Do you use certified seed potatoes?
 

2012 was my first year of growing potatoes. I used certified seed potatoes. Recently I spoke to another gardener in my neighborhood who has had great success for about three years using Kennebecs from a local source. They were not certified seed potatoes, yet his potatoes are huge and the yield is tremendous.

I was under the impression that using non-certified stock was a no-no, and I can't reconcile the fact that his potato stock is a fraction cheaper than what I used, and his results are better than mine.

Do you think it's necessary to use certified seed potatoes?

I think that depends. Even certified seed are not disease free. As you save clones season to season the tissue gets more disease and eventually the yield drops more problems happen etc. I save my own potatoes for few seasons selecting those more resistant to my climate. If they start to show disease then I stop growing that variety. I think the best alternative is to save TPS and grow new potato plants starting from TPS. The 1st year potatoes are disease free potatoes are seed potatoes to grow the next year.

I'm not certain about certified vs. non certified seed potatoes, but if you want to save some money there is a very good thread on "pulling sprouts". I did this last year, and had a great crop of potatoes (Kennebec). I just purchased a bag of seed potatoes at Walmart (although Walmart is somewhat limited in the varieties they carry).

You will probably only need 2 or 3 potatoes to do this (it depends on how many you want to plant), but last year I pulled around 36 sprouts from 2 potatoes (I think, it might have been 3), but I could have pulled even more. After pulling the sprouts, I transplanted them into 24 oz. plastic cups until they were ready to plant in the garden. You could use any type of container you have for the transplants.

All you need to do is buy 1 pound of seed potato, and you should be able to pull all of the sprouts you need to plant your garden. At first, it might look time consuming, but it is very easy to do once you get started.

Here is the thread on "pulling sprouts":

[URL]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=17997&highlight=pulling+sprouts[/URL]

Mark 0820, I'm glad the "pull starts" worked out for you. I will use nothing else...except the super earlies like red norland. I find I get superior size and yield of cleaner potatoes useing the "pull start" method.

I'm new to pulling sprouts and was wondering if the sprouts harbor the same diseases that their parents have.

Hopefully someone who knows more about this will come along and answer your question.

If I recall correctly (and I'm only going by memory), I think I have read that it is not likely for the disease of a potato to be transmitted to a sprout. I think there is a small probability it can be transmitted, but it typically does not occur.

I believe this is one of the benefits of saving tubers from one season to the next that by pulling sprouts you greatly minimize disease transfer from one season to the next (as opposed to planting pieces of the saved tubers).

If I get a chance, I will see if I can locate where I read this information. In the meantime, maybe Tom or one of the professionals will stop by and give you expert advice.

I can't find the information I was looking for. It has been over a year since I did a lot of research on potatoes. Disregard my post above (post #6). If I find the information I am looking for, I will post it in this thread. :?!?:

Mark, thanks for trying. I appreciate it.