Potato Question

[Droppey]

Just a quick question re potatoe seeds. In a book I've acquired it says to chit potatoes first, and then plant out anytime now.

I don't have any chitted potatoes, does that mean the time has passed? Or does it not matter if they're chitted or not?

Is chitted a word lol

[SarzWix]

Chitting potatoes just gives them a headstart, they will still grow if you plant them without chits

[jacob marley]

Just stick them in the ground they will grow....jacob

[snohare]

Two reasons exist for chitting, Droppey.
Back in the good old days when tatties were stored overwinter in surroundings that reflected the temperature outside, a potato chitting told you that it was almost time to plant - usually the air temperature rose to the correct level to create growth before the soil did. So chitting tatties just means that you get official warning of when it is safe to plant tatties - if you did it too early in spring for example and then there was a hard frost again, they might get clobbered by that. Nowadays with such mild winters - our hardest ones now are the mildest of mild compared to yesteryear - you hardly need to worry. And let's face it, in the wild they survive without chitting, don't they ?
The other reason is, if the potato sprouts with several shoots, it not being in the soil means that you can remove all but one before planting, thus ensuring that all the stored energy in the potato goes into one vigorous stem.

[Droppey]

Thanks for all the information I'm learning all the time