how long will seed potatoes store

[ChickenGrass]

Hi all,
I will be ordering my first earlies tonight.
The company won't send them until the 3rd week of January,
But I said I will order them now so the variety I want won't get sold out.
I was also thinking of ordering my main crop potatoes too.
I know the main crop can't be planted until around June,
But I wanted to order the variety I want incase the main crop variety I want,
Gets sold out too.
My question now is would the main crop potatoes stay good,
Untill June which would be there planting time if I got them delivered in
February which would be 4-5 months before the plating time for them.
If I can store them until then how will I store them?
Thank you,
Fionn.

 

[dickiebird]

The worst thing that may happen is they'll start sprouting.
I would find a cool dry place to store them or ask the place you buy them from, how best to store them.
My guess is that these taters were harvested last fall so they would know what to do to keep them until your ready to plant.
I had a couple of very small spuds that got mixed in with my peppers I was saving for seed.
When I found them they were kinda shriveled up, but had a couple of eyes trying to sprout. I placed them in a couple of quart containers with potting soil and I now have about 4 or5 plants about 10" tall.
They're about maxed out in my growing cabinet so I plan to up pot them into gallon containers and set them on a window sill until it's warm enough to put them in the greenhouse.

THANX RICH

 

[Smart Red]

It is not as much how long as how well they are stored that determines if the spuds stay good. I have actually had small potatoes harvested in 2014 and forgotten in a cool dark hiding spot be plantable in spring of 2016. Ugly, wrinkled, and full of sprouting stems, but grow they did when planted.

Keeping them in a cool, dry spot or even in the refrigerator will help them stay until planting time. A lot of companies will take your order and hold the delivery for the time you request.

 

[digitS']

I claim to have planted seed potatoes with sprouts so long that I have had to rest them on my shoulders while putting the seed in the ground. Of course, it isn't true. Generally, you can break or remove sprouts and more will develop, anyway. One variety that I was growing last year was planted late as I didn't find the seed earlier in the spring. The tubers were quite wrinkled and sprouted. The plants didn't do so well although I had grown that variety successfully in the past.

June is quite some time from now and I hope you have good storage conditions. I don't really and my August harvested potatoes usually last about this long and aren't much good later. I have just been down in my basement room where I keep them. The University of Idaho recommends 6°C to 13°C (42°f to 55°f) for home storage of potatoes. It's 7°C (44°f) in that basement room but I see that store-bought potatoes that came home from the market 2 weeks ago are beginning to sprout.

It isn't that the temperature right now is bad. It's that the temperature was much warmer down there (and in the market) previously. Also, I have no control of the humidity. I usually get the my potatoes through about 5 months but we finished them in December this time. And yes, they were sprouted by then.

Steve

 

[ChickenGrass]

Hi all,
Thank you very much for your replies.
I have a larder/pantry room where I could store them.
It's not too big.
There is no windows and the door Is always kept closed.
It's cooler in there than the rest of the house.
They should store in there.
I will also ask the company I am buying them from for there opinion,
On how they think I should store them.

I was also wondering what varieties everyone is doing.
My earlies will be "homeguard"
And I hope to get "sarpo Mira" for the main crop.
Has anyone grown these varieties before?
Thank you again for your help,
Fionn.

 

[digitS']

Fionn, potatoes are often "geographically specific."

By that I mean, they are not imported because they aren't really seeds, they are clones. Getting the necessary permits, with the risk of importing crop diseases, is prohibitive.

I haven't even heard of those varieties. Maybe they are more recent ones and came out after importing seed potatoes became more difficult. Bintje is a European variety that we have here that is supposed to be a popular one, "across the pond."

Me? I hope to find some Viking Purple for an early crop ... Vikings ... now doesn't that suggest an invasion? Ha!

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

I have never seen those varieties either Fionn.
I love growing potatoes, they're my favorite crop to harvest.

I'm not too sure how much ground I'll be able to devote to spuds this year, I have a soil problem in my main garden, and a horse corral is now in my other large plot... but my favorites are Maris Piper and Magic Molly. Bintje also does well for me and Purple Viking, (which is the same potato as Steve's Viking Purple. I guess it is just a difference in where you buy them?)

Are you planting in the ground or will you be growing them in containers?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can you talk to them and ask them to hold your shipment until May or June? That would be my first approach.

Often seed potatoes are treated with some pretty nasty chemicals so they break dormancy. If yours are treated for that, they re unlikely to store very well no matter how perfect your storage conditions. Maybe another reason to contact them?

 

[catjac1975]

They should be fine-keep them cool. I have used my leftover potatoes several times. They get big sprouts and a bit moldy and grow just fine. I keep them in a cool cellar.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Hi all and thank you very much for your supplies,
I think the sarpo Mira is a new blight resistant,
Variety only sold in uk and Ireland,
The home guard is an old variety which was,
Very popular here in WW2.
I think I will send the company an email and ask them,
About what they recommend.
If they recommend I wait,
I could also ask them if they will keep my main crop untill planting time.
Thank you,
Fionn.