hearing from you. Thanks.

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    4. HI Alfred - Good to learn the correct terminology! Thanks. You mentioned a concern for degeneration due to virus-impact...We haven't noticed anything like that. No signs of viruses in our harvests. What we HAVE noticed is that our potatoes are breaking dormancy earlier and earlier in the growing season. Since they are not daylight/temperature-sensitive and simply come out dormancy after a prescribed amount of time, we're feeling challenged to have enough prepared growing space, that will be frost-free to accommodate the sprouting potatoes we saved from 2015 harvest (we live in Oregon - Pacific NW of the United States). Potatoes broke dormancy in late January this year and our ideal planting time is mid-April! We're experimenting with growing some potatoes in our greenhouses. We'll see how that goes!

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  6. Good info here. Wish the font wasn't so very difficult to read! Thanks!

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  7. I appreciate this potato info too, but cannot read the text on my mobile device. Apparently, resizing is not allowed in the software. Could you possibly change the color and font/size? Im going to start some potatoes right away here in Maryland!

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    1. There! It took me about an hour but I finally figured out how to change the font size on this post!!! Somehow old formatting got imported from our previous site. Hope that helps. Happy potato planting! The Sharing Gardens

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  8. Hi thank you for the detailed information. It helps a lot! I'm experimenting to grow sprouts in my potatoes in a box with wet papers inside. Can you suggest other ways in growing it in tropical countries? Temperature is a big problem I think.Thanks, im on philippines. Pinoy

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    1. Hello Pinoy - We don't really have any experience growing potatoes in the tropics. I would suggest you try doing a 'search' for 'growing potatoes in the tropics' and see what you find. We hope you have good success! Llyn and Chris

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  9. Question: As a child I grew up on my Uncle John's potato farm in Riverhead,NY. I never actually grew potatoes myself but I remember before planting we would roll the potato seeds in lime. Not sure why we did this and not sure if I should do it this spring when I give it a try. Any thoughts? tommyZ

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    1. Hello TommyZ - We don't follow the practice of rolling seed-potatoes in lime before planting but a quick search revealed that some farmers do it if their soil pH is naturally more acidic than potatoes prefer. Hope that helps! Llyn and Chris

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  10. very nice article which shows all steps of farming potatoes in farm
    there is also an article who shows growing potato farming in home garden
    thanks for sharing this article!!!

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  11. Do the sprouts get planted downwards as roots or upwards as stems? and how deep should the hole be dug?

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    1. Dig your holes 6" - 8" deep and place the seed-potato with sprouts growing UP.

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  12. Hi. I’m glad to chance on your blog! I experimented with growing potatoes for the first time this growing season( northern NJ). I just cut out sprouting eyes and planted them in tilled soil. I had a harvest of some small size potatoes, and only one potato per plant. Is this because of not planting the whole potato? Did the plant not have enough energy to yield multiple tubers?
    Also, I read on another site that you can actually plant potatoes in the fall so that they would have a head start in the spring and you won’t miss getting the seed in at the right time because of unpredictable frost/rain... maybe you could try that for your early sprouting potatoes? I’m going to give it a try since weather isn’t too bad now to work the soil and get it prepared:)

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  13. Hello - thanks for your thoughtful and warm comment. Without knowing the details of your situation (quality of soil, fertilizer used, mulching etc) it's hard to say why you had such a poor yield but if, as you say, you cut out the eyes and only planted them with a minimal amount of potato to nurture the sprouts till they reach sunlight, that could definitely contribute to your low yields. We don't ever plant "seed" potatoes smaller than a chicken egg and we make sure the potato is skinned over before planting (see our posts on "chitting" potatoes by doing a search on our site).

    Let us know how your potatoes that you plant now do for you. We suspect they will come up and begin leafing out too early for them to do well in your area. Potato leaves are very frost sensitive so you don't want to take a chance on planting them too early but you never know for sure until you try! If you have the space in your garden and time to do the planting, go for it! Let us know if you succeed. Llyn and Chris - Sharing Gardens

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  14. Thanks for a very enlighteng post. I will have a go at planting seed from supermarket potatoes. Cheers from Australia

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  15. Dear farmers is it possible find in Zambia potato seed to plant in DRCongo?

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    1. Hello - Sorry, we can't help you. You need to find potatoes that grow well in your climate and wait until they break dormancy (start to sprout). This can take as long as 3 months (or more) after they were first dug. Grow well! Sharing Gardens

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  16. Found you via Pinterest. Glad I learn new knowledge about growing potatoes.

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