seed potatoes so expensive now....it was only 5 years ago you could buy a 100 LB bag of Red La Sota seed potatoes and the local farm stores for $$25-$30 bag. Now they cost around $75 at the lowest..one store I saw selling $100 for a 100lb bag. What has happened to seed prices in this country????
Seed potatoes are supposed to be certified disease free. I always worry a bit when DW says some are sprouting in the pantry plant them. We usually only get a few pounds so $1 a pound would be good for us. If we had a dry last season there might be a short supply of seed.
I guess a buck a pound for the hobby home garden is fine...but try planting 10 acres of spuds with seed potatoes going for $1. Heck the prices at the grocer will be reading...POTATOES $3 LB.:crybaby:
They are 49 cents here, a big jump over just the last couple of years. I grew up on a farm and we saved our best potatoes from year to year as seed potatoes. I have planted potatoes from the supermarket.
Yellowcat, I don't even want to think about 10 acres, my 4000 sqare feet are enough. We plant a little of most other things, and the potatoes are the most expensive. In small lots the handling and shipping cost but commercial size lots ought to be reasonable.
Watch out for late blight; it can be seed borne, and will wipe out your potatoes, your tomatoes, and all of your neighbors' potatoes and tomatoes too.
A sharp increase in price may be due to serious late blight problems in much of the country a couple of years ago; though I would be astonished at a price of $1.00 / lb in farm quantities for conventionally (not organic) grown potatoes. The Fedco catalog was listing conventional potatoes in 50 lb bags for $20 to $31; of course for most people that's plus shipping, but that's just the first listing I grabbed. Organically grown seed potatoes do run higher. Varieties for which the demand is greater than the supply may also be more expensive.
Supermarket potatoes may be carrying quite an assortment of diseases, and in addition may have been treated with sprout inhibitors. Potatoes saved from your own crop may be OK, but keep a really careful eye for disease problems, both the year you grew them in and while they're in storage; don't plant them if you suspect disease, and, for the sake of all your neighbors, don't plant them if you had any late blight in the field.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
My Tractor Forum
4.3M posts
217.1K members
Since 2005
A family friendly forum community dedicated to all Tractor owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about specifications, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!