Planting potatoes

[Dewey Cox]

What do you guys think on this subject:
Should you use small potatoes or big potatoes for seed?
If I keep planting the biggest ones every year, will that "selective breeding" eventually make the average potato bigger after many years?
Or should I plant smaller ones, because nobody wants to peel those anyway?
Or am I over thinking this? I normally don't pick seed potatoes out of the pit, I usually just plant what's in the house at the time, and sprouting.

[pitw]

I'm going to go with the over thinking clause.LOL
We plant whatever and live with whatever.
When we grow them this big they is to big for frying as you can only cook a couple slices at a time.

[recce43]

I cut the big ones on half and plant

[Bigwoodsman]

Make sure to add an onion to each potato hill. In dry weather the onion makes the potatoe's eyes water and helps produce a better crop per hill.

BW

[elkdump]

When you plant a crop for French fries , do stand the seeds on end ? Or lay them parallel to the ground ?

I'm asking for a neighbour, he voted for TurdO last election,,,,,

[fitzy]

Originally Posted by recce43

I cut the big ones on half and plant

This is what we've always done.

[kodiakken]

We have planted small potatoes and grew big ones and have planted big one cut and only grew small potatoes. The season and when they get rain and temperature when they bloom I think have more affect on your final product than anything else.

[Sashi]

Originally Posted by recce43

I cut the big ones on half and plant

You can cut the potato into a number of pieces, as long as each piece has an eye. And plant each piece with the eye facing up. As I remember.

[Sigma]

Exactly as Sashi stated above...

[Young Eldon]

Be sure to wrap each one in newspaper before you plant it and plant them in good horse manure. The paper wrapper keeps the horse skit out of their eyes!

[bb356]

Originally Posted by Young Eldon

Be sure to wrap each one in newspaper before you plant it and plant them in good horse manure. The paper wrapper keeps the horse skit out of their eyes!

What should I do with this one ???

[bergman]

Here's the thing:

When you plant a potato, you are creating a clone of the potato plant that potato came from.

You cannot "select" for any characteristic at all. Every seed potato planted ever makes an exact clone of the parent. Period. End of statement.

The only way to "select" characteristics genetically is to let the potato go to seed (which potatoes do, in a little tomato-like fruit). But potato seeds (not the same as seed potatoes) do no necessarily produce desirable traits, and are a mixed bag of genes and cannot really be bred to traits. Breeders just plant seeds until they get a good result, and then clone that result by planting the seed potatos from that plant.

So plant the big ones, the little ones, the ugly ones, whatever. They will produce a clone of the parent.

Eat the ones you like and plant the rest!

[bergman]

Originally Posted by bb356

What should I do with this one ???

ask yer wife. she'll know.

EDIT: I think you'll want to plant that one tip facing up.

[bb356]

Originally Posted by bergman

ask yer wife. she'll know.

EDIT: I think you'll want to plant that one tip facing up.

Are there male and female potaoes ???

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Young Eldon

Be sure to wrap each one in newspaper before you plant it and plant them in good horse manure. The paper wrapper keeps the horse skit out of their eyes!

You must have talked to my wife, 3 half ton loads, well rotted stuff in the garden. She loaded, I unloaded. Word to the wise, rotate potatoes, don't plant them in the same place all the time, reduces disease.

Grizz

[Zanzibar]

Originally Posted by bb356

What should I do with this one ???

Thats a dictator!

[purgatory.sv]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

What do you guys think on this subject:
Should you use small potatoes or big potatoes for seed?
If I keep planting the biggest ones every year, will that "selective breeding" eventually make the average potato bigger after many years?
Or should I plant smaller ones, because nobody wants to peel those anyway?
Or am I over thinking this? I normally don't pick seed potatoes out of the pit, I usually just plant what's in the house at the time, and sprouting.

yes.

eyes up.

good luck.

[270person]

Originally Posted by Zanzibar

Thats a dicktater!

Fixed it for ya.

[270person]

Originally Posted by bb356

What should I do with this one ???

That's a Boston potato. Boil it as is and post pics of you eating it?

Pretend you're a rabbi when you peel it?

[270person]

Originally Posted by bb356

Are there male and female potaoes ???

Yes. The one you posted the pic of is obviously a single male. Still has balls.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by bergman

Here's the thing:

When you plant a potato, you are creating a clone of the potato plant that potato came from.

You cannot "select" for any characteristic at all. Every seed potato planted ever makes an exact clone of the parent. Period. End of statement.

The only way to "select" characteristics genetically is to let the potato go to seed (which potatoes do, in a little tomato-like fruit). But potato seeds (not the same as seed potatoes) do not necessarily produce desirable traits, and are a mixed bag of genes and cannot really be bred to traits. Breeders just plant seeds until they get a good result, and then clone that result by planting the seed potatos from that plant.

So plant the big ones, the little ones, the ugly ones, whatever. They will produce a clone of the parent.

Eat the ones you like and plant the rest!

You beat me to it.