Do they smell "moldy" or "musty"? Mine usually smell musty or earthy until I wash them and let them sit and dry for awhile. Nancy

Do they have black spots or sunken areas? Soft areas? IF you have doubts, cut one open.

The seed potatoes will smell like that when dug up. The new potatoes will not, though.

Molds are just bacteria that produce that smell,
Obviously there are plenty of them in the compost pile.
That is the smell of soil and life in soil.

Thanks all, for the info, folks.

Nancy, you were right. I washed the potato and it smelled very moldy while wet. (No black spots. They were perfect). I let it dry and there is no smell at all now, and they taste fine.

Glib, what's the difference between the seed potato and the new potato? I didn't dig up the one I planted (the seed potato?). Is it even there anymore? I guess I'll eventually dig to find out.

Seysonn, none of my other root/soil crops (or soil) ever smelled as moldy as these potatoes. I wonder if it's just a characteristic of potatoes. It's amazing how the smell disappears when dry.

sometimes the seed potato, if planted whole (I plant whole small potatoes, saves time) will not disintegrate, but the skin will be darker, the flesh is translucent, and they smell. I picked mine 4 weeks ago and there were several, maybe one in 5 plants. Obviously, they are not good to eat.