Did you discover the potatoes you bought from the grocery store awhile back, and forgot about, have suddenly sprouted in the depths of your pantry?
What should you do? Toss them out? No way! They're still good! You can actually plant those sprouted potatoes to regrow new potatoes and I'm going to tell you how to do it.
Yes, you can re-grow sprouted potatoes!
You can plant a sprouted potato and grow more potatoes. But there are a few things you should know.
You will actually get several potato plants and ultimately a bunch of new potatoes from just one sprouted potato if you do it right. It's not difficult, but there are a few tips and tricks to being able to grow a successful potato-producing plant, from an old potato that has sprouted.
★ Steps to Plant a Sprouted Potato ★
You can plant any kind of sprouted potato from sweet potatoes to yellow or white potatoes.
Here's how.
First, don't plant the whole potato in the ground. You'll need to do a little bit of prep to get your sprouted potatoes ready for planting for best results. Don't worry, it's easy. You don't need to be a gardening expert to pull off growing potato plants. Just follow these steps...
Step 1: Prep your garden bed by mounding soil into rows.
You'll want to plant your potato sprouts within 2-3 days of preparing them so it's best to get your garden bed ready to go, first.
Potato plants grow best when you mound the dirt. This is because potatoes grow underneath the soil. The leaves of the potato plant grow above ground but the roots and potatoes will all develop underground. So the bigger the mound of dirt you create, the more room the potatoes will have to grow.
You can easily mound the soil in your garden by scooping the dirt on either side of the row you create and piling the dirt up in the middle. You want the soil to mound between 8" and 12" tall.
I don't use a special tool for this other than gloves. I just mound the soil with my hands. For larger gardens, you can use a shovel, gardening hoe or rake.
Rows should be about 1 foot apart.
Step 2: Count your potato sprouts.
The number of plants you'll be able to get from each potato will depend on how many sprouts the potato has.
A potato sprouts from the eyes on the potato. Each sprouted eye can be cut and grown into a plant. If an eye has multiple sprouts, go ahead and leave those grouped together when you make your cuts.
Each sprouted potato will offer a different number of sprouts.
Step 3: Cut away each sprouted eye.
Using a serrated kitchen knife, cut potato into several pieces, each piece should have one sprout. Each of these pieces can be planted and will grow a potato plant!
Step 4: Plant your potato sprouts.
You'll want to plant your potato sprouts within 2-3 days of cutting. Ideally, you will want the skin to dry enough to seal out disease but not too much so that the sprouted parts dry up. You do not need to store the sprouts in water or soak them before planting. Do store them in a cool, dry place after cutting.
Separate the sprouts by cutting away each sprout or group of sprouts, leaving a small amount of potato attached to the sprout.
Potato sprouts should be planted cut-side down, sprout-side facing up. You'll want to plant each sprout 3-4" below the surface of the soil. Plants should be spaced out at least 12" apart so the plants have room to grow both below and above ground.
Planted potato sprouts will take about a weeks to push through the soil and open up their leaves. Keep the plants watered and make sure they get plenty of sun.
What time of year should I plant my potato sprouts?
When you plant, depends on where you live. Generally, early spring is when you will want to plant. You will need to make sure the ground temperature does not drop below 40°F (5°C). Generally the ground is warm enough 2-4 weeks before the last frost of the spring.
Note: Potato plants grow best in soil with a temperature of 45-50°F (8-10˚C). However, can grow in warmer conditions as well.
You can start your potato plants indoors for before transplanting to the ground if the soil temperature is still too cold.
Step 5: Water and weed around your potato plants.
Fertilize your soil if its not very rich. As the plants grow, you can continue to mound soil around the base of the plant.
In general, potatoes need about 3 months to grow and produce a harvest. Some varieties may require more or less time.
Step 6: Harvest your potatoes.
Since the potatoes grow underground, its tricky to tell what you'll get in terms of size or number of potatoes. However, you'll known that your potato plants are ready to be harvested when the visible plant dies off either after the first frost or on its own, usually in the fall.
Then for the fun part! Harvesting potatoes is like digging for treasure. Grab a garden fork and/or some garden gloves if you want to use your hands and dig in! Sift throw the mounded dirt until you find your potatoes. You'll likely get a variety of sizes.
Do not wash your harvested potatoes. You want to keep potatoes dry to avoid rot. To clean off the dirt, use a dry, soft vegetable brush. Store them in a cool dry place. Potatoes can usually be stored for up to 6 weeks or more.
If your potatoes begin to sprout before you get to use them... well, now you know what to do! Use that sprouted potato to grow more potatoes!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
The best potato growing season is spring through summer with a fall harvest but that can vary depending on where you live.
Potatoes grow best in cooler climates with at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. Potatoes will not typically survive temperatures less than 40˚F. Too warm isn't good either though. Soil temperatures warmer than 80˚F may fail to produce to potatoes.
If you're not in a location where temperatures are warm enough to plant your sprouted potatoes, you can store them.
To store them, you want to put them in a location that is between 35-40˚F. A cool, dark and dry place is key. Your refrigerator or a cold basement would work. These conditions will force them to go dormant until you're ready to plant.
When you are ready to re-activate them, move them to a warm location. It's OK if they have become dry and wrinkled as long as they are not mushy and rotten (if they smell bad they are rotting). Some light and a little moisture can help them sprout again.
