Problems you might notice when you harvest your own-grown new potatoes...

Common Problems noticed when harvesting new potatoes.
Here is a list of the most common problems potatoes can suffer from.... that you might only notice when you harvest your potatoes....

 Potato problems
     (signs/damage)                                               
things you might notice ...

fairly large holes in the potatoes  (possible cause) slugs
tiny holes in the potatoes dark areas around it (possible cause) wire worm
rough dark patches on the skin of the potatoes  (possible cause)   scab


Can you still eat potatoes that have marks on them?

Good news is that the potatoes suffering from scab can still be eaten, you just might have to peel them before cooking them.

The ones with slight wire worm damage can also be eaten, if it is really bad destroy the potato do not compost it.

The slug damage if it is a small area cut it out, if it is badly damaged throw it out.

These are not disasters - the wire-worm usually affects potatoes grown in an area that was recently grass land.  As you work the land and rotate the cropping areas the problem should diminish over the years. Some people think that growing the green-manure plant called mustard in the soil helps to eradicate the problem.

Slugs are just something that strike from time to time as you work the soil and the birds eat the eggs of things like slugs the problem may lessed. please do not resort to slug bait as it can kill birds and hedgehogs both of these are gardeners' friends.