Choosing "Seed Potatoes"

“Seed Potatoes” are, simply put, potatoes reserved to grow new potatoes.  All those potatoes, morphing into extraterrestrial monsters in the pantry, growing “eyes” stems and leaves, are just itching to get into the ground to make new potatoes.

The ideal time to be thinking of the varieties of potatoes to plant in the garden is around the time the garden is closing down for the year.

Potatoes, unlike most plants, have an internal clock.  They will not sprout until their internal clock says its time to do so.  The “seed potatoes” that we plant in the spring to grow new potatoes were harvested in the preceding fall.

If a gardener chose to grow one thing organically, the best choice may very well be potatoes. Commercially grown potatoes are typically heavily laced with pesticides and other pollutants.

Shop around for varieties of organic potatoes of interest, be they white, red, yellow, or blue. I place my seed potatoes (about three or four healthy looking specimens) in mesh onion bags, noted according to variety, and keep them all in a paper bag marked “SEED POTATOES”.  When they seem to be attempting an escape from the bottom drawer of the fridge, I know that they are ready to go.

Organic potatoes are key because commercial ones have been treated with a chemical that deters them from sprouting.  Sprayed potatoes don’t make good seed potatoes because they have been treated to keep longer on the grocery shelf.  Besides, I really don’t want to serve my kids anything that deters them from sprouting!

Gardeners hoping to plant potatoes this spring can buy seed potatoes online or at local garden centers.  Some choose only purchased seed potatoes.  Grown in a controlled environment and culled for disease, many growers prefer the assurance of a disease-free crop.  Since I grow my potatoes in bins, I don’t worry as much about my potatoes infecting the soil with diseases like blight.  I can always dispose of diseased plant matter and start over with new soil.

Potatoes, Planning Their Escape From The Pantry

The majority of my potatoes will be grown from my “seed” potatoes, kept in the refrigerator all winter.  If space allows, I hope to get in a container of fingerlings called “Swedish Peanut”.  I bought them last winter to serve with a stew and they were a big hit, just like miniature white baking potatoes.  I forgot that there remained a few in the back of the pantry and found them this spring when I was rooting around for an onion.  What a shocking, but pleasant surprise, a bag of spuds, ready to be planted.