how long can i keep seed potatoes?

lolarentt

pobby wrote: »

thanks to those who replied. A lot of them already have sprouts of about an inch long so I may plant them over the easter weekend! :j exciting stuff.

Does anyone have any idea if I can store those I don't plan to use yet over the summer and plant later for another crop? If so how do I store them to keep them dormant?

Thanks in advance. Paula

They will tend to do their own thing at their own time so there's not that much you can do to alter their natural clock. If you hang onto them too long without planting out they'll sprout anyway and die off when they find nothing to live on. I always plant Charlotte and Swift at the same time but the Swift flower and die back much sooner than the Charlotte.
Some people like to remove some of the less vigorous sprouts allowing the tuber to concentrate on the stronger ones (although I've never bothered with this).

Liney_2

I have Cara's and Winston's the Cara's are earlies and had shoots about an inch long and I planted them on Staurday - my Winston's are much slower to shoot and I plan to put them in in the next day or two despite the size of the shoots.
I kept mine in a light place though (spare room window) rather than a dark place - does this make a difference - have I done it incorrectly?

lolarentt

Liney wrote: »

I kept mine in a light place though (spare room window) rather than a dark place - does this make a difference - have I done it incorrectly?

Yes that's right they need the light. If you leave them in the dark they'll still throw out shoots but they'll be useless, long thin and white as they search for the light.

arkonite_babe

We have a thread similar to this already, I'll add your query to it so all the replies are together. Posts are listed in date order so you'll need to read from the beginning to catch up

Zazen999

pobby wrote: »

Hi, hope you are all having a good weekend :beer:

I know I'm a little late but have decided to add potatoes to the list of veg I'm growing and bought some 1st earlies on Friday which are chitting now (some have already sprouted) and some bags to grow them in.

Question one is how long do I have to chit them for? A set amount of time or until they have a certain number of sprouts or a certain size of sprout???

Question two; there are too many seed potatoes in the bag I bought for me to use. Am I able to store them until August when I would like to plant some more for harvesting in December? Or would they not last?

If I can store them, what is the best place / method?

If I can't I have a friend with an allotment who I am sure can make some space for them so they won't go to waste!

Thanks in advance
Paula x

Potatoes are only chitted in jan-march, to give them a head start - it's not mandatory - so I'd get them into your bags.

I also wouldn't hold any back, they will either go manky or will just dry up. If you haven't got the space, then let your friend have them. You can put some more in in august for your christmas spuds.