# Seed Potatoes and MOLD



## bgraham

So my seed potatoes came in a week ago and my husband still doesn't have my garden tilled yet. I left the seed potatoes in their original bag just sitting out for a couple of days (there were air holes in the bag). When I realized it was going to be a little longer until the garden was ready, I decided to put them in the refrigerator. When I picked up the bag I noticed that a couple of them had rotted (as in liquid) and the rest had black spots which I'm sure are mold. I removed them from the bag and put them in a bowl in the refrigerator. Will they still be any good? I would really hate to think I ruined them!

Thanks,

Beth


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## circlevranch

Where did you purchase them from? Now are these whole potatoes or already cut pieces? If there aren't to many Id consider tossing the everything and start over with new ones. I got my seed potatoes last friday and I won't plant them for another 3 weeks. I just put them in a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Sounds like yours have seen to many tempature changes is why they're going bad now of course this is just a guess. I always get my seed potatoes early and I've never had a problem with them rotting in the bag. Mine comes in burlap bags what type of bag did yours come in? I know they don't do well in plastic bags. Plastic bags causes condensation and they rot fast even with air holes.


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## Pouncer

I don't know about seed potatoes....but, two years ago there was blight introduced in my area. The potatoes harvested that year did not store (well doh!) and anything that had blight would get a soft black spot pretty quickly. When you cut them, they were discolored too. 

No blight last year, thank heavens. The Ag folks think that it was introduced on either supermarket potatoes someone planted, or imported seed potatoes that weren't certified. It was a pretty big deal because we grow a LOT of spuds up here.


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## bgraham

These are cut seed potatoes from Jungs. They are fairly small. They were in a plastic bag with holes and shipped in damp shredded newspaper. I removed them from the box and newspaper to inspect them when they arrived but left them in their bags and within 3 days they had started to rot and mold. 

I ordered 50 but may just toss them and start over. 

thanks!

Beth


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## circlevranch

I'm guess the reason they went bad on you is because the seed potatoes from seed companys are cut well in advance. I'm thinking if you could have planted them the day they arrived you'd been ok. Between them being already cut and being in plastic bags didn't help then the damp newspaper just added to the problem sorry to say. If I were you Id just toss them away and chalk it up as a learning experience. Go to your grocery store or hardware store I'm sure they have seed potatoes out now. These will have to be cut of course and I know you'll have good luck with these. When you cut the seed potato make sure it has at least 2 eyes 3 eyes are better. I'm sure the ones in the grocery store are much cheaper than out of seed companys like Jungs etc. too.


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## VALENT

Just plant them. It sounds like they just have surface mold from the humidity and closed up space. If they are from Jungs, I'm sure they are certified and just picked up the mold from the time issue. I doubt it will hurt anything.


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## Jen H

I've always bought seed potatoes from the feedstore or nursery. Store them in a paper bag in the mud room. And then cut them a few days before I'm ready to plant them so the cut surface has a chance to dry out.


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## leecofarm

my folks dropped off the remainders of their cut seed potatoes. due to rain i could not plant them for almost two weeks. some were definitely rotten. most had a kind of whitish blue mold on the cut area. tossed the rotten. planted the moldy. today is the 12th day and it looks like every single plant is up, some already several inches tall.


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## MELOC

question about blight and seed potatoes...

if seed spuds are grown and monitored to prevent spreading disease...and i would assume big producers plant certified seed spuds to prevent contaminating their fields, what is the danger of using store bought potatoes as seed potatoes? they must have been grown from certified seed...i would assume?


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## EDDIE BUCK

Not sure but I've always heard that potatoes in stores have been sprayed with an anti sprout chemical.What I do for seed is take about a half bushel of potatoes when I dig mine and place them under a tree and rake some leaves, twigs over them.Next Feb. I'll uncover them.They are beginning to sprout when I plant them.Most years,it dosent get cold enough here to harm them.And I know they have not been sprayed. Just a thought.


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## sue currin

The mold want hurt the potatoe, plant them. The store potatoes are sprayed so don't buy them to plant. We lay side seed potatoes every year, haven't bought seed potatoes in years.


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## Willowynd

I know this is a very old thread- but it came up in search when my seed potatoes that I cut a few days ago and laid on a screen were starting to get some mold on them. I am going to plant them but wanted to comment that no- the potatoes from stores are not treated not to sprout...some that I will be planting are taters I bought from store and did not use before they started getting long sprouts on them. I cut off the sections with the sprouts and am going to plant them.


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