When deep winter snows cover the ground, many of us tend to dream of harvesting succulent fresh vegetables and fruits.
Potatoes taunt us because they are a staple food in many people’s diets. As the eyes start to sprout, we are reminded of the gardening season that lies ahead.
For some, the temptation of passing up something that is sprouting life is just too much of a temptation, so out comes the flowerpots and potting soil. Why not plant those sprouting potatoes?
You want to know how to grow potatoes and you want to start off in the best way possible. You could need information for the following reasons:
Reason A: You’ve been thinking about gardening for some time and wondering what to grow. You recently came up with the idea of trying to grow potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). The only problem is, you’re not sure how to go about it.
Reason B: You’ve grown potatoes before, but you want to try something different this time.
Reason C: You’re a seasoned farmer or gardener looking for more information. You want to learn how to best grow your potato crops.
Whichever reason brought you to this page, you’re in luck. Here you’ll find what you need to get you started on growing potatoes from store-bought taters.
Seed Potatoes vs Store-Bought Potatoes
Experts disagree on whether store-bought potatoes should be planted. While some say store-bought potatoes are grown to be eaten – not planted – others report that they have grown fine tubers from the store-bought variety.
Many potato enthusiasts, on the other hand, will tell you you should grow your crop from seed potatoes. They’ll insist that it’s a safer choice compared to planting the store-bought kind. But what exactly separates the two?
Seed potatoes are, in the simplest terms, potatoes that were grown to be replanted. These tubers are supplied to gardeners and farmers with the intention to grow more from them.
When buying seed potatoes, it’s important to get certified disease-free ones. These have been tested for defects and given the government’s stamp of approval.
The main reason why these potatoes are encouraged is that they reduce the risk of crop and soil damage. Without guaranteed treatment, you could unintentionally introduce dangerous, long-lasting diseases.
They’re also meant to produce high yields and superb quality plants. Garden centers usually offer a variety of certified seed potatoes to choose from. These are cultivated in 15 states which have the ideal conditions for potato farming:
- Idaho
- North Dakota
- Colorado
- Maine
- Montana
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Nebraska
- Wyoming
- Oregon
- Michigan
- Washington
- New York
- California
- Alaska
“U.S. No. 1 Seed Potatoes consist of unwashed potatoes identified as certified seed by the state of origin by blue tags fixed to the containers or official State or Federal State certificates accompanying bulk loads, which identify the variety, size, class, crop year, and grower or shipper of the potatoes, and the State certification agency.” – United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Store-bought potatoes can be treated as well, however, their treatment involves the application of sprout-inhibitors. These prevent the development of a potato’s eyes while stored or put on shelves. This blockage can then inhibit the growth of new crops and minimize yields.
Keep in mind that if you store your potatoes at a higher temperature they may sprout sooner and faster. A typical length dormancy period is around 2 to 3 months depending on storage method, potato variety and storage temperature. Inhibitors used include ChloroIsopropyl-N PhenylCarbamate (CIPC), Ethylene, Carvone and Maleic Hydrazide.
At the very least, use organic potatoes because they have not been treated.
Can I Grow Potatoes from Store Bought Potatoes?
If potatoes you buy from the store do manage to sprout, you should plant them. Not only are store-bought spuds readily available, but you also don’t have to wait weeks for them. Unlike certified seed potatoes for which you have to go through a long process and wait for delivery.
There is no real advantage to growing potatoes from store bought ones (those soft, sprouting grocery store potatoes will make good compost). Seed potatoes are no more expensive than the ones purchased for eating.
The Potato Planting Process
The Right Quantity of Potatoes to Plant
Deciding on the number of potatoes to plant can be difficult. Your decision will depend largely on two factors:
- How many potatoes you wish to sell or consume.
- How much space you have to plant crops.
Some gardeners cut their potatoes into chunks before planting them. This should be avoided as the exposure of the inside of the potato can make them perceptible to disease, rot and pests.
