Saved taters not chitting.

[COMPOST CORNER]

I saved some Charlotte and Carlingford potatoes from my crop this year to try to grow Christmas spuds.
I put them to chit in an open box on a south facing window sill about six weeks ago.
All that has happened is the potatoes have gone green and a bit wrinkly.
I can't find seed potatoes locally, will my potaoes grow?

[rustylady]

You don't HAVE to chit them, you could try burying them in small pots of compost to start them growing.

[King Carrot]

would this years crop not be dormant till next year - I thought that spuds for harvesting mid winter were discouraged from growing earlier in the season so they take off when planted summer/autumn?

[SlugLobber]

I would plant them and see, but there might be something in what KC said. The ones I chitted for winter spuds were from an organic batch of supermarket spuds (bought in about April, so I guess more suited to cooler growing conditions?).

[Paulottie]

You might have been best to put them in the fridge for a month or so first so as to trick them into thinking it was winter. then re-plant.

[rustylady]

Mind you, if you keep supermarket potatoes in a cupboard and forget about them for a few weeks they soon produce sprouts.

[maytreefrannie]

I have a few on the windowsill, no sprouting but I'm going to plant them in a bin anyway.

Other years I've never managed to get spuds for Christmas, but I'm giving it a go again this year.

[Paulottie]

Mind you, if you keep supermarket potatoes in a cupboard and forget about them for a few weeks they soon produce sprouts.

I suspect they have been kept in cold storage before distribution anyway....probably on the way hear from Egypt or Timbuktu.