I have a question for potato growers. I planted some eyes. Waited a week for shoots to start coming up and when I didn’t see anything dug one of them up. There were very tiny, smaller than black ant size, black bugs all in the soil where I dug one up and everything of the eye except for the skin had been eaten away. Any ideas? What can I do to get rid of them in the soil?
I went to Plan B and planted white onions there.
Look at the underside of the leaves - are there any egg masses there?
I noticed that you also posted you planted onions there. I would dig one up in a week and see what you have. If the bugs are still there I wouldn't plant anything there until late summer. Until then cover the ground with black plastic and let it cook in the sun all summer.
Hie thee down to a good garden center or nursery—or library—and look for a copy of the Ortho Garden Pest Book. They will usually have one chained to a podium for the public to use. It is a huge book, but very easy to use, as it is written for average homeowners, rather than professionals.
Naturally, it is geared toward pushing Ortho products, but sometimes it gives other alternatives; but, in any case, it will identify what’s bugging your plants, and give a decent description of what you’re dealing with.
Never mind their recommended chem solutions; just use it to find your problem pest, to use as a starting point for further research to find what you need to do to combat the specific problem..
Also, you said you ‘planted eyes’. How much potato was attached, or was it (common beginner mistake) almost just the eyes? Were the pieces allowed to callous over before planting? Were the potatoes used sound & healthy looking?
Usually, something like what you’re seeing is just a cleanup crew doing its job; not the killer itself which is almost always rot. Soil too cold; soil too wet; seed planted immediately, not cured after cutting; infected seed, etc.