plant your potato and eat it

[SlugLobber]

Are you saying that you can use a potato peeler or similar to remove the excess shoots, then plant instead of discard? If so I'm in on this expt, as I've got a couple of shrivelly small spuds from this year.

[chicken2012]

Is it too early to plant out the shoots now? as I have lots and can't really store them at home

[Two_Sheds]

Yep, too early. Potatoes are tender

[chicken2012]

Yep, too early. Potatoes are tender

so earliest would be february? if I were to plant them out would they survive do you think?

[Two_Sheds]

That all depends on your weather and conditions. I don't plant until March

[rustylady]

Whereabouts are you Chicken?

[Snadger]

What I'd like to know is............if earlies don't keep, how do we get early seed potatoes? Unless they are harvested from earlies grown late?

Spose its like why we get fluff in the belly button.........its just one of lifes imponderables!

[chicken2012]

Whereabouts are you Chicken?

West yorkshire so I'm kinda aware it's colder than down south but I don't have the space for to store them for a while so hoping to plant them out

[rustylady]

Potato foliage will be killed by frost, so unless you can protect them somehow they will not survive the winter. Potatoes are traditionally planted out in March. If you add your location to your profile it will then show up on your posts and save us having to keep asking where you are.

[Two_Sheds]

What I'd like to know is............if earlies don't keep, how do we get early seed potatoes?

They do keep: I keep mine in the salad drawer of the fridge from July-Jan, then they get chitted

Potato foliage will be killed by frost

... if it grows at all in the long dark days of winter

[planetologist]

Is it too early to plant out the shoots now? as I have lots and can't really store them at home

You can plant them in pots indoors and keep them in a frost free unheated place (I only heat one room of my house, so I have lots of windowsills that fit the bill), then plant out when it's time. If you put them in a heated room, they will have the temperature but not the light, and get leggy. Up to a point that's the way you want it, because you want them a bit leggy so that you can plant them 6-10'' deep and still have leaves above the soil. But from now to March/April in a heated room is probably going to be too much (high temperature, no light, and no wind also gives you pests and diseases).