How to Grow Potatoes from Potato Seeds

To grow potatoes from potato seeds, it is important to start with a potato seed or heritage-style of potato plant that will produce aboveground seed fruits. Modern potato plants have been genetically altered to keep the plants from producing the toxic fruits that contain the long-lasting tiny plant seeds.

Potato Seed: How To Grow Potatoes From Potato Seeds

Today, so many people are storing emergency garden seeds along with their disaster food and water supplies. Our lives would be miserable without the easy-to-grow potato crops that millions of people depend on each year. One heritage potato fruit can contain up to 300 seeds. Each good seed can produce oodles of low-cost meals.

Potatoes are a part of the Solanaceae plant family. This family is also called by the nickname: Nasty Poisonous Nightshades. The toxic fruits look similar to small green tomatoes. If the fruit is eaten by accident, tell the 911 poison control hotline that these spud-produced Nightshade fruits contain large amounts of alkaloid solanine.

All new varieties of potatoes are made through the alteration of seed grown plants. Seeds are sold online for these scientific projects. Another source of seed plant starts comes from areas in the United States where old-time garden grown heritage plants have turned wild before being recaptured for 'New Seed' potato sales online.

Spud seeds are harvested from the fruits using gloves and a bowl of water. Crush the poisonous fruits into a bowl of water and let it rest overnight in a secure location. The good seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl. Retrieve the seeds while wearing gloves. Dry the seeds naturally to a moisture content of 5% to 8% for maximum storage life.

To grow spuds at home, rip open the airtight and light-resistant package where the tiny seeds are stored. Cover these with a light layer of dirt, potting soil, or another nutrient-rich material. Water the potato starts in a manner that allows the dirt to stay moist without becoming soggy. As the plants grow, add more dirt, potting soil, or shredded paper to keep the potato root crop covered.

Potatoes can grow in a small amount of nutrient-rich dirt that is supplemented with a shredded root cover that holds water in the same manner as dirt. Spud plants can grow in the ground, or in pots, buckets, plastic wading pools, and trashcans that have drain holes. The easily grown potato seeds will produce a 24" flowering plant. New seed plants produce their poisonous fruits after the white or lavender flowers are gone.