[SnooziSuzi]

I turned my compost bin from one into another and found some potatoes (not sure how they got in there; will have to chastise OH  ) but because they were buried right within the heap they haven't even tried to sprout/chit but have formed tubers as normal!

Has anyone else seen this happen?  Maybe I've found another way of growing spuds without the need for earthing up! 

[shaun]

have you ate them snoozi?

[SnooziSuzi]

no, just squished them to kill the tubers and put them back on the turned heap before pouring wee all over them    Not so appetising now!

They were perfect though, with no blemishes or scabs.   I think my heap hadn't heated much and this meant they were just taking in the goodness of the decaying compost without the need for haulms to bring in nutrients from the sun 

[Lady Lottie]

We removed a load of soil at the weekend from a big stone trough that went around the patio. Last year I had spuds growing in it............in between the spinach I had planted  a few weeks ago there were potatoes coming up (obv missed a few last year ) but also as we dug it out I found perfect potatoes that hadn't sprouted and as you say, no scabs, no blemishes or anything.

I've kept the ones that had actually sprouted leaves to see how they will do.

[Salmo]

Someone will probably correct me on this. I think that this is small potato disease and sometimes occurs if seed potatoes have been kept too warm and/or too long before planting. Their life cycle has moved on and they go straight into tuber formation, missing out the leaf stage in their life.

[SnooziSuzi]

sounds about right!  any ideas what it's called?

[Salmo]

As far as I know it is just called small potato disease. No bugs, viruses, fungi or bacteria, just a condition.