These factors vary depending on the type of potatoes you have, but there are averages you can use.
To help you determine the number of tubers – and feet apart – when planting in your garden, here are a few facts to consider:
| Weight of average potato (ounces) Cut large potatoes into different chunks but keep small ones as they are. |
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| Space between each standard potato (inches apart) Space determines the size of your potatoes. The closer they’re planted, the smaller your tubers come out. |
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| Minimum number of eyes per potato or chunk Always grow your potatoes with eyes upward. |
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| Average yield ratio of seed to crop cultivated (pounds) Higher yields mean you have healthier soil to plant in. |
The Ideal Fertilizer to Use
Before fertilizing your soil with anything, it’s important to conduct a soil test and see how healthy it is. It’s the best way to know what your soil needs without adding any unnecessary or harmful elements.
The ideal soil environment for your potatoes to grow in includes:
- Soil mixed with compost and a combination of macronutrients. Potatoes consume nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.
- pH levels of 5.0 to 6.5.
- Soil that hasn’t been in heavily treated turf over the past year.
- Soil that doesn’t contain any decaying green matter.
Keep controlling the quality of your soil through soil tests even after planting.
What is the Best Time of Year to Plant Potatoes?
Planting new potatoes isn’t a quick process. The process starts at the beginning of the growing season.
You need to give the soil time between preparing the bed and planting. Generally, 2 to 6 weeks is an acceptable amount of time between the two procedures.
The best time of year to plant is in the early spring with temperatures of at least 45°F, after the cool weather is mostly finished and the soil temperature begins to rise.
How to Plant Potatoes
Planting potatoes takes a few simple steps. Laura at Garden Answer provides a step by step guide in this video.
Prepare the planting area by loosening the soil 10 inches deep to 12 inches deep.
Mix a fertilizer high in nitrogen with your soil.
Make trenches in the soil about 4 inches deep and plant your potatoes about 4 inches apart.
Cover the potato pieces with about an inch of soil.
Water your potatoes plant, especially during the flowering stage when they’re producing tubers.
As the plants emerge, mound the soil by pushing it up around the stem. Eventually, it will look as though you planted the spuds in hills. Dig potatoes from the raised bed rows, removing any vines. Begin to harvest potatoes and place into bags.
Taking Care of Your Potato Plants
Hilling Potatoes
Every farmer and gardener understands the best way to plant potatoes is to hill the soil around your planting potatoes. This is the process through which you create small mounds of soil around your tubers. You should always hill your potatoes because it allows you to:
- Keep your potato plants safe from weeds in the spring by uprooting unwanted, wild plants.
- When you seed potato plants create an effective drainage system so that your new potatoes aren’t submerged in water.
- Protect potatoes from sunlight. This leads to photosynthesis and the greening of your plants. This is when your potatoes turn green. The formation of green stains beneath the potato skin is harmful to anyone who eats the tater.
- Enhance the yield of your plants. When you plant tubers, they create two kinds of stems. Those that grow foliage above the ground, and those that grow new potatoes below it. By wrapping the stem above ground in soil, you increase your yield of potatoes.
Watering Your Crop
Making sure your potato plant gets one to two inches of water on a weekly basis should suffice. Water needs become more important for different reasons throughout the first 90 days:
- First 30 days: Your potatoes need water but not critically.
- Between 1 and 2 months: Their water needs are important for crop growth.
- Between 2 and 3 months: Potatoes need water to expand.
- Between 3 and 4 months: Water is still needed but not in the same quantities as before. This is the period right before the harvest when the top of the plants turn yellow and die out.
Pest Control
Typical insects that feed on your potatoes include:
When it comes to cultivating potato plants, ensure your crops are protected from pests:
- Before they appear.
- Throughout the growing process.
- Beyond the harvesting phase.
To achieve adequate pest management, you need to:
- Rotate your crops often.
- Stay vigilant and look out for any eggs, larvae, and adult insects.
