YMMV, but I have only done that and have had NO issues.
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Fedco sells seed potato tubers.

Techically seeds potatoes are claimed to have less disease. But who knows. They are suppose to be ready to grow at the right time.

Some potatoes might be sprayed to stop them from growing so fast.

Personally Organic will not be sprayed and I would simply plant those for the garden.

If I buy potatoes in the store I never throw the scrapes into the compost pile. It is simply a way to introduce virus into the garden. not worth the risk. Especially any rotten potatoes or pieces.

I would recommend this even for your own potatoes. You simply want to keep the soil as virus free as possible.

Seed grade potatoes likely will be disease-free. Potatoes from the store - no guarantee at all. None. Zero. How much is it worth to you to avoid disease?

Dan

I've personally never had any problem with organic potatoes from the store -- they always seem to sprout and grow well.

It's not a bad way, IMO, to try something you can't find locally, or don't want to pay the high cost and shipping. Especially if you're just planning on planting a few pounds.

I guess there is the risk, at least in theory, of introducing a disease. I've never had that happen, either. Doesn't mean it won't, there is always a first time.

Non-organic potatoes definitely can have sprout inhibitors -- if you plant those, make sure they're definitely sprouted and growing beforehand.

The only other issue aside from sprout inhibitors with grocery store potatoes I had was that they sometimes masquerade as something else. In 2008 or 2009, I bought the cutest little fingerling type red, crescent shaped potatoes at a local grocery. They were about an inch and half in diameter, and about 2 to 3 inches long. Much to my surprise, when I dug them in the fall, they had made really nice, large potatoes about 3 inches in diameter and 6 to 8 inches long, still a sort of crescent moon shaped. Very nice, but not a true fingerling -- someone figured out a way to make some $$$ on the small fry that probably previously went into the compost or to animal feed -- they were $3.99 for a 2lb mesh bag at this grocery store.

Seed potatoes are grown for the purpose. The fields are monitored to assure there is no virus. Potato farmers use certified seed because introducing virus into their fields would put an end to their livelihood. The home gardener may find it worth the risk and use grocery store potatoes.

I think too much is made of the sprout inhibitor issue. My grandfather, a potato farmer all his life, never mentioned it. I spent enough time on the farm that I would have heard of sprout inhibitor if he used it. I also attended potato conventions with him, where every detail of potato farming was discussed, and never heard it mentioned there either. Potatoes I buy from the store seem all too willing to sprout.

Certified seed has everything to do with disease control, which is a serious issue in potato growing. It has nothing to do with sprout inhibitors.

Jim

So what happens if I plant diseased potato seed? Do I lose that year's crop, a chance to grow potatoes ever after, or does it spread to other vegetables, too?

Seed potatoes first come out of greenhouses and are then grown for a limited number of generations in the open field. As you can imagine, when that seed is sold out of the greenhouse, it commands a very high price. Subsequent generations have a lower price but all are sold as "certified."

Some disease tolerance increases through the generations. However, the presence of other diseases are not allowed at any point.

Maleic hydrazide is a common sprout inhibitor. It is applied in the field to the growing potato plants weeks before harvest. Chlorpropham may be applied to potatoes during processing or in storage.

There are other chemicals that may be used to inhibit sprouting however Maleic hydrazide is the most common and used on
27% of the potato fields in Washington State,
11% of the fields in Idaho,
35% of the fields in Michigan,
for example (all USDA pdf files).

Steve

"So what happens if I plant diseased potato seed?"

Good question, but hard to answer in a definitive way. It can vary, from minor problem to Irish potato famine.

Thanks for the data, Steve. It is more up-to-date than my anecdotal info from years ago.

Jim

You need to examine the potatoes you are buying for evidence of disease. I've seen some raunchy seed potatoes.

I planted certified seed potatoes and they were ruined by a fungal blight. Now that don't mean that the potatoes came with it. For two years I sprayed with an anti-fungal spray and it worked real good I had very good crops. I then did not garden in that garden for three years while my wife and lived in my Fathers house caring for him in his old age. After he passed I moved back and was able to raise potatoes with out spraying with fungicides.

Curt

Great comments Jimster.

My 2 cents worth - if I remember correctly, there are numerous levels of certification starting with foundation stock (which I believe now comes exclusively from tissue cultured mini-tubers, absolutely disease free) to the lowest grade. The tissue cultured mini-tubers are EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND VALUABLE. I had some friends who used to raise them, at the end of their season, their tiny walk in refrigerator had a million dollars of tubers each year. Too bad Frito Lay Corp. screwed them over causing them to go bankrupt.

Here is a link that might be useful: US standards for grades of seed potatoes