They generally recommend planting 1 1/2 - 2 oz. size pieces, so it sounds like you're good. I'm not sure what you mean by 'good' sprouts. You want short sprouts, 1/4 inch long or so. Any longer are not good. And they should be green, not all white. If they're already sprouting and you won't be planting for a while, they should be kept cold to prevent them from growing any more.

Thanks! I only had some of the other posts about sweet potato harvests to go by, plus a couple of books (and they all said the same thing about waiting until frost!). My intuition told me to not wait until a real freeze, but that river keeps my air temp. too warm for a frost mostly until REALLY cold weather sets in. So, my tubers kept well, do you think the slips from them will make good, sweet tubers this year (if I harvest them much earlier)? They were a dream to grow, so I'm up for trying again. Cheers, Sunni

I suppose you could side lay in a trench but sprouts up is better. The potato needs to be buried fairly deep anyway so just bury most of the sprout and leave the tip exposed. One point since you live in that part of the country that was hit with all the late blight last year. The official AG recommendation is not to use saved potatoes this year as the LB fungus can over-winter in saved potatoes. The potatoes won't show any signs of it until they sprout but if there was any LB in your vicinity last year you might want to consider if the risk of re-contamination is really worth it. Just something to consider. Dave

anney, Most are sprayed with a growth inhibitor to prevent sprouting in order to prolong shelf life in order to be harvested, processed, cleaned, shipped, and sit on the shelf for long enough for you to see it and it still looks to be in decent shape to purchase. It can also prevent optimum growth. It's possible to plant grocery store produce, but you may be encouraging disease and it is highly likely the results will be smaller than seed stock grown out for home garden planting. "Do not store seed in a storage where sprout inhibitors such as CIPC have been used unless the entire ventilation system, including plenums, flumes, fans, ducts, etc. have been thoroughly cleaned. The seed house must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected to eliminate carryover of disease causing organisms. Ring rot bacteria can persist up to three years on dried surfaces and are capable of surviving freezing temperatures. Clean out all major trash (tubers, vines, dirt, broken boxes, old bags, etc.) and discard or burn. If potatoes are discarded, don't leave them near the storage or in a pile (cull pile). A cull pile is a potential source of many diseases (soft rot, ring rot, late blight, viruses). Instead, burn, chop, compost, freeze or bury discarded potatoes." So basically, planting store bought potatoes can encourage disease in your garden. Seed potatoes are safer in this respect. Here is a link that might be useful: North Dakota State University Agriculture and University Extension