posted 2 weeks ago
Usually I see the potatoes in storage start to sprout. Often I have some small, healthy looking ones sorted out separately for seed, small enough to fit into the pots I use. Then I lay them just under the surface, sorted by variety marked with small labeled stakes, in shallow pots. Trays or flats of some sort would do as well. Then I keep them wherever it's warmer, in or out, bringing them in in cooler weather. If it's too cold to plant them out when they are long enough (like3 or 4 inches with at least a couple of leaves), I will either cut them back or else break them off and move to another pot for later planting. More sprouts will come off the same potatoes at least 2 or 3 times. There are some varieties that simply don't want to sprout, and sometimes this changes year to year. If I must have these types (I don't any more) I keep them going by vine cuttings as a houseplant through winter, then cut up the vine for more in the spring.