Seed potatoes to grow for xmas

[Chilli08]

So my seed potatoes have just arrived ready to plant for xmas. Ive planted earlys before and theyve not looked like this. Are these bad? Id really appreciate some help.

They’ve been in storage some time so they’ve lost a lot of water and gone wrinkly. They’re already sprouting so get them planted asap

I can’t see any sign of rot. I think you’d know from the smell. And the postman would have remarked on it too

Oh yes - rotting potatoes smell like decomposing dead mice,

I'm confused as to how you can have potatoes harvested in December.

I’m with frenchfancy. Have you done this before? I’m amazed as thought only perpetual spinach stands much chance now! I’ve dug up with (fairly useless anyway) veg area and covered it in manure and seaweed to wait for spring !

@BewareTheBeardedDragon

Oh yes - rotting potatoes smell like decomposing dead mice,

No, a quite different smell! Having experienced both I much prefer the decomposing mice.

A quick google revealed “to have potatoes for christmas day you’ll need to plant them in august”. Not sure it would work where I am, everything seems to have shut down for winter already

Maybe it's too long since I've experienced dead mouse then but that's what I thought it was before I tracked down a putrid potato. Truly vile, I was shocked that a vegetable could smell so very bad.

We've had ones arrive looking like that before and they were fine. Get them in the ground.
I'm now praying the savage attacks by caterpillars on my Brussel Sprouts are at an end (daily picking of caterpillars even with netting) and they can get back to full strength by Christmas

Dead mouse has that overtone of sweetness, the same small that you get with hawthorn blossom which tries to attract flies for pollination. I can tolerate dead mouse, and even dead sheep if it's not too close. But I share your sentiments about rotten potato.

😂
Sorry for the slightly irrelevant derail OP!

Thankyou for all coming back to me. I've planted them in potatoe sacks fingers crossed theyll be ok. I did have a good sniff and no bad smells 😂. I managed to save enough to buy myself a gréenhouse this summer so i'll be growing them in there. I've not tried this variety before and planting in august.