Sprouting Potatoes

If they were grown locally they have probably been in a climate-controlled cold storage since they were harvested and now that they have been exposed to warmer temperatures in the store and your home they think that it is spring.

Knock the sprouts off and use them.

Old potatoes make great scalloped potatoes.
 
I eat them also. just cut it away. They get that way because the store hangs on to them for so long. I notice Walmarts veggies tend to sprout or go bad quicker than my regular supermarket.
In the springtime I always let some of mine sprout just for planting. Many times I eat the potato and save the little sprouts after peeling and of course before cooking. It doesn't take much for them to grow.
 
I don't like to eat them, after the sprouts have gotten as far as those have.

But I am very happy to learn you are all here, after having done so! :)

It's far to early to plant them, so I would want to toss them into the wild, for the wildlife to chew on, and for them to decompose or grow....

This time of year, it has been months since they were harvested, so most varieties cannot be stored well for that long from harvested, and it's likely to happen.
Therefore, by February, it takes even less time exposed to warmth, (in store or home)
for them to sprout and then, grow quickly like vines grow!

Store them someplace cooler in your home, if you have a cooler spot, and buy fewer at a time,

OR, try to purchase a different variety of potato (or some other veggies instead) for a nice temporary change.

There are types that will hold up better, or potatoes grown more recently than the Northern ones, such as, one can buy California potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes, for a few months now...
and wait till Autumn, for good quality local Northern ones, again.
 
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They don't look so hot now - all the above ground growth has disappeared, but never having grown potatoes before, I don't know if that's part of the natural process. It has been very dry here. When are potatoes usually harvested?
 
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Yes, that's part of the natural process, and you can carefully look in the soil now, for any potatoes.

Take care, not to cut or harm them with any sharp or hard digging tool. Use gloved hands if the soil is soft enough. Consider motion from outside the plnts, sideways toward the stems area, rather than digging straight down, which might hit them harder.
 
I don't have good luck with planting sweet potatoes that sprout and aren't organic. Think the organic potatoes of all kinds are the best ones to plant. Sprouting is normally caused by keeping in a warm dark room. I try to keep my potatoes in more light to keep them from sprouting or to keep in the fridge.
 
I found that if I store the potatoes in the refrigerator that's when they sprout.

Remember the old "potato bins". No refrigeration. Now I just buy a few potatoes at a time and use them right away. I'm lucky. I live within walking distance to a big grocery store.
 
debodun said:
I heard that sweet potatoes are treated with something so they can't sprout.
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Not if you buy the "organic" ones. I've grown potatoes from the organic ones. Just let them sprout and then cut in half and plant them. I planted in the summer and had potatoes whenever wanted throughout the winter (we don't get much harsh cold weather here, though...so you might want to plant them in pots and bring them inside with a grow light if you're wanting to do it within the next couple months. It makes a pretty trailing vine so might also make a nice winter project, maybe, huh!

We grew green peppers inside all last winter, just to see if we could do it. Trying to decide what to grow this year...maybe herbs or something. Have a lot of herbs.
 
I remember my mom sprouting sweet potatoes. She stuck toothpicks around the middle and suspended it over a glass of water. But that was long ago - probably before the practice of treating the taters was instituted.
 
debodun said:
I remember my mom sprouting sweet potatoes. She stuck toothpicks around the middle and suspended it over a glass of water. But that was long ago - probably before the practice of treating the taters was instituted.
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The only way I've ever harvested sweet potatoes from the sprouted organic ones is to cut them off, with a nice sprout or two in the individual cuts and planting them in the ground. Now you've got me thinking about trying it inside this year...the vine is very pretty, maybe that's why your mom did it that way...or was it only for the food?
 
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