7

We have a bunch of potatoes with long sprouts from their eyes. (Actually, we just planted them, but I'll ask the questions I had right before planting.)

  • Should I leave a 12-inch sprout from the eye, or break some of it off? On average, the remaining potato chunk is small (<1"), so I imagine it doesn't have too much energy left.

  • Should I plant the sprouts up or down? (We actually planted them sideways because we weren't sure.)

dfrankow
  • 369
  • 2
  • 4
  • 7

1 Answers1

5

Long sprouts may mean the potatoes were improperly stored or stored too long. What you did is a sensible thing. If the potatoes are not too far gone, you should get some plants to sprout. Breaking the sprout risks breaking off the meristem; it is possible there may be other viable meristems along the sprout which could cause a plant to grow, but this is not a sure thing.

ncmathsadist
  • 1,529
  • 7
  • 12