I've only set 10 potatoes this year but I couldn't wait To sample one : Grows on You

Cheshire, United Kingdom

I've only set 10 potatoes this year but I couldn't wait

To sample one. I dug it up and found 9 , all just less than the size of a table tennis ball. But there were numerous small white spots on them all, and after I'd washed them thoroughly there were tiny "pimples" where the spots had been. I hope you can make out the spots on this one.
The question is - why should they be spotted, are more to the point, are they edible ?

22 Jun, 2016

Answers

Owdboggy

Sounds like, and even looks like Scab. Some types are more prone to this. If your soil is limey then this increases the chances of it. The tubers are still edible, but need digging up earlier than usual as they will get more of it the longer they are in the ground. Won't store either.

22 Jun, 2016

Jimmytheone

If your soil is limey, then next year, why not line the potato trench with some early grass clippings or home-made compost? This will make the soil slightly acidic.

22 Jun, 2016

Hank

Thanks for the replies. The soil these spuds were set in was perhaps the worst ever. Really heavy clay which was the only spot I had. It's had no lime ar anything else added for many years. It really all wants digging out and replacing. May do that next year.
But - are they edible ?

22 Jun, 2016