You do not want to freeze them or leave them outside if temps drop below 35 or go above 50˚ at any point in time. The ideal temperature range should remain between 35-40˚ Refrigerators are typically 40˚.
★ Recipes to Try ★
Now let's make some food!
While you're here, check out my easy recipes to get ideas for what to make with your garden-fresh potatoes!
Browse all my easy potato recipes.
Jessica says
I heard that you should hill up potatoes as they grow about 12” at a time, would it be better to plant the potatoes in the trough and then use the hills to mound up as they grow?
Angela G. says
I think the ground is better for drainage, but if you have a large trough with good drainage, that might work too.
Jessica says
I meant in the ground, you dig a trough and plant them in there, then as they grow 6-12” you take the mounds from the trough you dug and pile that over them.
Kelly says
Hi there,
My potatoes sprouted and the sprouts, some are like a foot tall. Should I cut the sprout shorter? or should I discard the sprouts?
Angela G. says
No need to cut the sprout, just follow the directions for cutting each plant away from the original potato and plant!
Suzanna Milligan says
Hello, ummm I have discovered a potato forest in my pantry!! Some sprouts are like 12” +!!
Can I still use them to plant?!
Suzanna
Angela G. says
Hi Suzanna, Nice find! Ha ha Yes, you should be able to still use them! Just follow the directions for cutting and planting and you should end up with a nice harvest! Good luck!
Carrie says
Buy some grow bags on Amazon and grow the potatoes in there. I put a little kids pool under them to collect the water that may come out when watering. I start mine in Feb inside then put outside once it is nice.
Roseanne Frenchko says
I grew red skin potatoes last year. I had a great crop. I still have some now, but they are wrinkled and sprouting. It is still only February and I need to wait at lease 2 more months before I can plant them.
My question is, will they last that much longer? Can I refrigerate them? Can I plant potatoes that old and wrinkled?
Angela G. says
Congrats on your red potato crop! This is a great question. You may be able to hold them off until spring by storing them in a cool, dark and dry place between 35° - 40°F so the fridge would be perfect. This can force them to go dormant. Then you'll want to move them to a warmer spot when you do get closer to planting time in order to get them sprouting again. Planting them while they are winkled is not a problem, as long as they are not mushy and wet because at that point they are likely rotting.
Naimah says
Out of curiosity I put a whole potato with eyes in a planter on my living room, I see the eyes coming through so my question is will there be any potatoes and should I transfer the plant outside soon
Angela G. says
For best results, you will want to separate each of the sprouted eyes into separate plants and then once warm enough, transfer the plants outside so they get enough sun and have room to spread out. The leafy part of the plant gets pretty large and you need plenty of space below ground for the potatoes to form and grow as well.
Donna says
Depending on your zone you can start planting. Potatoes from January to February!
Mine are growing already, but the rain is bad lately may have to replant ! Keep mounding the soil up as the plant grows, for higher yield! Then plant a fall patch!
Tarra says
How do you store sprouted potatoes until planting season? We have 6 inches of snow currently. Could I freeze them and plant them in the spring?
Angela G. says
You want to store them between 35˚ - 40˚F ideally to make them dormant until you're ready to plant. A cool, dark and dry place is key. Your refrigerator or a cold basement would work. You do not want to freeze them. Thanks for asking!
Liz says
Can you plant shop bought potatoes and are there sicknesses transferred if going to a different country?
Angela G. says
Hi Liz, Yes you can use store-bought potatoes! I'm not sure about transferring sicknesses. That's something you might have to look into more and check into what the laws are around that.
Deborah Szymanski says
Can’t wait to try this in the Spring! Thank you!
Jan says
I have never grown potatoes before so thought I’d give it ago so far so good thanks for your advice
Angela G says
Do white potatoes produce a pretty vine to use as a plant
Angela G. says
Hey Angela! Nice name. 😉 I would say, no. A white potato plant would not make a very pretty houseplant. Its leaves are pretty boring and not attractive in color, shape or texture. Sweet potatoes can make a nice houseplant. For more info about that, check out this site that shows how to grow sweet potato vine from a sweet potato.
Paul Stalio says
Thanks for your great tips, very descriptive. Do you have any more veggie tips
Top job thanks again
Angela G. says
Hi Paul, Check out my article on how to plant sprouted onions. That's all I have documented so far. 🙂
Angela G. says
Hi Paul, Check out my article on how to plant sprouted onions. That's all I have documented so far! 🙂
Gary O'Connell says
Just decided to grow spuds in my backyard and found that onions can be cultivated too. So easy! Thanks for the information
Angela G. says
Hi Gary, you're welcome! Good luck with your onions and potatoes!
vakas says
Hi, Is it possible to grow these potatoes in a bucket? (patio so nowhere to plant)
Angela G. says
Yes, you can grow potatoes in a bucket. You will want to make sure the bucket drains so that the soil does not become waterlogged. And you’ll need to make sure that the plant gets full sun. Be sure to use fertilized soil as well.
Cathy LaRosa says
Hi there, our garden area is very wet at times. We got a late start on our garden. We have many potatoes that we want to plant. Would a row cover help keep the ground cooler since it’s so close to summer?
Angela G. says
I have not tried a row cover myself but imagine it would provide some shade and that may help keep the ground cooler. It's something you could test by using a thermometer in the soil. Check the temperature in the sun and then check the temp in soil under a row cover and that will give you an idea.