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Post by angela on Feb 3, 2016 1:25:41 GMT -5
I didn't eat them in time.
Then I thought I would plant them.
Really?
I need another project?
And seriously, I live in potato country up here. I can buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes for $2.
The draw to planting: the potential, gardening, growing my own food, hate waste, poor little potatoes, etc....
Want to join me in throwing out green or sprouted potatoes?
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Post by italianlady on Feb 3, 2016 2:28:06 GMT -5
I don't have any potatoes right now but I always wanted to try growing a vine from one. Can't you grow a regular plant from one, like a vine? Or am I thinking of something else? I did stick toothpicks in three avocado seeds tonight and put them over cups of water to sprou to grow a plant. I am so pumped about my other plants lasting for the first time in my life that I'm trying other plants now. If this works I'm out nothing.
If potatoes do grow that way too, what kind of plant is it and and you keep it in the house and is it pretty? We are going to plant the avacodos outside in hopes of eventually having avacodos from the trees.after they sprout and all though.
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Post by dayeanu on Feb 3, 2016 2:47:01 GMT -5
italianlady, yes you can grow potato vines in a cup of water, to transplant later. how to grow a potato in water angela, yes please throw the green potatoes away..it's like my building a feed trough. Besides, green potatoes are poisonous
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Post by italianlady on Feb 3, 2016 3:49:42 GMT -5
italianlady, yes you can grow potato vines in a cup of water, to transplant later. how to grow a potato in water angela, yes please throw the green potatoes away..it's like my building a feed trough. Besides, green potatoes are poisonous They are? How many would they have to eat? Just curious. ;-) |
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Post by dayeanu on Feb 3, 2016 6:10:27 GMT -5
italianlady, yes you can grow potato vines in a cup of water, to transplant later. how to grow a potato in water angela, yes please throw the green potatoes away..it's like my building a feed trough. Besides, green potatoes are poisonous They are? How many would they have to eat? Just curious. ;-) I don't know. I used to just cut off the green part and eat them anyway. But supposedly they are toxic. I read that a 100 lb. person would have to eat about 1 pound of green potatoes, or one large potato. Here' a partial quote from Snopes, and I have read various similar reports over the years. "The potato — or, rather, green versions of it — contains a natural toxin called solanine. The greenish hue that should warn you away from such spuds is actually chlorophyll, but its presence indicates concentrations of solanine are present in the tuber. A glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade, solanine is a nerve toxin produced in the green part of the potato (the leaves, the stem, and any green spots on the skin). This bitter poisonous crystalline alkaloid is part of the plant's defenses against insects, disease, and predators. Potato leaves and stems are naturally high in glycoalkaloids, so ingestion of these parts of the plant must be avoided at all costs. Solanine develops in potatoes when spuds are subjected to light or either very cold or warm temperatures. It interferes with the body's ability to use a particular chemical that facilitates the transmission of impulses between cells. Ingested in large enough amounts, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and even paralysis of the central nervous system..." |
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Post by italianlady on Feb 3, 2016 7:03:10 GMT -5
I wonder how much potato salad I could get our houseguest to eat? ;-). I'm just kidding but its always good to know that if in ever in a McGuyver like situation that I could kill someone with a few potatoes.
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Post by dayeanu on Feb 3, 2016 10:13:45 GMT -5
I wonder how much potato salad I could get our houseguest to eat? ;-). I'm just kidding but its always good to know that if in ever in a McGuyver like situation that I could kill someone with a few potatoes. Hahahahahahaha! |
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Post by dayeanu on Feb 3, 2016 10:15:33 GMT -5
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Post by cyn on Feb 3, 2016 10:17:05 GMT -5
I had a bag of wrinkly soft red potatoes, some starting to sprout, that I tossed yesterday. Then I had regrets - so I dragged the bag back out of the garbage, and washed the best ones. Then I made shepherd's pie for dinner - and decided that buying big bags is a bad idea for us, so never again. DH thinks it's better to spend a few more dollars and get a big bag - nope, it's cheaper for us to buy the more expensive single potatoes, if I end up throwing half the bag away. So I threw out a partial bag with you, angela  |
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Post by dayeanu on Feb 3, 2016 10:18:27 GMT -5
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Post by nifty50 on Feb 3, 2016 11:01:09 GMT -5
Sometimes store-bought produce has been treated with a growth inhibitor so that they won't start sprouting too soon in people's refrigerators. And sometimes they are treated with other things that you wouldn't want. And lastly, sometimes they are hybrids that won't grow "true." When I want to grow potatoes, I go to the seed & feed store and buy "seed potatoes." I know they're not treated with anything, they will sprout easily, and they will grow "true" to whatever potato they started out as. You have to cut them up a few days in advance of planting (cut them big enough to leave two or three "eyes" in each piece) and then -- this is important -- let them "cure" for a day or so. The cut edge will "heal" to an extent -- it won't look quite like potato skin, but it will not look like freshly-cut raw potato anymore -- during this process I usually lay all the pieces out on some newspaper in a cool room. Keep the pets out of there if you have any. Then you're good to plant them. You plant them in little "hills" and mound the dirt up as they grow -- this gives you a good amount of dirt and gives you a bigger harvest. People around here traditionally plant them around St. Patrick's Day, but your mileage may vary according to climate. italianlady -- they can be very pretty growing -- sometimes with white flowers. It's extremely fun to harvest them and something children really get a kick out of, if it's new to them. Just digging in the dirt and PRESTO, there's an actual potato! Like buried treasure. :-) Having said all that, I realize I'm not being very helpful to angela. I'm sorry! Yes, throw away the potatoes that you got in the store and that are past their prime. If you want a potato-growing project, it's a good idea to prep the ground first; that way you're more likely to follow through. If you purchase, cut, and cure the seed potatoes, but don't have the ground ready to plant in (which, where I live, wouldn't be until mid-March), then the potato pieces turn into clutter, and of course they would go bad eventually. |
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Post by ohblondie on Feb 3, 2016 11:59:50 GMT -5
Oh Lordy....won't my snooty neighbors love me when I start growing potato's in stacked tires......  It makes me want to do it! |
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Post by sauberkite on Feb 3, 2016 12:44:07 GMT -5
I already had to throw out my old potatoes last week. It's so stupid, I buy the big sack because they are cheaper. And then I throw out half of them. This week I "got smart" and didn't buy any potatoes. But I really like potatoes. I should just hand pick the very expensive best potatoes one at a time, it would be cheaper at this rate! I need to get out the chopping board and start cooking tonight if I don't want the beets and root veggies I have to follow the potatoes into the bin. My daughter probably has some kind of food allergy, we will start the testing next week. In the meantime, I'm already getting used to cooking gluten and dairy free. I have a nice recipe for "Magic Chili Con Carne". It has no gluten, dairy, seeds or nightshades. The red color comes from grated beets. Magic, because everyone in our house seems to like it  |
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Post by Arid on Feb 3, 2016 14:42:54 GMT -5
nifty50: When my son was 3-years-old, we let him assist my dad in digging up/harvesting that year's potato crop. He **LOVED** it!!! When I put him in the bathtub afterwards, the water turned **BLACK!!** Need I say more . . .?!! !! The next year, we tried to involve him in *the planting* of the potatoes. NOPE--not interested! Too boring, apparently. . . Arid |
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Post by ohblondie on Feb 3, 2016 14:43:31 GMT -5
sauberkite....Wht are "nightshades" that you referenced in regards to your chili?
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