New potato shoots are popping up in unexpected places in the vegetable garden. These are known as groundkeepers or rogue potatoes & some gardeners may think they are a bonus.
rogue-potatoes-in-bed
Little potatoes (disguised as pebbles), which were missed during last year’s harvest and left in the ground, are sprouting and producing new potato plants.
Some people who add potato peelings to the compost, are discovering the miracle of regrowth from the eyes on the peelings. If the compost is well rotted, the peelings should disintegrate so that they will not regrow.
When unplanned/unplanted potato leaves appear in the vegetable bed, just pull up the shoots as they appear….they won’t have the stored energy to re-sprout. It is easier to pull them up when they have just appeared and are small.
emerging-groundkeeper
If the rogue potatoes are left, they will grow larger and take more getting rid of.
big-potato-groundkeeper
If these groundkeepers, rogue potatoes, are left uncared for, to get on with their own devices, the danger is that they harbour blight, and provide a host for the fungus of potato blight to multiply on. So from a hygiene point of view, it is important to remove rogue potatoes and not consider them as a bonus!
