![\"10914834_10153825764149768_8942431011869288994_o\"](\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/10914834_10153825764149768_8942431011869288994_o.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI think around here a little bag of seed potatoes are about $3-4 each (and they are really little). \u00a0You get a little bag full of small, sprouted potatoes and you can usually cut them in half if they have 2 or more sprouts – maybe into thirds if you are lucky. \u00a0If you aren’t trying to grow a couple hundred pounds of potatoes or more, they can be a great deal. \u00a0But if you are trying to grow a large quantity, those bags of seed potatoes will get mighty expensive when you consider the rest of your expenses with seeds, etc.<\/p>\n
Or, you can use your sprouted potatoes as seed potatoes and save some money. \u00a0I’m all for seed saving and reducing costs in the garden because in turn that saves us money and makes the food we eat cost our large family even less, so using sprouted potato as ‘seed’ is right up my alley.<\/p>\n
If you notice your potatoes are starting to sprout late winter\/early spring, set them aside in a cool, dark area if you have one. \u00a0This will prevent the sprouts from growing several feet long by the time you plant them (although, I HAVE planted them when they have grown that long and they will produce just fine… just a pain). \u00a0If you are trying to encourage sprouting, keep the potatoes in a warmer area exposed to light. \u00a0I currently have a feed bag about half full with the remaining potatoes that had not sprouted or were just beginning to sprout, when I put potatoes in a few days ago. \u00a0Many of them are growing nice sprouts now.<\/p>\n
When it comes time to plant, you will want to begin the cutting process a day or few in advance to allow your cut edges to scab over – this prevents the potato from rotting as soon as its put in dirt. \u00a0 If you have a sunny, windy location your potatoes may scab over in about half day or maybe even less. \u00a0Otherwise you might want to cut and let the exposed sides face up for a few days indoors, or set them under a fan (which is what I’m doing tonight, so they can be planted tomorrow).<\/p>\n
To cut, count how many eyes\/sprouts are growing. \u00a0You want to cut your potato into blocks, with at least one sprout on each block. \u00a0They may not all look like a block depending on where you have to cut the potato, but the more sprouts you have, the more plants you can grow. \u00a0You want to keep your blocks at least the size of a large ice cube – the potato that remains with the sprout will feed the potato and give it the nutrients it needs to continue growing and push through the dirt that will be on top of it, so its important not to cut the pieces too small.<\/p>\n
It’s not rocket science. \u00a0Look, cut, dry, then plant.<\/p>\n\n\t\t