Looking for Snookie too

[jayb]

As an explanation, a couple of weeks ago I managed to harvest a couple of tubers of Snookie from my overgrown garden. They were planted in the spring of 2018 and never harvested, I'm so bad, it was just more than I could manage.

Spring 2019 I knew I wasn't going to be growing anything again this year, so I managed to cover some of my plot with ground cover fabric. The potato plot was covered, but a bit into the year I could see some bumps down the lines. When I looked I could see some potatoes sprouting, maybe not the most sensible but I uncovered the area and left them grow.

Snookie made lots of tubers although many were later hit with blight. I'm not sure how healthy the tubers are anymore (I have picked a few tubers to try next year, though they don't look great) so I'm on a quest 'Looking for Snookie too'. I've no idea if this will end well, but it's what I'm trying.

[clumsy]

Are going to grow these early in the greenhouse?with or without?I'm just interested in the amount of plants your going to have from looking at the photo.

[jayb]

Agghh, you should see them now, they look more like the mustard and cress I grew when I was a child. I thought I wouldn't have very good germination so should sow on the heavy side. What was I thinking!

My idea was-is to grow on around 30-40 seedlings in an insert tray, so each one will get around 4.5 cm square to grow in, it's asking a lot but, many should be able to make mini tubers in that space (although tuber shape can be a bit distorted). From there I'll pick out the most favorable looking mini tubers, store them for a while and then plant them out late spring-early summer. Well, that's the idea, I've never sown tps so late, just keep my fingers crossed. They will have to be kept frost-free and as in good a light as I can, so likely in the house somewhere.

[jayb]

Well, I never got to separating my Snookie seedlings in time. In the end, because I sowed them so thickly and they had grown on too much I split them into 6 clumps and planted them back into the modules. Not sure if anything will come from this grow out, but potatoes are survivors and I have lots more seeds spare.





They are becoming a bit of a jumble and I guess only the strongest will have a chance of setting mini tubers.

[Galina]

I had the same a couple of years ago. Put them into a bowl with warmish water and they separated easily. I noticed the thin but quite wiry stems. You should have no problems separating them this way Jayb. They are really not that delicate.

[jayb]

I love how tough and resilient they are.
I think for what I'd planned, I let them grow on too far in too cramped conditions. I have quite limited space indoors to grow them on in and given the size and tangle would have had difficulty putting them into the size module I had chosen. I'm hoping this compromise will work ok. I would have prefered individual modules as I know it works and mini tubers can be kept separate. If it had been springtime I would have done as you suggest.