The Potato Experiment

[Uke_Mochi]

SO...

Some friends of mine gave me some potato seeds (which came from a source they could not divulge... do NOT know why) to see if we could get any of them to germinate in our hydroponic system...

Well, they have, and now I've got maybe 2 viable seedlings. I'm going to let them get a little bigger before I transition them to soil, but my big question is what to do with them? Should I work under the assumption that they may not produce much more than a pretty plant, and not allot a chunk of my extremely limited (soil) garden space to them? (i've got seed potatoes that i'm sowing in less than a month). Do I put them in a container, just to see what happens? (and then keep whatever tubers appear as next year's stock)

Anyone else out there done potatoes from seed before???

[Sinfonian]

Wow, potatoes from actual seeds. No, I don't know anyone who's done that. Do you know if they are late or early variety potatoes? That makes a difference on how you plant them.

For limited space, check out my potato bin page on my blog. It was just mentioned in our local paper and I got interviewed for it. The page is fairly complete from design to storage. Check it out. It is one option.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[gardengirl72]

You are entering undiscovered country, setting new trends and learning things I have no idea about! I am super pumped you have taken on the challenge! Let us know what happens.

[plantoneonme]

I too acquired potato seeds and found some interesting information about growing them. Basically grow as you would a potato but expect only tiny potatoes that can be used as seed potatoes next year. I have a 2 gallon pot going in my basement with a sprouted potato to see what kind of yield I can get. You could do the same with the seed potato. I would not use up any valuable real estate on the seed potatoes but it would be a fun experiment in a pot...at least this is what I'm going to do. Kim

[Uke_Mochi]

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Thank you for the valuable feedback! I'm going to do my best to photojournal the process, then.

[Warlord]

Hey Uke, just wondering how your seed potato experiment last year went? I have harvested some potato seed from my Yukon Gold potatoes this past year and am quite anxious too see if they will produce any viable plants. Keep in touch. Warren