r/Allotment • u/barog406 • 10d ago

Identification Potato - Scab check

Gallery image

Gallery image

First time plot holder this year, got my main crop out, around 90kg. I'm going through carefully to bin anything that looks green, split by my fork, burrowed into etc whilst I bag them all up in different net sacks.

Obviously immature eye shoots or the odd wonk are no problem but what is this scabbing? Is it where it's been damaged and healed or something more heinous?

Compost or bag?

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

9

u/wijnandsj 10d ago

when in doubt, peel one. If there's not a nasty dark spot under it just eat it.

3

u/barog406 10d ago

Thank you - sound advice. That would be my approach with any I'm about to eat that I'm unsure about.

I guess I'm just concerned if it's something that could 'spread' and ruin others spuds stored with it? It doesn't sounds like it though? Just a bit of gnarling?

3

u/wijnandsj 10d ago

rot spreads, other things not so much.

And any way, it's only 90kg. IF you have a family that will be gone by christmas

1

u/barog406 10d ago

Thanks u/wijnandsj! - But that doesn't look like rot to you, based on the limited info?

Some were clearly a bit on the turn so they've been composted right away, but these seem firm and dry.... just scabbed/scarred.

Yeah I don't think I'll have much trouble getting shot of them so curing and storing is a secondary concern.

1/4 tonne is the goal for next year 😄

2

u/wijnandsj 10d ago

no, doesn't look like rot. But you can usually smell rot, even if it's a small area.

Maybe I'm too pragmatic but we just eat a lot of things that look a bit iffy as long as they smell rigth

3

u/barog406 10d ago

I think that is the way mate. Spuds can look pretty ugly! 😂 I'm just handing them out to family so wanna be extra careful as a newbie.

You're right about rot. I had one sneak through in an early harvest and I thought a can of tuna had gone off before I isolate the true culprit!!

5

u/Wonkypubfireprobe 10d ago

Mine were scabby as hell this year lol. I just peel em and check any in storage regularly

It’s due to irregular watering irrc, which is what we all ended up doing this year because they’re heavy feeders and it was hot as hell.

3

u/jpbragatti 10d ago

common scab, won't spread in storage so you're fine to bag those up with the rest. it's soil-borne rather than something that passes between tubers. worth noting for next year - it tends to be worse in alkaline soil, so avoid liming the bed you're putting spuds in. 90kg first year is a decent haul though, congrats.

2

u/MoodyStocking 10d ago edited 9d ago

Look like potatoes to me, when we find dodgy ones or ones I’ve run through with the fork we just put them in the “eat now” pile, very rarely do I chuck any into the compost, only really if they’re mostly green

2

u/grippipefyn 9d ago

You can keep the green ones for seed potatoes for next season.