- Gather as many insects as possible and put them into water or squash them if they appear.
- Treat your yields with safe insecticides, depending on the type of pest you’re dealing with.
Harvesting
When to Harvest
Different kinds of potatoes mature at different times. The best way to know when to harvest your potatoes is to know their variety and their Days To Maturity (DTM).
Most varieties will mature within 90 days and it’s best to plant those that won’t take more than 4 months to grow. Otherwise, you risk growing disappointing batches because of the summer heat which affects the soil.
How to Harvest
When harvesting potatoes in your garden, you can collect them from the soil using three tools:
- Your own hands
- A broadfork
- Or a digging fork
You want to start digging near your bed’s boundary so that you don’t accidentally pierce the tubers you can’t see. Remove the soil along the mounds you created through hilling so that you can clearly see them.
Once that’s done, wait for your tubers to dry for half an hour before picking them and storing them. You want to keep them in a cool, dry place away from sunlight until you sell or consume them. Remember, light leads to your potatoes greening and becoming toxic for consumption.
Learn More About Potatoes
There’s more you can learn about the wonderful world of taters online. This article from Good Housekeeping, for example, provides ways of growing potatoes in different yards.
Click on the links below to get answers on frequent potato planting questions:
- What are the best ways to plant potatoes?
- When is seed potato growing season?
- Are potatoes easy for a beginning gardener to grow? What are some tips?
- How do potatoes grow? How many feet apart?
- Why can’t you grow potatoes in the same place each year?
Photo from Pexels
I treid growing some potatoes in a window sill for a science project. It didn’t work, and I’m sure it’s because they’ve been treated. They were just Kroger bought Russet potatoes.
I’m sure treating potatoes with anti-sprouting chemicals is a good thing to increase shelf life, but this goes to show one needs to do the research before conducting a fairly time consuming experiment.
Definitely go with organic potatoes if trying to grow them in a window sill.
@Seth
Good point! Thanks for your comment.
I have store bought potatoes growing since April. getting very tall, growing laundry basket. Will reply again after harvest.
I’m curious. Did it work?
Greetings,
Michele
I have grown “store bought” potatoes in a barrel. The first year I only got one or two VERY SMALL potatoes. This year I got “small beat sized” potatoes. In addition I got on average 14 per barrel!
I am curious … can one “breed” the “anti-sprouting chemicals” out of the plant?
Breeding refers to the DNA in a plant and chemicals are just a substance located on the potato skin…. so no. Its like breeding a pig to not be dirty, one cannot cause the other. Maybe thoroughly washing the potato could remove any spout inhibitors. I have grown store bought potatoes many times with great success. No problems ever. Russets, reds, and goldens.
I think of it like this, for a potato to be commercially grown and marketable, it has to be a fairly strong and disease resistant variety. Because how a potato grows from its tubers what you grow is a genetic clone through asexual reproduction – so I actually think store bought potatoes will usually be as good or better to grow than seed potatoes – assuming there is no spout inhibitors… again, something I have never had an issue with.
You would think they need to be resistant to disease but the most commonly grown one is maris piper and it gets riddled with blight, and some virus. The only difference between store bought and seed variety is seed fields are treated with way more chemical to ensure they are disease free and the disease tolerance threshold for a site to pass inspection is far lower.
Are you kidding about the cost being nearly the same? 10 pounds of eating potatoes can be purchased for 3 to 5 dollars. Burpee wants 18.95 for their very cheapest potatoes and thats for only 10 mini-tubers! There are cheaper sources than Burpee, but not much cheaper.
Lowes $4 for 5 seed potatoes. Cut in quarters = 20 starters. Use barrel method- 4 per barrel. 5 barrels of organic potatoes for $4!
You know that growing them yourself does not make them the same cost though yea? I mean you can just start with one tuber and replant your yield the following year but that isn’t the same as buying a bag of potatoes to eat.
What is the cost of the barrels ????
