Chitting and planting potatoes

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Magsrose. The answer to your question is exactly what Zazen says. But if your potatoes appear before your last frost date then get them covered up with earth.

[Gwyndy]

Not a daft question at all. Depends on warmth, moisture, how well chitted the seed potatoes were - a few weeks. (I planted my first earlies a couple of weeks aggo and the second earlies today.)

[magsrose]

thanx for your replies. ive got some in the ground and some in a pot so im hoping to at least get a few spuds to taste this year.ive decided this gardening is an addiction. i love it. thanx again.

[Flummery]

As Alice said, make sure you cover the new shoots with more soil drawn up from the side of the row - called earthing up - this helps by preventing the top growth being hammered by late frosts but also it allows the plants to send out more root - and on the end of these your potatoes form. More earthing up means more spuds to eat.

Good luck with them.

[Eyren]

It always feels like ages until you see the first shoots - then when they reach the light they shoot up like rockets and need to be earthed up regularly!

[Kirsty_84]

I've got some potatoes in ready-made potatoe sacks - there were instructions on the sacks which say to leave the shoots until they have grown about 7cms. I'd cover the shoots if there was going to be a frost but, is it ok to leave them until 7cm and then cover them, or should I be covering them regularly?

[piskieinboots]

...More earthing up means more spuds to eat.

See this is what I have always believed (and done) - but that Bob Flowerdew chappie said it makes no difference with first earlies, that they don't need it???

I'm afraid, whilst he may be the professional - I shall continue earthing up as ever my Pa told me to

Confusing this gardening lark innit

[Flummery]

You and me both, Piskie. What does he know?

[jacob marley]

Well all this earthing up lark is a lot of work for nothing a few years ago i read a article about tater growing and this bod discribed how he plants his taters 8 inches deep and that is it no earthing up i tried it last year and lo and behold hardly any green taters.
So that is it for me no more earthing up you have to keep hoeing though else the weeds keep growing so tater growing is not set in stone there is always something new to learn .
I have planted the taters 8 inches deep this year as well so we will see how we go this year...jacob .
P.S. this aint a april fool gag i would not do that on a serious subject as this..

[teakdesk]

See this is what I have always believed (and done) - but that Bob Flowerdew chappie said it makes no difference with first earlies, that they don't need it???

I'm afraid, whilst he may be the professional - I shall continue earthing up as ever my Pa told me to

Confusing this gardening lark innit

Not wanting to suggest you change your tried and trusted methods but I can see why not earthing up first earlies is better.

The plant relies on sunlight hitting its foliage to produce a strong plant and earthing up prevents this - in effect it is putting a check on the plant. The plant then has to put more energy into growing new foliage to replace that you have just covered up. This means energy is diverted from root and tuber production.

In maincrop the plant is in the ground for longer so the check it receives from earthing up has longer to be overcome. Also, when the plant gets old it can produce secondary roots out from the covered foliage which benefits the plant in later life. Tubers on maincrop are produced, and continue to swell, much later than first earlies - a long time after earthing up has finished.

First earlies are dug up before the plant is old enough to produce these secondary roots so there is no benefit from the earthing up.


However, you must protect first early and maincrop foliage from frost by using fleece - or earthing up - as frost will kill the plant or provide a much greater check to the plant.

So if you can keep the plants frost free first earlies will be better without earthing up but maincrop should be earthed up.


As I say, it's just my opinion so please continue to do what works for you!!

[Creemteez]

Mine have been in for over three weeks and still no sign. My neighbour told me today that hers were just up so she's obviously a tattie snob, eh Snager?
I'm not giving up hope yet, but the desire to have a little scrape at the soil, just to see.... It's a case of having to sit on my hands!

[DaveInBraknell]

Put mine in in End of Febuary, still no sign (Pentland Javelin's) suspect ground was a bit cold for them they went in about 15cm Deep. Put some more in three weeks ago (First week in March) nothing yet (Maris Peer) again 15cm deep, Enya's went in two weeks ago, nothing yet.

Ho hum, patience is something I am learning on this game..

[burnie]

one of the other reasons for earthing up is to extend the length of the stalk,which is where the shoots for the tatties are made i.e.longer stem,more tatties(that's the theory and it does seem to work)

[Iamhanuman]

check out tattieman's thread on potato planting - should be searchable
all you need to know about getting them into the ground or pots!

[DaveInBraknell]

Realised today why you chit outside of sunlight.

Experiement:

I have my spuds chitting in my greenhouse, some in bottom half of staging, some on top half. Varities are Anya and Maris Peer.

Chitting on tatties stopped when chits got to about 1 cm long. Hmm strange I thought they only get direct sunlight for maybe 3-4 hours a day.

Covered tatties on top of staging with an old seed tray. 1 week later chit has grown to about 3-4cm long.

Seems tooo much light stops the chitting.

Morale of story:

Even if you scratch your head and go why does common knowledge say X without reason, experiment and see why yourself

Dave