Frozen seed spuds. Will they be ok?

[SlugLobber]

I went to get some seeds from the shed yesterday morning and discovered that my seed spuds had a heavy frost on them, INSIDE the shed. I put them in the dining room and covered with a throw to keep out the light, but will they have been damaged? I'm assuming that they would have properly frozen in the Deep Freeze.

Some cheeky little furry beggar had nibbled one of them, too. Just the one, so it must have been a very nice spud!

[bluemoon]

Have they gone black and mushy, Sluglobber? If not then I'd think they'd be OK. Instead of keeping the light out I'd put them to chit now and see what happens, otherwise you may end up with 2ft long shoots now they're in the warmth.

[SlugLobber]

No, they aren't black and mushy. They were just wet with some frosty bits still on them. I'll remove the throw and commence chitting! Thanks.

[tattieman]

You might be ok or in a few days time you will see that they start to go to mush where the frost was on them. Bit of bad luck there.

[SlugLobber]

Oh eck. Will wait with baited breath, then. So much for getting my seed spuds early I just didn't think about them out there in the cold, but it was -10/-11 round here some nights, so I guess the shed jusst wasn't enough insulation!

[SlugLobber]

OK I have an update. Potato A and E is up and running in my dining room, from hereon in known as the Sanitorium. Thanks to the advice from Tattieman yesterday (basically letting me know I'm not out of the woods yet!), I checked them yesterday evening and the Kestrels have taken the worst hit. About 10 are discarded outright, with about 4 in 'Intensive Care', with the rest out on the General Ward. Arran Pilot (I could swear I picked up Swift, but nevermind, I'll give 'em a go!) are hardy little beggars. They've been wiped and placed out in their own General Ward.

The Desirees are 10% 'critical', 10% 'Intensive', 20% 'feverish, but not soft' and the rest fine. I'll be happy if I save 40% of each, as realistically I'll never get through the lot, anyway! Here is my A and E ward (thankfully left alone by those pesky critters, AKA the cats! That little pile of spuds on the table are the Desirees in tip top shape. I've been rotating them all and wiping if needed yesterday evening and this morning. Only a couple of Desirees were mushy (but not black). These have been segregated and are in quarantine!

[Two_Sheds]

Arran Pilot are my fave 1st early. I hope you manage to save some of them.

[allotmentlady]

maybe u should start allover again?

[SlugLobber]

These are seed spuds, Allotment, lady, which I've spent a tenner on! Being a Northerner (like yourself - I'm a Bolton gir!), it is in my genes to be a tightwad and 'waste not, want not'!

[allotmentlady]

These are seed spuds, Allotment, lady, which I've spent a tenner on! Being a Northerner (like yourself - I'm a Bolton gir!), it is in my genes to be a tightwad and 'waste not, want not'!

aye lass I c what yer saying

[bluemoon]

Arran Pilot are my fave 1st early. I hope you manage to save some of them.

I'm with Two Sheds on this. Arran Pilot are far superior to Swift, which are ready early but don't have much else going for them. This might be one 'mistake' you're glad you made

[SlugLobber]

Good. These don't seem to be affected at all, so it's worth knowing that I've made a Happy Mistake! Hope my patients have behaved while I'm at work (and that they aren't being used as kitty footballs!!).

[Polly Fouracre]

The traditional place for chitting seed spuds is bedroom window sills! I hope yours are o.k. it's heartbreaking to lose not only the spuds but the time spent!!

[SlugLobber]

Well, they've been rolled so much, I think they'll be dizzy and will probably chit in a 100 different directions, ha ha! However, we have 100% success with Arran Pilot, some of the critical Kestrels have stopped weeping (it's like they've got canker!), at least 60% of the Desirees are ok, but I'm still turning and wiping a couple (turning to expose the damp side to the top and so assist 'drying out'). Heck! I'd better get nice spuds after this!

[FionaH]

I read this and went to check mine. Must admit I was feeling pretty smug as mine were wrapped in paper in a box in a drawer in a shed. Mush the lot of them!