BTW, the yield from 5 barrels is way more than 10 lbs (for $4).
It’s more than $4, though. You’ve got cost of container, soil, fertilizer, water, and your own labor.
I personally think it is worth it and actually here because I’m about to plant a fall crop using a store bought potato. But that said, the cost is more than what you are stating.
Me again, sorry. The 5 count is for blue potatoes that my children get a kick out of. You can get more common varieties (like Yukon Gold) in a 10 count for $4. I will leave the math to you this time.
Dave
We buy several varieties of seed potatoes every year.
Here in Maine they run 50 to 75 cents a pound and you pick the ones you want from a tub or you can buy packaged varieties from specialty stores for several dollars a pound.
Yesterday we bought bout 2 lbs each of Pontiac red, Kennebec, and Yukon gold. Total cost was just under $4 and we get between 75 and 125 lbs yield depending on the type of year we have
HOW r u planting those? honestly my seed potatoes – which i did not cut up, so there was something i learned – produce about 4 x their weight, so since the organic seed potatoes cost 4x more than regular, i break even:>
so how did u plant those?
Haha nothing makes a difference between the organic and non organic seed potatoes. Its just marketing. There’s not GMOs in any potatoes anywhere.
Organic isn’t just about GMOs. It’s about pesticides. Potatoes retain some of the highest levels of pesticides of any fruit or vegetable even after being cooked.
Organic just uses different pesticides. Sometimes ones with less research of effects because they are new.
I buy a few organic potatoes at our natural food store and they sprout fine. This year I even found some already budding on the eyes.
Here I would have to buy more seed potatoes in a package that I would use.
There are gmo russet potatoes. Please do your research before making comments of such certainty.
I did my research. This is a free country and comments of certainty can be made by anyone who is certain. Especially if I’ve done my research.
Kennebecs r awesome! We planted 12 x 12 rows on the farm in Illinois and got 4 5gallon buckets full! We ate them all winter! Keep them in a cool place!
I love Kennebecs too. Seem to grow great big potatoes reliably. You don’t realize how good they can be until you eat one fresh out of the garden.
Yeah. I call BS on that! Seed potato is waay more $$$ than grocery store potato. Buy organic potato and your gonna save a ton and prob get just as good germination rates for less than half the price.
They grow a lot of seed potatoes in Maine. That’s probably why they are so cheap there.
Here in WI its exactly as Al said. 89 cents per lb of sprouted seed potatoes in bulk bins. The local hardware store has 7 types including those mentioned. I cant vouch for those yields as yet, perhaps Al would come back and share some secrets with us.
What stores are you finding them at, Tater Salad? I am in WI too and would love to know!
Are these actually certified seed though? Farmers grow seed potatoes precisely because they get a greater return. It’s more expensive to grow seed due to the greater quantity of chemical needed and increased rogueing. You may just be buying eats that are sold as seed. (which is fine for your garden).
I agree.
I thought the same thing! Seed potatoes are way more expensive! My father grew up on a farm and his dad would buy 100lbs of tators and they would cut them into sections and that is how they did it for many years. I took two store bought russets and put them in bags and they are growing like weeds
I planted store bought along with Pontiac red and Yukon gold seed potatoes . 5 rows about 75″ each. Store bought did not come up at all so I replanted. 0 sprout after 6 weeks. Wont do that again. What a waste of time, space, fertilizer. PR and YG are close to start digging.
‘
Planted several store bought potatoes and everything came up and produced great potatoes so far
I have done the same thing with store bought…(most do fine)…also plant potatoes left over from the year before. nothing goes to waste around here.
I just grew some from organic store bought golden type (bulk not bagged) and couldn’t believe how many eyes I had sprouting…. 4-5 eyes per potato. Had to cut ’em more. The truth is, seed potatoes are a biz and if they can scare you into buying them, it’s more profit for them. You really shouldn’t believe everything you read online. Seed potatoes can be diseased too. Some just rot. It’s mostly about getting the freshest potatoes possible.
