Garden

[FuzzyFace]

A few weeks ago I bought some baby red potatoes (ok, you know where this is going, right?), placed them on the kitchen counter and forgot all about them.

I glanced at them recently; they're starting to shrivel up somewhat but some have growth coming out of the eyes. Just to see what will happen, I cut them up, left them out overnight (I heard that's what you supposed to do) and planted about a dozen this morning.

Right now the weather is beautiful; I'd estimate the daytime temps are mid-70's to somewhere in the low 70's or upper 60's at night. And I planted the eyes where they'll get plenty of sunshine during the day (but not too hot) and I'll water them when they need it.

What do you think? Do I have a chance of success? I'm only doing this for fun this year but if I'm successful, I thought I might grow a crop at my front yard fence so little kids can have fun pulling them up (and eating them).

I did something similar a couple of years ago: planted Genetifically Modified Organisms -- they grew into comically ugly gourds and pumpkins -- and they were a big hit with the little kids. GMO doesn't scare me: we wouldn't have half the food we eat today if someone hadn't start fiddling aound with the genes.

[Kachina624]

@FuzzyFace.  Sounds like a fun project.  I bet you will have a potato crop.  I also don't understand the fear people have of GMOs.  They allow the farmer to produce more and better quality....I'm all for that.

[HLP]

Hi , My parents would go to Florida for the winter, and in the Spring I would go down and we'd cut the eyes out of the potatos and plant them, and yes they will grow.I remember also sometimes she would cut the eyes and keep them in the refrigerator, till she came home.Good luck. But I don't know if Kid's will pull up red potatoes and eat them. Maybe you can put them in a kettle of fresh green beans with a piece of ham and have a wonderful meal from your harvest. Hope you have good luck with them. Besure to let us know.

[JustJazzmom]

Yes, I think your potato experiment will work.

About a year ago, I took a scallion with it’s roots & put it into the ground to see what would happen. Turns out it wasn’t a scallion but a leek! It grew to 3’ tall & I had to remove it as it was taking up too much room. 

I’ve even done this with the basil in a moist plastic bag from the produce department — it had roots on it & I put them into the ground & I had basil plants which was cheaper than buying the potted ones. 

[KingstonsMom]

Yep! They sure will!

Enjoy your crop, red potatoes are my favorite one!

[Love my grandkids]

I know zippity doo dah about gardening but it sounds like a fun project and I wish you well. I also don't get all the brouhaha over GMO.

[mousiegirl]

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@JustJazzmom wrote:

Yes, I think your potato experiment will work.

About a year ago, I took a scallion with it’s roots & put it into the ground to see what would happen. Turns out it wasn’t a scallion but a leek! It grew to 3’ tall & I had to remove it as it was taking up too much room. 

I’ve even done this with the basil in a moist plastic bag from the produce department — it had roots on it & I put them into the ground & I had basil plants which was cheaper than buying the potted ones. 

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@JustJazzmom  Lol re the leek.   Have you grown basil from seed?  It grows so fast and large, my cash crop.

[JustJazzmom]

No, haven’t done basil from seed. Home Depot by me had potted Thai basil which was the first I’ve ever seen there.

[gardenman]

Your potatoes should grow fine. For a big crop though you'll want to hill them up as they grow. You can also grow potatoes in a five gallon bucket or trash can, adding more soil as the plants grow and get a lot of potatoes. 

[candys mine]

I grew them in contractors trash bags.  Started with them rolled down and as the plants grew I just rolled up the sides of the bag and backfilled with soil.  That was a fun summer. New potatoes fresh from the garden.YUM!