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Is it possible to save potatoes for seed next year

vivienne giffordvivienne gifford Posts: 22
in Fruit & veg

Hi all,

Here's one for you.

My Mother in law has always raved about Ulster new potatoes being the best she's ever tasted and she's just brought me some and she's right....they're delicious!

The problem is they are very hard to get round here, so I was wondering if it would be possible to save a couple and use them as seed potatoes next year.

So here are my questions,

Firstly, how do I keep them and secondly would they work as seed??

Thank you in anticipation.

Posts

  • bekkie hughesbekkie hughes Posts: 5,294
    I think it is possible (not sure how) but is discouraged due to potential diesease issues, hopefully someone else will post who knows exactly image
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 16,526

    You can save them for next year, but  you run the risk of disease.  Certified seed potatoes are grown in cold  areas where there are no aphids to pass on viral  diseases.

    You would need to keep them in a cold place , but not able to freeze.

     

  • vivienne giffordvivienne gifford Posts: 22

    Thanks guys.

    I'll give it a go and put a couple in the shed in some brown paper and see how they are next year. You never know until you try, do youimage

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 29
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  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114

    Seed potatoes are offered in most of the mainstream catalogues.  There shouldn't be a problem getting hold of them.  On the other hand there is certainly a risk keeping potatoes from this year until next Spring.  You may be importing disease or virus.

  • vivienne giffordvivienne gifford Posts: 22

    Ummm, maybe i'll not bother then. I'll just see if I can get a few good seed potatoes next year. My problem is, I only have a tiny back yard and I only have a couple of sacks for my spuds and when I look for seed potatoes they come in very large amounts and I would waste lots, so I just thought I could try keeping a couple of these but now I don't think I'll bother. Thanks Guys for your help though.

  • phloxphlox Posts: 14

    Hello Vivienne, I remember, in the poor fifties of last century , gardners mostly bought new seedpotatoas every two or even three years . The years in between they kept medium size goodlooking potatoas in a wooden trunck (miceproof ) undergrounds until plantingtime. 

  • vivienne giffordvivienne gifford Posts: 22

    Hi Phlox and Edd,

    Thanks for your input,

    I probably will just get seed potatoes next year as I really don't want to introduce disease.

  • snowathletesnowathlete Posts: 138

    I think it's fine to do but I'd only do it if I was sure they were disease free (Plants and tubers). 

  • Mel McbrideMel Mcbride Posts: 112

    It definitely is!

    I save from my own crop every year. I put them in a bowl, single sheet of newpaper over them and they sit in next to the tea bags n' sugar (cupboard on the wall)

    By November/December they all like like crinkly old men. By January this year they had shoots, but ever so slow growing, they aren't usually much longer by March.

    What is awesome about spuds is.. if you plant the whole potato (instead of pulling the stems off, which also works great btw) - once the stem has leaves it starts to rejeuvenate the original crinkly old man spud. It will look good as new by the time the leafy stem is around 6". You can put the spud back in the cupboard and plant it again when it reshoots (and it will!) or you can eat it. 

    I've only had one re-growth so far, it got a bit late in the year so I ate them the second time around hehe. I love spuds, they are so much more amazing than I realized initially.

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