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Growing from a non tuber potato

stevek_bathstevek_bath Posts: 51
in Fruit & veg
We're keen to try and grow some Marabel potatoes.
From a little googling it seems these are a variety exclusive to Albert Bartlett and only sold in ASDA at the moment. They don't currently offer tubers.

We've only grown spuds from tubers so far. What do we need to do in order to have a decent shot at growing from a shop bought spud? 

Thinking of growing these in containers as obviously realise the potato isn't going to be certified virus free...

Thanks :) 

Steve

Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    I'm a bit mystified by your terminology:  what do you mean by a non-tuber potato?  All potatoes are tubers, whether they are sold for eating or growing.  If you mean you are thinking of planting potatoes sold for eating, go ahead.  Some people say it's no-no, but I've done it loads of times, when I had a garden too small to make it worthwhile buying seed potatoes.  No special treatment needed, just bury them in the ground and don't let them get too dry.
  • stevek_bathstevek_bath Posts: 51
    josusa47 said:
    I'm a bit mystified by your terminology:  what do you mean by a non-tuber potato?  All potatoes are tubers, whether they are sold for eating or growing.  If you mean you are thinking of planting potatoes sold for eating, go ahead.  Some people say it's no-no, but I've done it loads of times, when I had a garden too small to make it worthwhile buying seed potatoes.  No special treatment needed, just bury them in the ground and don't let them get too dry.
    Sorry I meant non 'certified tuber' which seems to be the label on all seed potatos sold around these parts. 

    So I can just take one straight out of the bag and bury it - or do I need to leave it in the sun to grow some green bits first?

    Thanks :)

    Steve
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Just plant a small one and watch it grow.
  • stevek_bathstevek_bath Posts: 51
    Thanks both 
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    I'm interested by this. I always heard that you should avoid using supermarket/"eating" potatoes because they're treated with an anti growth retardant so they last longer on shelves. This makes the chits longer to appear and much weaker, leading to "worse" crops. Anyone know if this is true?.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I've had potatoes grow form bits of peel in the compost bins. I'd stick them in the ground. I mean, what have you got to lose? a few pennies worth of potato?
    Devon.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Worth a try. The worst that can happen is that you don't get any useable crop, and you'll probably get something.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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