Potatoes/ Seed potatoes....the same??

[freemotion]

I have been saving potatoes from each bag of organic potatoes I buy. I take them all out of the bag when I first open it and stash the ones with the most eyes in my paper sack in the cellar. I can easily get 3-4 types of organic potatoes at my regular grocery store, and that is good enough for me. They are $1 per pound.

 

[Neko-chan]

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[Denim Deb]

I have to find a new place to buy them. The store where I normally get them went out of business last year.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

If you are in the US, Federal regulations require that eating eggs be under refrigeration continuously except during necessary handling or transfer, and that they have specific labeling on them about refrigeration. There are a bunch of USDA regs on selling eggs, and most states have additional regulations pertaining to the sale of uninspected/ungraded farm eggs. There are also limits on the amount you can sell in a single sale, and the number of hens you can have - they are fairly substantial numbers, but it is wise to know them. A rancher near us was fined and slapped for selling ungraded/uninspected eggs in-state, because he had more than the USDA allowed number of hens for doing so.

Yup, I'm in the US. I used to sell to a few private customers at our health food store, unwashed, unrefrigerated eggs, always less than 3 days old. I had a flock of about 100. (I also at times had LOTS of extra eggs and I used them to feed dogs, cats, chickens, pretty much everyone except the geese ate them.)

Now my hen flock is MUCH smaller. I have 8 layers, a few silkies for brooding, and one pullet just about laying age. That's it. I use about half the eggs, and give the rest to a lady from church, and her husband gives me hay for the goats and llama.

I know they are SUPPOSED to be washed, refrigerated, and all that for sale. Honestly, I find them very fresh and keeping better on the counter. I always have. I do let my "customers" know my practices, and offer to handle the eggs any way they wish. They have all so far asked for unwashed, unrefrigerated eggs.

I doubt I'll be selling many. If ever I sold outside my circle of friends, I would probably plan to handle them in accordance with standards, just to keep myself out of trouble.

(Should have said -- editing here -- that I also sometimes sold fresh eggs IN store, and those were always washed, refrigerated, labeled properly, and dated. Those had to be.)

 

[Neko-chan]

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[i_am2bz]

Just toss it in at any stage. Actually, if the sprouts are very long, they are HARDER to plant, because you have to be careful not to break the sprouts off.

Normally potatoes are planted without any visible sprout length.

One more tater question (for now )....why does everyone say to make sure there are 2 sprouts on every piece that you plant? Is that for pollination purposes? I mean, what will happen if I plant a piece with only 1 eye sprouted?

 

[patandchickens]

I think it's just trying to discourage you from planting wee tiny itsy bits of potatoes that take longer to really get going and don't end up as productive plants.

There is no pollination needed whatsoever, in fact if someone could develop a nonflowering potato it would probably be a huge hit commercially, the flowering really just takes energy away from 'tater production (although it also controls enlargement of the tubers, but, you know)

Pat

 

[i_am2bz]

I think it's just trying to discourage you from planting wee tiny itsy bits of potatoes that take longer to really get going and don't end up as productive plants.

There is no pollination needed whatsoever, in fact if someone could develop a nonflowering potato it would probably be a huge hit commercially, the flowering really just takes energy away from 'tater production (although it also controls enlargement of the tubers, but, you know)

Pat

Oh! So, I could take my current medium-sized potato with 4 sprouts, cut it into 4 pieces, & go ahead & plant? (See how much I know about growing potatoes??)

Thanks P&C, think I'll be doing that this week!!

 

[Marianne]

I've had good luck with potatoes that were sprouting, both grocery store and from a friend's cold room. Her's were the previous years crop, had sprouts 6 to 8" long! A lot of those sprouts broke off when I was planting, but they did okay, too. I also just planted the whole potato, so maybe it sprouted from a different eye.
For some reason, I always buy seed potatoes when it's time to plant.

I read that during the Great Depression, women would peel potatoes leaving a thicker peel and plant the peels. They couldn't afford to use the whole, cut up spud. I tried planting potato peels but didn't get a thing. I was late getting them in the ground, though. The peels were also not really thick.

 

[meriruka]

I've always bought organic potatoes from the store as opposed to seed potatoes and have always had a good crop. I do the same with organic garlic - most seed catalogs want $12.00 for three bulbs and only ship it at certain times of the year.