Organic is the way to go. No pesticides and no sprout inhibitors. Unfortunately for me, I cannot find anything more than your basic potatoes locally. I do buy blue and other less common “seed potatoes” from Lowes (5= $4). Cut them in quarters and have 20 starters. I use the “barrel method” (4 in each) and end up with 5 barrels of organic potatoes for $4. If you store them properly, you still have leftovers before the next harvest (twice a year for me).
My farmer / pharmacist friend digs a hole, puts in fertilizer , then plants the potato whole. The result is a larger plant.
My wife bought some red potatoes, peeled, and cooked them.
I took the peelings and put them in the vegetable garden plot, thinking they would just decompose. Well, a few plants grew, and since they didn’t look like weeds, left them to see what would happen. Finally pulled one, and found it was a red potato plant, with about five potatoes growing from it. Leaving the remainder to grow and then judge the results. Remember, these were from PEELINGS, not chunks of potatoes!
This is happening with me at the moment,with store brought potato’s, peeled them and threw the peeling to the compost heap, I have about 6decent potato plants and a few small, pulled a small one just to see and I have 5potatos one decent size the others are miniature, to say I’m a bit excited is an understatement, have literally put in no effort either.
Almost every bag of potatoes I’ve ever bought in my life (and I’m 5) will sprout and grow if I don’t eat them fast enough. I’ve grown some small potatoes just for fun, but never really did it right, just threw them in a pot to see what would happen. I’m going to get serious with the store bought and see what I can produce this year.
If you plan on growing them to eat, buy organic potatoes that have definitely not been treated with pesticides. Also, the reason some people say that their grocery store bought potatoes didn’t work is because SOME growers treat their harvest with sprout inhibitors, so they last longer before growing “eyes” (some don’t). It’s (potato) pot luck! I buy seed potatoes from Lowes. $4 gets you 5 whole potatoes. Cut them in half or quarters and you have 10-20 pieces to plant. If you use the “barrel method” or garbage can, all you need is 4 starters at the bottom and each will yield 3-9 potatoes depending on how many sprouts per piece. Good luck and most of all have fun!
I am not sure what you mean when you say, “all you need is 4 starters at the bottom”. Do you mean lay them in the bottom of the barrel and cover them up to the top with dirt. That doesn’t sound like it would work. Could you explain in a bit more detail? I have never grown a garden before.
Well with all that experience growing im sure you know very well what to do. That’s impressive that you not only eat all you veggies but go to the store and buy them all on your own at 5. Good job!
I grow stuff in South Africa (Cape Town area).. buy seed pototoes not organic at 20 dollars for 50lb of seed.. thats a lot. Then all imperfect potatoes ie green or misshapen i keep for seed. I “rogue” them myself meaning i go through the crop regularly and pull out and burn any diseased plants which is how seed …potatoes are kept diseasefree
This was really helpful. After reading about the diseases of store bought potatoes I was afraid to eat them. I had some red potatoes from the store that sprouted and wanted to see if I could grow potatoes. at the end of ‘august all the tops were dried up so I thought it was a failure. As I pulled up the dried tops a huge potato came up with it. I got about 20 potatoes and I am happy to know that we can actually eat them.
Yes…
Our first time planting potatoes we planted red potatoes that growing eyes from the grocery store, they are delicious and we will never throw potatoes away again. It is fun and really pays off.
I chitted and planted a sprouted potato found in the back of the pantry, just to see what would happen. I planted 14 sprouts, not expecting much. The yield as was 184 potatoes. Some are massive, some are not. The new potatoes I pulled up were all delicious and none of us have become ill from eating them. The mature potatoes are curing, ready to go to 6 different households. Not bad for a potato I would have thrown out if I’d listened to gardening advice. 😛
I have successfully grown many potatoes that sprouted and were from the store. I have 9 healthy plants in my kitchen now, growing for the winter…it is my first try at growing them indoors, but i have a green house with other season and heat sensitive plants so im figuring these guys will be ok living outside of the green house but close enough to catch the light…I’ve never had a problem with the potatoes i grow….now the garlic is another story…do not try to grow store bought garlic.
