chitting

[fruit&vegvirgin]

according to last sat's D.Telegraph, what you want is 'tight eyes' (ooerr missus!). can safely say my Vales Emerald earlies have got tight eyes, they are too scared to open them because its so cold. meanwhile, the Desiree are not showing any eyes at all. I'll just chuck em in anyway if the ground ever softens enough to dig.

[andrewo]

As a total beginner this year, I also put my newly purchased seed potatoes under the stair. Read this and "rescued" them. They have 3-6 cm pale white sprouts now.

Don't want to get involved in the "chitting debate" but will these be OK. It is still too early to plant, so can I break off these shoots, leave them, what?

They will be fine, did this too, first year on the allotment and they did fantastically well, just be careful when you put them in the trench and cover them back over.

[Nicos]

Once , when I forgot about mine, I ended up spending hours carefully snipping them out of the netting bag. I swear there was more on the outside of the bag than inside!! We've all done it! Thats probably why we are keen to chit them as soon as they arrive. Late purchases just get planted unchitted!!

[Acorn]

This is my first time on this site. I have a question that might seem silly! I have been growing potatoes for a few years. I have never cut them up to make more plants. Is this excepable or should I carry on the way I am and just plant them up whole?

I remember when I was a little girl seeing my gran in Spain cutting the potatoes in bits and then planting them... I never knew the reason or method she used, as I was not interested at the time, but she always used to harvest enough potatoes for the family (7 of us) for the whole year... She used to store them in the loft and lasted for months!!

[SueA]

I'm chitting the free Harlequin tubers from GYO mag. on the kitchen windowsill but they haven't sprouted very much yet. I usually chit first/second earlies for about 6-8 weeks then plant them outside in large tubs around the beginning of April, I don't get very big crops but they always taste lovely.

[Nicos]

I heard monty don on gardener's question time saying he is going to compare cropping size from large spuds with small spuds ,to see if the tuber size makes a difference to the final cropping weight of the plant. (I have my fingers crossed that larger ones produce more as I have always believed this to be the case!!) perhaps we could have a poll???

[Lesley Jay]

I always try and buy small ones because they will go further so it would be interesting to see the results.

[nick the grief]

I'm with you LJ as I buy mine loose from our local shop and you get more little un's to the lb (or kg whatever they are) so in the end I probably end up witht he same yeild but clear more ground at a time ... I hope

[Nicos]

Actually it is bob flowerdew who is running the trial not monty don!!!