What are seed potatoes? – Seed potatoes are not seeds in any way. Instead, they are essentially potato tubers that are utilized for planting. Typically, they are conserved from the previous year’s harvest and stored under strict circumstances over the winter to keep them firm and disease-free.
Instead of conserving a portion of your yield for replanting the following year, I suggest acquiring certified disease-free seed potatoes at the beginning of each growing season. Potatoes are susceptible to several (bacterial, viral, and fungal) diseases, such as potato scab and potato blight, which can be readily introduced to a garden by planting preserved tubers.
White potatoes, red potatoes, and potatoes with yellow meat or red skin are identical to potatoes with any other color exterior or inside. Only by purchasing and planting certified seed potatoes can a “clean” harvest be guaranteed. Certified seed potatoes are certified to be disease-free and have not been treated with the common anti-sprouting chemicals found in supermarket potatoes.
Can grocery store potatoes be used as seed potatoes?
Can Store-Bought Potatoes Be Used As Seed Potatoes? – Store-bought (regular) potatoes are not the same as seed potatoes. Although it is feasible to plant store-bought potatoes, they are cultivated for consumption and are not meant for planting. Store-bought potatoes may still be used to grow healthy plants.
- Last year, this potato plant in a container did rather nicely! The purpose of seed potatoes is to cultivate new potato plants.
- They are certified disease-free, so you need not worry about transmitting potato illnesses such as blight to your garden.
- In addition, clorproham is not applied to seed potatoes.
As a result, there is no herbicide/sprout inhibitor that can prevent the growth of a seed potato-grown potato plant. The following table compares store-bought and certified seed potatoes in terms of their intended use, susceptibility to disease, and treatment with herbicides or sprout inhibitors.
| Potatoes | Store Bought Potatoes | Certified Seed Potatoes |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Grown for eating. | Bred for sprouting to produce new potato plants. |
| Disease | May carry diseases, such as early blight or late blight. | Certified disease free when purchased from reputable companies. |
| Treatment | Often treated with herbicides or sprout inhibitors, such as clorproham. | Never treated with herbicides or sprout inhibitors. |
This table compares store-bought and certified seed potatoes based on their intended use, susceptibility to disease, and treatment with herbicides or sprout inhibitors.
Are Store-Bought Potatoes Suitable for Planting – Growing store-bought potatoes that have sprouted can result in a delicious and safe harvest of potatoes. However, there is one restriction to growing store-bought potatoes. In contrast to certified disease-free potatoes, supermarket potatoes may contain pathogens such as or.
When should I purchase potato seed?
Potatoes are cultivated from carefully prepared’seed’ potatoes (or tubers). These are identical like store-bought potatoes, but are guaranteed to be virus-free. From late winter on, seed potatoes are available for purchase. The seeds are then started indoors by allowing them to grow prior to being planted.
What happens if seed potatoes are consumed?
May You Consume Seed Potatoes? – Yes, you can consume seed potatoes, however they are better utilized for planting new crops. Why? Because commercial suppliers of certified seed potatoes do thorough testing to confirm the absence of crop-destroying diseases and pests including leafroll virus and Phytophthora infestans, often known as late blight.
- It is typical for small producers to pass illnesses or viruses from one crop to the next when recycling potatoes from the previous season’s harvest as seed, hence it is logical that professional seed potato vendors must adhere to stringent criteria.
- Additionally, homegrown seed potatoes are safe to consume since gardeners rarely treat them with dangerous chemicals before storing them.
As long as these potatoes haven’t sprouted or developed green flesh, they will seem and taste identical to ordinary potatoes.
