My lone Charlotte potato has been harvested

[Jeannine]

I had planted  1 potato the size of a walnut in a large pot,Today I tipped the pot into the wheelbarrow so as not to miss anything and I got just over 1/2lbs od tubers. almost all large, a couple of mediums ans 2 tinies.

The volunteer in the greenhouse ,which came from home made soil mix that was in a raised bed I have discarded, I am sure now is a Charlotte, well the growth and floweres are identical to the pot one,and it isn't far behind this one. The cutting I took from the original plant is also thriving but behind.I am confident it will be OK.

My plan is to try to plant a couple of tubers in pots for Christmas spudes and improve my amount for next year. I have done this before but it was donkeys years ago and not %100 sure how I did it. At that time I kept back a few tubers from spring planting though.

Can anyone tell me please when to plant them, my brain is telling me June or July, and do I do anything before hand..also which size is better to plant.

Thank you in advance..XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

[ACE]

Somewhere on this forum somebody once said a period of 'resting' was needed before you replant potatoes, I cannot find the conversation. But it seems you cannot just replant them.

[ancellsfarmer]

Somewhere on this forum somebody once said a period of 'resting' was needed before you replant potatoes, I cannot find the conversation. But it seems you cannot just replant them.

Dormancy of potatoes is well documented in numerous articles online. This link gives a clear explanation in simple terms, although many more technical documents are also available.
See:
https://www.sustainablemarketfarming.com/tag/dormancy-requirements-of-potatoes/
Note the reference to variation by use of ethylene emitting fruits, such as banana.
A whole new facet of our hobby awaits......

[Jeannine]

It should read I got 2 1/2 pounds.

[George the Pigman]

A very interesting article ancellsfarmer particularly in the section about storage.
I usually store my spuds in our garage in Hessian sacks. It's the coolest place in the house. I usually, immediately after I have dug them up, put them in an open box to let them dry out. When dry I go through them separating any that are forked or have slug holes. These get used first. The rest go in the sacks. They usually store well but by March are starting to sprout and go a bit soft.
The fact about storage below 4C is very interesting. I have found that nowadays virtually every shop/supermarket bought spud when cooked in my electric chip frier goes black whatever temperature I use. This has only happened over the last few years so clearly there has been a change in policy in the supermarkets to switch to deliberately getting spuds that have been stored below 4C. I suspect they now do this because it reduces spoilage. In fact I have noticed in the supermarkets that they don't say "suitable for chipping" on the packets anymore, just suitable for boiling , steaming, baking and roasting. Presumably they expect you to buy their frozen chips!
Needless to say I have no problems getting lovely golden chips from my own spuds.

Jeannine-do you have this problem with bought spuds over in Canada?