Potatoes didn't work

[SquashNut]

I planted red potatoes in april, do red potatoes normally take longer to come up than russets or yucons?
The russets and yucons are from my own saved potatoes. The red ones were from a 50 pound bag of potatoes I bought from the store.
I've done this before and it has worked.

[bee]

I bought a bag of wonderful name brand potatos to plant. Just the right size to plant whole; red skinned with yellow interior. They went into the same patch as potatoes I saved that major sprouted and 2 kinds of fresh bought seed potatos..pontiacs and yukon golds. The only thing tha rotted without sprouting was those red with yellow insides. Guess they were treated to not sprout...could be what happened to yours too..treated to not sprout so they could hold them longer. BTW, replaced them with some store bought baking taters that sprouted on me; they are already above ground and growing well.

[Paquebot]

Depends upon how long the red ones had been out of storage. If stored at the proper temperature right from harvest, their internal clock may have been entirely stopped. It would not start again until they are warmed up. Carefully dig down and see what the first one or two in the row looks like. That should tell you what's happening.

Martin

[geo in mi]

http://www.hgic.umd.edu/_media/documents/hg55_000.pdf

Most typical reasons why potatoes don't sprout and come up are: soil too cold and/or wet, planted too deep, potatoes rotted from internal defects or undiscovered seed borne pathogens, seeds were treated with sprout inhibiting chemicals for holding longer in the grocery store, seeds planted too soon after breaking dormancy without warmup.

Potatoes are pretty flexible, so you may get a crop. Or you may not--that's why I usually preach Certified Seed Potatoes and proper wake up conditioning from dormancy to putting seed pieces in the ground........ Obviously that's my own personal opinion, mainly because I like to get something in return for my hard work and money, and I like to eat potatoes. Other opinions may differ and you might experience different results........

geo

[Paquebot]

At the same time, one can refute almost every reason. My first planting of potatoes was definitely into cold ground and planted deep. Went into the ground on 21 March and were mounded with at least 8" of material. Stragglers of one of the 3 varieties are still coming up. They simply weren't ready to break out of dormancy until the soil warmed up. All-Red plants are 8" tall!

Martin

[bee]

TEE HEE!! 8 inches Martin?? I have taters in BLOOM!! As are all the varieties of Walking Onions I got from you!

[fishinshawn]

Originally Posted by bee

TEE HEE!! 8 inches Martin?? I have taters in BLOOM!! As are all the varieties of Walking Onions I got from you!

wow?!?! bloom already? I put mine in in march and they are close to a foot tall. But I hilled them when they were about 6" tall. How tall do they get when they are blooming?

[galfriend]

All of my red taters (from 50lb seed bag) that we planted first of March are up, been hilled twice (some 3x) and all are in bloom and still seem to be growing. As are the purple, white and yukon's planted at the same time. I think they are way beyond 8 inches in full bloom, so is something wrong? Help! We're just too tired to hill them all again.
They all are looking good, as above ground plants any way. If they all do reproduce, I will have to put them in my will for the next few generations (along w/onions)

[Paquebot]

Did you dig down to see what's there? If the seed pieces vanished, that could be one thing. If solid and with or without sprouts, that could be other things. Can't diagnose an illness without knowing the symptoms.

Martin

[bee]

Well my "non sprouting" taters were just laying there looking just like I planted them..the ones I could find!

And Martin, I crowed too quickly on the Walking Onions..I have a pest that is coming back night after night for a snack of one Heritage Sweet; my poorest producer and least robust plants. If I don't catch it I may be left without this variety.

[kirkmcquest]

I planted mine in April too...they are just starting to break the soil. I think the cold weather kept them from sprouting for a long time. Even the seed pieces I kept out of the ground didn't start sprouting until about a week or so ago.

I agree with Pequot, dig a couple up and have a look ( I did that several times)...I'll bet they are sprouting just a bit behind. Good luck.

[emeraldcowgirl]

I planted some Certified Seed potatoes in my yard and none of them sprouted. We tried planting them in straw and waited and waited. Finally we got tired of waiting so we dug through the straw to see what was going on with the potatoes. We couldn't find any! Either they just rotted away or a mouse cam along and nabbed them.

[EDDIE BUCK]

I planted Pontiac and kennebec around March 1st and had a few seed pieces left.When I planted my corn April 15,it ran out leaving a short row.

I thought of my extra potato seed pieces,and planted them on that row.Even though the first potato planting was over a month earlier and was 8 to ten inches high when I made the 2nd planting,they all bloomed at the same time and you can see no difference in the vines today.

[SquashNut]

the seed peices were as I planted them.

[Paquebot]

Originally Posted by SquashNut

the seed peices were as I planted them.

Maleic hydrazide, MH-30 was used on the seed pieces of the parent plants. That is rare with regular potatoes but some grower went to the extreme to assure that no volunteers might carry over late blight. In short, your potatoes may sprout but not progress beyond that stage.

Martin

[SquashNut]

Well I redug the ground and I am working on planting roma snap beans in their place. Won't use store bought potatoes again.

[geo in mi]

Originally Posted by SquashNut

Well I redug the ground and I am working on planting roma snap beans in their place. Won't use store bought potatoes again.

Yes, grocery store potatoes are hit and miss. Problem is, you don't know absolutely if they have been treated with sprout inhibitor or not. And you don't know unless you cook and taste some you intend to plant if they will taste to your liking. Many groc. store varieties aren't named on the sack, so you don't really know the best growing conditions they need, or how long they will store for you. That said, if they are showing sprouts, you can pretty much conclude that they will grow if you plant them, all other things being equal. Now, if you find certified organic potatoes in the store, you will have a better chance of them sprouting. But. you should always presprout your seed potatoes, regardless, to give them the best chance of making it if your soil is cold and wet.

Good luck,
geo

[geo in mi]

Originally Posted by Paquebot

Maleic hydrazide, MH-30 was used on the seed pieces of the parent plants. That is rare with regular potatoes but some grower went to the extreme to assure that no volunteers might carry over late blight. In short, your potatoes may sprout but not progress beyond that stage.

Martin

Here's the article I think I posted once before. It does show some sprouting after treatment, but probably too late for surviving in a cool, wet soil condition without rotting first. http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/potatoes/...Control-07.pdf

That grower may have been storing his own stock--like some growers do around here with apples.



geo

[dragonjaze]

well, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who digs up the potatoes they planted to see what's going on...I felt weird "peeking" at them