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Quite literally, I spent about an hour searching every garden center around the area to see if I could pick up some seed potatoes for a fall crop. nada!

Does everyone just buy extra seed potatoes at the beginning of the year for all year, or is there some sort of secret to getting seed potatoes for fall this late? I even went a few websites, and they're all sold out!

I thought about a few store bought ones, but if they're treated to not sprout I don't want to waste time try to sprout them, the lady at the garden center said just to leave them in the dark and they'll sprout on their own- but my own home grown potatoes have been in a dark spot, and none of them are sprouting!

Potato confusion

I don't plant all of my seed potatoes in the spring. the rest are kept in what is similar to those plastic drink coolers, the bigger sized ones. its buried down to the lid in the ground. this keeps the other seed potatoes semi dormant until I'm ready to plant another succession.

I get all of my seed potatoes from my garden the previous years, not sure where you can buy some right now.

soil wrote:I don't plant all of my seed potatoes in the spring. the rest are kept in what is similar to those plastic drink coolers, the bigger sized ones. its buried down to the lid in the ground. this keeps the other seed potatoes semi dormant until I'm ready to plant another succession.

I get all of my seed potatoes from my garden the previous years, not sure where you can buy some right now.

Hmmm, so I should let some of the potatoes I grew this year sprout and replant? How do I go about sprouting them? Should I use the biggest ones, or will any size do? I guess I'm so possessive about "must eat!!!" that I never thought of replanting them...

Go to an organic food store. That's where I got my last "seed" potatoes. BUT this means they aren't certified disease-free: something definitely to think about.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Ever had grocery store potatoes sprout in the drawer/ bin where you keep them? If your potatoes sprout (some grocery store potatoes are treated to keep them from sprouting), you can just plant those. That's what I did and I have some healthy looking plants now....

rainbowgardener wrote:Ever had grocery store potatoes sprout in the drawer/ bin where you keep them? If your potatoes sprout (some grocery store potatoes are treated to keep them from sprouting), you can just plant those. That's what I did and I have some healthy looking plants now....

I know everyone keeps saying that, but I've never had any sprout on me while sitting in the fridge. I use a LOT of potatoes. That's why I'm kinda at a loss!

Cynthia- that's a good idea, too. But the disease thing is something to think about. Hmmm.

I feel the chemical they spray to prevent sprouting goes away with time. as eventually all potatoes from the store will sprout. you probably don't have that problem because you eat them so fast. they don't have a chance to sprout.

I didn't mean grow some of the potatoes that you just harvested. not sure if they will sprout so soon after harvest.

what I meant was save( or buy) 2x the amount of seed potatoes from your harvest this year for next year. plant half, and store half until your ready to plant the second fall crop.

They don't sprout in the fridge, but I never store potatoes in the fridge, just in a drawer, I.e. a dark dry place. That's how I always learned that potatoes keep best. Fridge is more humid.

Thanks both for your input! I will buy a few organic potatoes from the store, and see what I can come up with for some fall potatoes

My container potatoes this year worked out so good/was so yummy, that I just want to eat all of them !