ChrisC_77
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Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:00 pm
Location: West Virginia (Zone 6)

growing potatoes from store potatoes...possible?

I have always wondered if it is possible to do. If possible, when the potatoes get eyes can you plant them straight away or do you have to dry them to prevent rotting? I currently have a sweet potatoes that I can cut the part that has the eyes and plant it. Don't even know if if it a good time of year to experiment with this or not. This may not even work, I am just asking.

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

Definitely I grow regular potatoes from sprouted grocery store ones. Generally I cut them in to sections with one or two eyes eachand then let them sit for a couple days, just so the cut surfaces harden up and plant them. For regular potatoes this is probably not the right time of year, depending on where in the world you are. We have people writing in here from literally all around the world. It will really help if you change your profile to show your location. But anyway, regular potatoes are planted in early spring and take at least four months.


Sweet potatoes are different and need warmer weather, but I don't grow them, so someone else will have to speak to that.

tomc
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Sweet potatoes are a whole 'nother beast from regular potato (hereinafter "spud).

Traditionally sweet potato are chitted and rooted from their original tuber, The sprout gets planted to field only after summer is here (this is a much more warm blooded plant).

Spuds are a cooler weather plant that when propagated by clone a section of tuber is planted to field when soil is cooler.

I suspect long ago bother were tropical plants, with sweet potato growing in the valley, and spuds growing up about 10,000 in the mountains.

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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

I have always used grocery store potatoes to grow in my garden.

Be sure to grow potatoes that do well in your geographical location. Red Potatoes do ok in hot 95 deg weather. Sweet potatoes like it hot as the desert. Idaho and Russet like cooler summer weather. They all like 12 hours of full sun each day and loose sandy soil with a lot of organic material. Tipple supper phosphate and Potash will make them grow big.

Sweet Potatoes are basically work free. Plants will send out vines 25 ft in all directions. Vines grow roots every place the touch the soil. The mother plant will make 15 to 20 very large potatoes. Each place the vine roots will grow 5 to 10 satellite potatoes. Vine will crowd out most of the weeds and grass if you get them planted early in the season before grass and weeds get started. 3 sweet potato plants with grow over 100 lbs of potatoes. I don't like to eat sweet potatoes but I like growing them. I donate all my sweet potatoes to the homeless shelter.

ChrisC_77
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Posts: 108
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:00 pm
Location: West Virginia (Zone 6)

Thanks for the tips everyone! Do you how long they store? How many square feet should I allow for each potato start? I will try and grow some in the spring. I will plant them where I planted my single row of corn this year which did well despite being one row. It is along the garage in a former flower landscape area. I have corn, bean, and peas there. Will that be okay for the potatoes next year as far as crop rotation is concerned? The area is about 30 feet by 2 feet. I myself enjoy potatoes, but we don't consume them regularly so I like the previous poster's idea about donation.



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