What should we do with our surprise potato plant?

Hi all

We were filling up the compost bin today when what should we see but a little plant poking out of the side of the compost bin... when we took it out we saw it was growing out of a tiny slice of potato peeling! It seems we have inadvertently sprouted a potato plant! :D

We've taken it out of the compost and put it in a little pot for now, but we're a bit stumped as to what to do with it. It'd be really nice to experiment with growing it (and maybe getting some spuds!) but we're not sure how to do it. Our plot is full so there's no space there, but we wondered about a pot or a grow bag. Is it worth trying to grow it, do you think? Do potatoes work in grow bags? Or a deep pot? As far as what variety it is, it's probably maris piper as those are the ones we buy most often!

Any suggestions for what we should do with our surprise find would be very welcome!

paddy

 

today in the garden centre they were selling plastic sacks, like thick bin bags with potato plants in them. The sides were rolled down so when the plants grows up you just unroll it a bit more and top it up with soil. Was a pretty neat idea I thought.

 

Everyone knows the best potatoes grow in the compost heap! Put it back where it wants to be until the foliage dies down and then eat the spuds. I you'st to do this every year for new spuds at Christmas but as we keep horses now and the tops are poisonous, I have to be careful what goes into the compost heap. In fact compost heaps are great places to grow plants that require a little bit of warmth. I'm sure I read on here a few weeks ago about a grape growing peppers in there.

 

Yup, we get lovely potatoes from our heap too! Sometimes if there's quite a few, i break the stems so they compost down, but it is good to pull out a stem and find some lovely wee new potatoes attached!