Alan Stenson asked 13 years ago
I had a bed of potatoes last year and only recently noticed that there are some fresh potato sprouts in the same bed this year – can they be left or should i get rid of them? they’re obviously growing from potatoes that were left in the ground last year. i had planned on growing cabbage in that bed this year
1 Answers
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
Potatoes that come up from last year are called ‘ground-keepers’ or ‘volunteers’.
These will give some potatoes if left to develop, but usually the spacings are wrong, givign poor returns. And if the seed potato is very small, the yield is small and the potatoes small too.
Also it can increase probelms with pest and disease carry-over and it is generally not a good idea.
