Producing your own seed spuds from mini tubers, cuttings, etc.

Good job I took cuttings this year as my sterilized rooted chits (a method that produced scab free microtubers last year, shown in post #16 above) have failed to leave the scab behind. Despite that scab, I'll hang onto them and use to produce more cuttings next year.

 

@Scrungee , is scab soil bourne?
I've never come across it myself.

 

The tubers initially catch it from organisms in the soil, then stay infected passing on from seed spuds to new tubers.

 

So, will your clean new tubers just not get infected as soon as you plant them.

 

Shouldn't if planted in big tubs of potting compost, and maybe not in every location in open ground.

P.S. Remembered seeing these early this year, not a good advert for seed potatoes when the packaging shows them with scab

 

Pulled up my last potato stem cutting, thought it was going to be a really big tuber underneath as the stem was 90"/7'6" long.

But there was nothing!

 

Back in June I took a stem cutting from Pink Fir Apple.
This is the result, stem tubers, but nothing on the root, just wondering if I should have earthed it up?

 

Some of my first cuttings from mid-March have gone yellow and ceased growing so I had a look what size tubers have developed. They were only in 1L pots.



I've just taken 60 more cuttings which will be grown on in polytunnels and should have sizeable microtubers in late September. Only intended doing a couple of dozen, but made too much cutting mix and didn't want to waste any.





Prior to adding perspex tops (another 12 in polytunnel covered with cut down 2L drinks bottles).




Their leaves are such a dark green as they've been under growlights as I wanted the cuttings in the very best condition. It also helps identify the cutting that have rooted and started growing as lighter green growth appears at the tips.


Potted up last year's microtubers early this month and they are being grown in polytunnels to produce next year's seed potatoes.

 

Two more cuttings went yellow so harvested their mini-tubers, getting slightly larger than those in the the last post.

Only 1 of my recent 60 cuttings has failed. This year's experiments should identify the optimum time for taking/harvesting them.

Latest 2 mini-tubers on the left

 

Of the 60 cuttings taken 12 days ago on 27th June, 10% of those in a covered propagator indoors on low heat have rooted and 15% of those in a polytunnel with 2L cut off drinks bottle covers have rooted. Too close to call.

 

18 Days since taking cuttings and 50% have now rooted.

I'll need to keep them growing until the end of September to get decent sized micro tubers, so might bin those that haven't taken yet.