# Are these potatoes too old?



## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

I got a really great deal on some organic potatoes 50# for $20 !! I wanted to can them but am noticing why they were so cheap ... they are small and most have started to sprout. 

Can I still can these or should I dehydrate them instead? Can potatoes really be toxic if they sprout or have green skin (or both). I luuuurrrrve Yukon Golds fried up in butter - I'd hate to have to feed all these to the pigs !


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Potatoes have a naturally occuring toxin in the green and sprouts. In small amounts it gives you GI distress, in large amounts it can kill you. Eating the sprouts is what did in many Irish during the great potato famine. 

You can cut off the green and sprouts with a good margin. I'd dehydrate them, not can them. 

I've always found the sale potatoes to be small, sprouted and green! Hopefully you can salvage some.


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## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

Maybe I can save some to plant. It's about that time, right? Potato planting time? Aren't they usually in the ground by Valentine's Day?


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

PrettyPaisley said:


> Maybe I can save some to plant. It's about that time, right? Potato planting time? Aren't they usually in the ground by Valentine's Day?


If they're organic you should be able to plant them! Although my brain is thinking there is something else about seed potatoes, maybe post in the gardening forum? And I'm not sure when you'd plant in NC, it's a lot later where I am...


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

I would plant them, but that's just me.


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## dkhern (Nov 30, 2012)

whe they sprout they usually start getting soft. break/rub the sprout out and they will firm up and if left unused will enentually resprout. the green skin doesnt mean anything except they werent cured properly. ive eaten and canned these with no problem. not sure when you plant potatoes in nc here late feb. if i rubbed sprouts off now they would still be good for planting. you dont have to have sprouts to plant...just a hunk of potatoe with an eye ... it will grow


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## countrygal (Feb 14, 2010)

I also would plant them. We like to plant ours in straw.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

dkhern said:


> the green skin doesnt mean anything except they werent cured properly.


The green comes from sunlight getting to the potatoes - they weren't hilled properly.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

They can be canned or dehydrated, just knock off the sprouts, cut out the bad spots and peel the green skin off. Yes, they can be planted, sprouts and all. I cut them into smaller pieces with at least 2 eyes. If the potatoes are not kept in the dark or a bag that keeps the light out they turn green, they also will turn green if left out too long when dug. The potato is fine, it is just dehydrating or losing internal moisture. Me, I would preserve the better ones and plant the poorer ones....James


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

Sort through them to see if any are salvageable for canning or dehydrating with minimal trimming. I'd plant the rest.

If they're golf-ball sized with at least two eyes, you can just plant them whole. If they're larger, cut them so you have a chunk with at least two eyes, let the chunks sit out until a skin forms on the cut before planting so that they don't rot.

Feb is right about perfect for planting taters in NC as long as the ground is workable, or try planting them in buckets or bins instead.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

dkhern said:


> the green skin doesnt mean anything except they werent cured properly





suitcase_sally said:


> The green comes from sunlight getting to the potatoes - they weren't hilled properly.


You're both right. Potato skins green when they are exposed to sunlight at any time during growth, curing or storage. 

When exposed to sunlight the tubers produce chlorophyll to utilize the sunlight because they are no longer in the soil, and then produce toxins (solanine and chaconine) to discourage animals from eating them now that they are exposed. The green itself isn't poisonous, but it is an indication that conditions were right for the toxins to be produced.

In any case, it's best not to eat really green potatoes no matter whether you can or dehydrate them, especially not a whole bag of them; although trimming a few small lightly greened patches from a couple of potatoes is normally ok. Boiling or deep frying can affectively reduce small amounts of solanine. But in any case they are perfectly fine to plant.


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