[Ivor Backache]

This year I have noticed an increase in the number of very small tubers. I buy seed potato in 2 kgm nets. Maris Bard had just 15 and each weighed about 4oz. Lady Christl had 26 and Abbot had 24 all 'Hens egg size' But Athlete has 35 and British Queen has 41.
Commercial growers on the internet say that it is uncommercial to grow a seed potato less than 1.5oz. In the past I have just paired them off. With Athlete and British Queen half are below this weight, and many are just 1 oz.
Some bloggers say that size is not that important its all to do with the number of chits. Many of these small seed have just one, but some have 2 or 3. There is enough of them to plant 2 rows.
The question is. 'am I wasting my time'  Should I buy fresh seed and discard these. Has anyone experienced this dilemma and what was the results. Thank you for all your comments.

[JayG]

As you probably know the debate about how many chits you should leave to get the best crop goes on without ever coming up with a definitive answer, so rather than waste them I'd go for planting those with at least 2-3 chits individually at the usual spacing, but planting those with only 1 chit together in groups of 2 or 3.

That should make sure you get plenty of stems which should equal lots of spuds. 

[Ivor Backache]

Thank you JayG. Yes I am aware and I don't bother to remove any chits, because they regrow.  You're quire right I don't like waste, but I was hoping that someone could give a definitive answer from experience.
I put a lot of work into potato trenches plus the compost and fertiliser. I often have 2 or 3 tiddlers left and if I have room, I do put them together at the end of the trench. Another question in my mind: If they are two small for commercial growers, why I have I got 32 of them. Will planting 2 or 3 small potatoes together still achieve a small return? At the moment I'm not so sure.
.

[Salmo]

Your pack should state how the seed potatoes have been graded. Typical would be 30 - 55mm. That means that the seed would pass through a 55mm sieve but not through a 30mm sieve. Seed below 25mm diameter is not allowed to be sold.

Commercial growers have their seed closely graded and plant by weight i.e batches of smaller tubers are planted closer together. Their aim is to get a uniform number of stems along the row and evenly sized potatoes at harvest.

Learning from this you could be better planting you British Queen closer rather than two together.

Also, a bag of 2kg should plant the same length of row regardless of the size of seed.

[mumofstig]

I'm with the Orangutan - Each chit is a stem that will produce some potatoes, so If they have 2 or 3 chits I plant them on their own, any with only 1 chit get planted in a group of 3. This should give you the same number of tubers as a potato with 3 chits IYSWIM

[Hampshire Hog]

As a slight tangent, during the war it was common practice to split larger seed potatoes as long as the portions had a couple of chits on them. (Apparently this works as long as you allow 3 or 4 days for the portion to dry before planting)
Whilst I am too young to have done this myself it does suggest that a small seed potato is viable as long as it has a couple of chits. The previous generation were doing everything they could to increase their crop of spuds and other vegetables.

Cheers HH

[Ivor Backache]

Thank you all for your replies. Nobody is suggesting that I throw them away. Still have my doubts though..
Salmo: The label reads Athlete and British Queen-- Scottish basic seed potato-- union grade E-- size 35 x 55mm so I made a 35mm hole in some card and 5 went through. The Maris Bard size was 35 X 60. They were very big and could easily be cut. My father did this in the 50s.
Mumofstig.  Surely three little potatoes 6" deep will all struggle whereas one three times their size will not.

Most of the small Athlete have 2  chits and so I will plant them normally, whereas most of the small BQ have just one chit. These are 2nd early so I can wait a little longer and see how they develop.

[mumofstig]

Mumofstig.  Surely three little potatoes 6" deep will all struggle whereas one three times their size will not.

It doesn't seem to work that way, from experience volunteer potatoes grow strongly, but when you dig them up they are all the small ones you missed last year 

[JayG]

Spuds are fortunately remarkably generous in the size of the food store they provide to kick-start the shoots for the next growth cycle - most Gardener's will have noticed that even a thin sliver of skin can grow into a perfectly good plant if it contains at least one 'eye.'

[digger1]

We have a garden center close by that sell loose seed potatoes which helps because you can pick the size you want, the only drawback is they are sold at £2.99 a bag (I picked out good size potatoes and got 20 in a bag).

[jambop]

The most expensive seed tubers down here are those graded at a straight 35mm you get oddles of them in a 3Kg net bag at most garden centres 

[azubah]

In my experience large tubers produce larger tubers.
I alternate the sizes putting a large one next to a small one.
My DH once asked why one plant produced lots but the next was rather poor.
He had not realised what I was doing.

[Deborah1]

Reading with interest as the seed potatoes that I buy here in Brittany are significantly smaller than those I used to plant in the UK. I find that I sometimes have double the quantity of seed for the same weight. All of them are smaller than a hen's egg.

Years ago I was planting them like I did on my allotment - even though they were smaller, and my neighbour told me I was planting much too deeply. Ten years on he still teases me that if I plant them like that they'll come up in Australia instead of France(!)

I do a compromise now. The real tiddlers go on the compost heap (and probably produce potatoes there!) But anything bigger than a walnut gets planted. But I don't plant quite so deeply anymore.

[Ivor Backache]

the only drawback is they are sold at £2.99 a bag (I picked out good size potatoes and got 20 in a bag).

Do you have the weight? My 42 British Queen  (2Km) cost £8! and half are very small. You seem to have had a good deal.

 Salmo says the minimum size is 25 mm, that is the size of a 2p coin. I wouldn't bother to save those.

I have planted the Athlete in weight order. The heaviest was 116gm most in the region of 50-70gm and the lightest was 26 gm. Having all these extra seed has given me a problem for space so I have planted the 2 rows side by side with the seed alternating in a zig zag fashion. they are spaced at 15" apart. The 9 smallest I have planted in pots.

Azubah: You and I think alike, hence my question.

Deborah 1: I still plant deep because of the frost issue when leaves emerge.
Most seed potato are sold locally in small bags and are expensive. Need a rethink for next year.
Thank you again for your replies.

[digger1]

Do you have the weight? My 42 British Queen  (2Km) cost £8! and half are very small. You seem to have had a good deal.

They weighed 2kg yes a very good deal.