Okay, I posted a pic of the opening of the box of my seed potatoes a few days ago here. When I opened it I saw a small wet spot from the top, but it looked okay overall.
Weeeellllll, when I brought out that bad of potatoes it was a hot mess that smelled as only rotten potatoes can. It looked like the Colorado Rose seed potatoes had pretty much disintegrated and spread the nastiness all around.
I managed to clean off and save 3 All Blue seed potatoes, 1 Yellow Finn and no Colorado Rose. There are a couple each of Blue and Yellow that only have rot on a small part of them.
How do I, or can I even, save those?
Now, I only ordered 5 lbs since this was just for first time fun growing, but the idea of losing all my seed potatoes except 4 out of them all is pretty bad.
I've written to their customer service and we'll see what happens. But what I would like to know is: Is that much rot normal? Do you get rotten ones in your seed potato orders? If so, how much and how often? Do you just order more than you need to compensate? And how do you prevent the nasty rot juice from corrupting the others in the box?
Any and all info so I'm not such a total amateur is most welcome. :)
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6 comments:
I'm going to be no help at all as I buy mine locally and keep them in a milk crate in the cellar until time to plant. And, this is my first year to have some saved from last years crop. Sorry that I don't have a clue!
EWW!! I know that smell!! Sorry, I can't be any help either. This is my first year ordering online. We've only planted potatoes once before and then got the seed potatoes locally. But we're getting 'fun' potatoes this year (All blue and fingerling) and our local source only has the usual varieties.
Hey Sister! Sorry it took me so long to comment. Had a long stretch at work and then took yesterday to veg. Anyway, As for the cost thing, it is expensive to go from 0 to 50 in one season. My advice for the novice is to take it slow. Even just putting in a couple of tomato plants in the corner is a start. Do what you can with what you can. For me, I fall in the mediocre slot. I have the one raised bed that will multiply this spring into 2. Seeds are cheaper then buying the plants so we are going that route. I figure, something is better than nothing so I just take it slow.
As for the seed potatoes, I have no idea. I have never bought seed potatos and the friends I have talked to about it say they just buy them from the feed store. It seems to me that it must have been a fluke and the company you bought them from should rectify the situation.
Now for the deep portion of the post. What is sustainable living to me.... Well I am more of an optimist, so I don't have all the doom and gloom in formating my opinions. The fact is we ate part of a very self-serving and egotistical society. Not only do we want our cake and to eat it too, we want it served to us on a china plate with a silver spoon, served to us while we sit on the couch, paid for by someone else. It should taste amazing and be very pretty on the plate. And, we don't want to gain a pound after eating it. While this is a nice thought, it is not reality in any way, shape, or form. The fact is by joining the sustainable movement, you are in fact saying "Not only did I make my cake myself, but I am working off the calories in the garden and it tastes damn good because it is a reward for working so hard." We still get to have our cake and eat it too, the only difference is we are willing to earn it.
We can't change the way all people think or act. Just think back to your last political converstion with someone on the opposite side and you'll know what I mean. But we can lead by example. While it would be lovely to be a poster child for the sustainable movement, it is also an exhausting ambition and one I will leave to someone else. I do what I can, when I can and talk about it freely. And it works. I have a friend that has become a farmer's market convert after a discussion about eating fresh fruits and veggies only when in season and grown close by. A coworker planted a garden after seeing my pictures of the garden I had put in.
My thoughts are that the moment you consciencely (sp?) decide to put in some effort for your own well-being, you are living sustainably. It is more about your state of mind then your square-footage of garden space. And I think the mindset is taking off. More and more people are getting sick of relying (sp?) on someone else to decide how they should live their lives and taking matters into their own hands. TV is boring and getting outside is a reward.
There is a lot of destruction to make up for, but there is hope in the fact that so many people are taking those first steps in the right direction.
I hope this made sense and I didn't ramble too much. It is early and I am only on my second cup of coffee so I really haven't got all my thoughts running in a consecutive order yet. Love you bunches and loving the blogs! Have a great day!
I order seed potatoes from places that hold on to them, and delay shipment until spring.
a lot of seed companies are offering this now.
Yuck, sorry to hear about the rotten potatoes. I wish I could be more help but I don't know, except the place you bought them from should fix the problem definitely.
Thanks for commenting on my blog! If you want a letter given to you for the 10 things letter game, how about the letter "S"? :) Hope that is a good one for you!
Sometimes you can plant the bad ones anyway, there may be an eye left that will sprout. They must have been frozen or they would not have melted so quickly.
I have always wanted to try the blue potatoes. Have you and if so what is the comparision to say just a plain Irish, texture, taste etc.
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