This is just WAY too much work. It’s so much easier to just go to the nearest grocery store and pay $4 for a bagful of potatoes whenever I need them.
I have grown my own potatoes from a gift of seed potatoes from a teacher friend. I grew Purple Majesty and Yukon Gold. The taste from homegrown is unbelievably fresher than any other potato. My family can’t wait for the next crop for me to grow. BTW I used the cloth bags from the grocery store last year to plant them in. I am buying grow bags to try this year. From the comments, I want to try a couple of store potatoes as well.
Sorry Bob “D” Builder – you have missed the point. It’s an adventure not a destination!
あ
Store bought garlic grows just fine. You just don’t know how to do it. They must be planted in the fall on October 21.
Break the bulbs up into cloves and stick each one down a hole about 3 inches deep. The will pop up in the spring and the garlic bulbs will be ready to harvest by mid summer. Hang them up by their tops in a barn or garage to dry for a few weeks and store them in a cool dry place.
Don’t cut off the top until they are dry near the bulb.
Yes we plant them in June on the first new full moon here in Australia Qld basically the start of our short Winter lasts approx 6/8 weeks most yrs & harvest around end Spring beginning of summer & we also tie them up in bunches & hang them up to dry inside either shed or garage , my father was an avid home gardener who taught us how & what to grow depending on the Seasons
I bought some red potatoes from the grocery store in December, and found them sprouting eyes before I could use them up. Decided to cut off the eyes (with large section of potato around the eyes) and plant them on January 30 since I was already growing lettuce under lights just to see if they’d sprout, and boy did they take off! I transplanted to pickle buckets and today (March 6) and I already have thimble sized red potatoes. I really wish I knew what cultivar these potatoes were! Sold at Giant Eagle in the Cleveland area in December, if anyone has a clue. Thanks!
I planted store bought potatoes and there were only eight soft little potatoes. Today off those eight I harvested about 10 kg of beautiful potatoes for us to eat. I have always done this with old potatoes. Never been an issue. Rotate your ground, fertilise and make sure you mound up with plenty of mulch and regular watering.
we grown potatoes from store-bought and they did great, also to our surprise the old potatoes I tossed in the yard for the critters to eat rooted around the yard we found about 10 self-seeded plants we just let them be and all had potatoes when it was harvest time and all I did was threw them in the yard 🙂 so was very happy.
I put my peelings out two weeks ago in compose and wow they are growing! When should I harvest?
Thanks,
Emily
I’m going to try, I’m on the Big Island of Hawaii lower Puna district and off grid, living on fixed income I need to grow some foods.
I tried to grow store bought potatoes this year. I planted about 18 pieces. I did cut them up as I do when planting seed potatoes. I had good foliage and since they were russets, I tried recovering them every time they would grow about 6″ to see if I could get a barrel full. What I got was about 3 pounds or so of mostly misshapen and several had some kind of scabs on them. None of them was bigger than a child’s fist. I washed them off and put them under the shed to dry and they all seemed to have developed a good skin (except where they had the scabs).
For the record, I also planted some Yukon Gold seed potatoes that produced about 3 pounds also. A few of them had the same kind of scab on them, but they’re perfect in every other respect.
I’ve not seen this before. Usually when I get bad potatoes, they’re just black and mushy. We’ve had a couple of meals off the Yukons. I’m not so sure about these that I harvested this morning.
Wish I could post some pictures.
The seed potatoes can cost anywhere from $7.00 – $20 a pack, I get two pound of bag russet potatoes for 99 cents at the 99 Cent Store. How can that be the same? Please refer me to place with a reasonable cost, so far I’ve not found one. And can you be more specific on whether the store bough potatoes might grow? Not everyone can afford to buy at luxury grocery store, since it seems that’s where you shop. Please help. I’m broke and fabulous and would like to grow my own food to save money.
