Planting potatoes

[Chiefster23]

I plant everything in raised beds ( and rotate crops) and as usual practice I harvest my potatoes at the end of the growing season and store them. But every year I get a few volunteers from spuds I missed digging up the year before. So question? Any reason why I couldn’t just replant my “seed potatoes” this fall into the beds that I plan on using next spring? Why bother storing them in my basement?

[MountainGirl]

I plant everything in raised beds ( and rotate crops) and as usual practice I harvest my potatoes at the end of the growing season and store them. But every year I get a few volunteers from spuds I missed digging up the year before. So question? Any reason why I couldn’t just replant my “seed potatoes” this fall into the beds that I plan on using next spring? Why bother storing them in my basement?

I dont know at all. As long as the winter doesn't freeze-kill them...maybe?
Dwight does potatoes, he might have an idea.

[Dwight55]

Well . . . since that is the way God designed things to happen . . . yeah you probably could.

I've known many folks who did not put their taters in storage . . . they'ld dig a hole 18 to 24 inches down . . . couple inches of straw . . . fill it with taters . . . straw on top . . . and then a plastic bag sometimes . . . sometimes not . . . and cover them with 3 or 4 inches of dirt.

It's called heeling them in . . .

When they got low on taters in the house . . . the boys were sent to the "patch" to bring back the next "hill" of taters. They did not rot, get ugly, or anything else. If the dirt got brushed away somehow . . . the top taters would be green . . . and most would get tossed . . .

But while I've never done it that way . . . I suppose it would work if you didn't have a coon, possum, or groundhog population . . . because seed taters are only planted an inch and a half deep which is table fare depth for them scavengers.

Give it a shot . . . tell us how you made out.

At 78 . . . I've just about given up on gardening . . . grocery store is just down the road.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Chiefster23]

Thanks Dwight. I’m going to try this method this year. When I try to store potatoes, they are usually looking pretty bad by Jan Feb.

[Slippy]

Mrs S planted some potatoes earlier this year and she's harvesting them now.

We are giving most of them away to our Sons and DIL's...so storage is not an issue. Haven't eaten a potato in a while.

[Prepared One]

Send me all your Taters! I love em!

[Dwight55]

Thanks Dwight. I’m going to try this method this year. When I try to store potatoes, they are usually looking pretty bad by Jan Feb.

Not sure when it was . . . it was probably in Dec last time I went out with the boys to dig up a hill of taters in the cold months.

If it was it would have been Christmas . . . but it might have been later. A few of the top ones were exposed and turned green about half way . . . they got tossed.

Don't recall anything bad about them though.

My father in law had them up thru end of march / first of april . . . but there were a few trying to do their sprouty little thing.

May God bless,
Dwight

[TJC44]

Send me all your Taters! I love em!

How to tell if someone's Irish. ^^

[Mad Trapper]

I plant everything in raised beds ( and rotate crops) and as usual practice I harvest my potatoes at the end of the growing season and store them. But every year I get a few volunteers from spuds I missed digging up the year before. So question? Any reason why I couldn’t just replant my “seed potatoes” this fall into the beds that I plan on using next spring? Why bother storing them in my basement?

I hurt my foot last summer, almost lost a big toe. I only dug up one half row of the taters. The rest overwintered. They all came up are about knee high now.

I always plant my volunteers that pop up. And main planting are the best ones that overwintered in the root cellar.

[Mad Trapper]

I plant everything in raised beds ( and rotate crops) and as usual practice I harvest my potatoes at the end of the growing season and store them. But every year I get a few volunteers from spuds I missed digging up the year before. So question? Any reason why I couldn’t just replant my “seed potatoes” this fall into the beds that I plan on using next spring? Why bother storing them in my basement?

Here's two of the rows I left in last fall. Have been a bit derelict on the weeding, more keep popping up. I prepped garden around the rows.

Next fall when I dig them up, I might just throw a spud in each hole and cover it.