My seed potatoes look weird...

[LittleShamrock]

I have put my seed potatoes in an egg box base, on my kitchen windowsill. They had sprouted little greeny white shoots within a few days, but now they have turned black I'm guessing this isn't supposed to happen as the old spuds in my cupboard are sporting huge, long white shoots which look much healthier than the ones I have put in the light!

[Suky]

Are they actually black or a very dark green? Certain varieties can sprout really dark.

[Hole Digger]

What you need is dark green shoots on your tatties not the long white straggly ones, thats a sign they haven't had enough light.I think the ones in the egg trays will be fine

[Two_Sheds]

As they've said already: long white shoots aren't healthy, you want short fat dark shoots

[Jeanied]

Mine have black shoots on too. Just right.

[binley100]

Last year I was worried about black shoots until I put my glasses on and saw they were actually purple........... and they grew just fine.

[Nes]

White shoots grow in the dark. These get long and spindly and can break easily, and as said above are not what you want. Nice short stumpy shoots is the order of the day. Some varieties grow green shoots, some dark purple. As long as they're in a fairly bright, coolish place, (a north facing windowsill without a radiator turned on underneath works for me), they'll be fine.

[Flummery]

Get the others out of the cupboard asap! Long shoots AREN'T healthy - they are weaker and as Nes says, can break off then you have wasted yoyur time chitting them. Best of luck.

[StephenH]

What you need is dark green shoots on your tatties not the long white straggly ones, thats a sign they haven't had enough light.I think the ones in the egg trays will be fine

Actually, this was the subject of a members experiment by the HDRA back in the 80s, and they discovered that if you chitted them in the dark, producing long white shoots, the yield was significantly higher than from ones chitted the conventional way PROVIDED you took care not to break the shoots, which are very fragile, while planting them.

[Flummery]

Ah, the 'provided' is the problem. It's very difficult to transport them to the allotment, poke them down the trench AND cover them with soil without breaking them off. The green ones are far sturdier.