I have good luck with store bought red potatoes and they are cheaper!
I always cut them up then let them harden/dry before planting.
I also treat them with sulphur dust to prevent disease.
Can i plamt these in ocala ,fl now? Its cool at night hot in day
Also what kind of potato os best?
Have grown red potatoes in the past with no problem. Here’s the question. These new potatoes were given to me. They were red and small. The plants are beautiful and have flowers on top. Do I dead head them or leave them on?
I have store brought potatoes that have shooted beautifully. Does this mean that they havent had anti sprouting spray on them.
They are small potatoes and I want to grow in a 30 lt tub..how many would you suggest I put in please?
I found you blog on the web here in the Philippines. The title says “how to grow potatoes from store bought potatoes “ I read the entire blog including the threads. Yet the only reference to growing potatoes from store bought potatoes is your advice which is “there is no reason to grow potatoes from the ones you buy at a store”. Hmmm
Maybe that should be the title of this article “no reason to grow potatoes from store bought ones”
We planted 4 large shop potatoes straight into the soil in our homemade raised bed, we just dug up a whole sinkful!
This is what we want to see.
I’ve been growing any sprouted potatoes for the last 10 years in an old ice-bucket (the 5-gal. size). I have not had any problems. My store bought potatoes either rot or sprout. I have found that the rotted ones shouldn’t even go in the compost heap, I had one small composed pile with the rotted ones & nothing would grow in it. I turn out the soil for harvest & then put some old potting mix & dirt (it’s pretty much clay here) & add some compost. I get enough potatoes to share & then my neighbors share some of their store buys with me. I’m 73 & I started planting junk vegs when I was a kid.
I’ve tried a couple times to plant sprouted red potatoes from the store, planting them in a pot, and they only get tiny finger size potatoes. Am I doing something wrong, or not enough sunlight, nutrients, or water? Or is this because they were from the store? My pot was 12″ diameter,, didn’t do anything special for dirt, just soil from garden, no amendments.
Best to grow in a 5 gallon bucket. Preferably food grade plastic. Some restaurants will give them to you for free. I plant about 4-6”deep. As plant grows keep adding soil to cover it. I’m also using my empty chicken and rabbit feed bags to grow in this year and add my rabbit poo straight in the soil for fertilizer.
We use store brought potatoes as seed potatoes and always get a good harvest. To see if you can use then simply plsce a few potatoes an is brown paper bag and put in a cupboard and forget about them. in about a months time check them, they should if sprouted. if not they have been chemically enhanced not to sprout. (dispose of )If they have sprouted cut them into 2in /5 cm pieces and plant them. use heaps of organic fertiliser.
Not sure if this is still of interest 12 years after your initial post but I got interested in gardening late last summer. Part of that was the idea of trying to grow potatoes that I bought at the store. So far I’ve tried russets, Yukon golds, yellow potatoes (from Walmart and Costco) and miniature multicolor potatoes (Costco). I have no luck at all with the russets. They form eyes but never sprouts. The other have all grown like crazy. I’m lucky if I get half way through a 5 pound bag of the yellows before they start sprouting. I have 3 Yukon gold plants, about 20 yellow potato plants and a dozen of the miniatures. One of the minis that I started last fall has already produced a full sized (well, for miniature) potato. I shared it with my wife. It was yummy. There are more down there but I’m not messing with them yet.
I’m growing them in Miracle-Gro potting soil, feeding them Vigoro Tomato and Vegetable Garden Plant Food with Calcium. The minis are in 1 gallon plastic grow bags, the yellows in 3 gallon fabric or plastic bags and the 3 Yukon Golds share a 5 gallon fabric grow bag. To be clear, the plants are growing well but that single miniature potato is the only thing I’ve harvested so far. The rest of the plants aren’t mature enough yet. Good luck.