[veggieman]

I earth my potatoes (aka tatties here in Shetland) up really well when I plant them and tend not to bother to subsequently earth them up for the rest of the growing season. Unfortunately, my lazy approach has let me down a bit this season as, now that the foliage has died back, there are quite a few decent-sized tatties sticking above the ground and turned poisonous green.
I have learned my earthing-up lesson the hard way and will be more active about it next year. My query is whether, rather than just discard them, is it ok and safe to leave the green tatties to sprout and then plant them again next year? I always buy certified seed tatties but it would be a shame to waste these.
Thanks

[DD.]

Our resident expert, Iain, has said on here that it's reasonably safe to use first year spuds as seed, but the more that you do it, the more risk you take.

Having said that, seeing as you are in Shetland and all the certified seed spuds come from Scotland where there is less risk of disease being spread by aphids etc., I'd have thought you were safer than a lot of us.

(Note to those who have not done so: see the benefit of putting your location in your profile?)

[veggieman]

Thanks for the response.
I get my seed tatties each year from a brilliant supplier in Orkney.

However, it is the green tatties that I was querying. I have quite a few and was wondering if it is safe to let them go to seed for subsequent planting.

Thanks again for any assistance. Very breezy up here today and the ferry up from Aberdeen will be about 7 hours late arriving in Lerwick as a result.

[evie2]

Hello Veggieman, I googled green potatoes (I google everything) and you can plant them but don't eat them

[DD.]

Sorry didn't make it clear enough. The inference in my post is that it's quite safe. If you think about it - what's the first thing you do when you chit them?

Stick them in the light where they go green!

[veggieman]

Thanks again.

I obviously hadn't thought it through. Yes - you are right; they go green anyway. It is just sod's law that the green ones are some of the biggest.

[GreenOwl]

You can cut them into smaller pieces before you plant them, as long as you have an eye on each bit. 

[Iain@JBA]

If they come from Orkney then you are getting them from a good source
The green ones want put into some bone dry peat and stored in a cool place that is frost free.
You will be fine to plant them again up there.

[Kristen]

I cover my earthed-up spud rows generously with lawn mower clipping to keep the frost off in the Spring and, come this time of the year, there is still enough covering to prevent the tubers that form right on the surface from seeing the light and going green. Needs a generous covering in the Spring, but I normally find I need that to be able to get the leaves insulated from the frost

[veggieman]

I usually earth my tatties up well and get very few above the ground. I just got unlucky this year. I am growing on a new but stoney patch so perhaps the stones may be part of the reason.
I have plenty of lawn mower clippings available during the growing season so may well throw some of that around the plants next time. The crop of maincrop tatties, Harmony and Sarpo Mira, have done well and I am putting that down to loads of Shetland pony manure under each tuber.
In another area of the garden, my Rooster maincrop produced a crop largely of split tubers with deep grooves around them. They look very unappetising to do anything with. My wife googled the problem and it would seem that there may be a shortage of water (unlikely here in Shetland). It seems like the insides of the tubers are growing faster than the skins. Very strange. I have never come across this problem before.