Chitting seeds and peas

[Kaiya]

I'd like to try chitting seeds and peas before planting them, however I only allotment on the weekend. I can carry my chitting seeds and peas around with me to make sure they stay damp etc. but if they sprout mid-week, they'll have to wait before being planted out at the weekend. I am interested in peas (mangetout), carrots and parsnips predominantly; mangetout to prevent bare areas where a pea failed, and carrots and parsnips because I've never grown them successfully, possibly because watering during the week is an issue and I believe they need to stay dampish to germinate.

So my questions are:

How long do such seeds and peas take to chit? (ballpark figure fine - I've no idea if it's days or weeks at this point!)

Once chitted, is there a rush to get them planted or can they live on tissue for 4-5 days max?

Many thanks

[rustylady]

I soak my peas overnight, then rinse and place on damp kitchen roll in a "tupperware" box with lid fitted. Shoots usually appear in about 3 days. I would think that if you chit them on a Sunday night they should be fine in their box until you get to the allotment the next weekend.

Parsnips take longer to chit, but again they should be fine to wait in their box until you're ready to plant.

Carrots could be tricky cos they are such small seeds, you would have to be really careful not to break off the shoot when planting out.

[zazen999]

I put some to chit last Friday and checked today and half have and half haven't. So....4 -5 days.

I do them in damp compost not kitchen roll so they can stay in there for a few days. It's for a course this week to demonstrate the method so hopefully they should be the right size.

[Two_Sheds]

I've never grown them successfully, possibly because watering during the week is an issue

Do you sow into a wet drill, or do you sow then water the surface soil?

I do them in damp compost not kitchen roll

... and I don't use either, I just use a glass/plastic bowl/dish, topped with damp kitchen roll or a lid

[Martin H]

I'm chitting sweetcorn on kitchen roll - never done this before. 2 questions:
- about half of them are sprouting, which is well exciting. The white spike that emerges, is this a root, so should they be planted spike downwards?
- should I leave the other half to sprout before I sow them in modules, or bung them all in anyway?

Thanks people!

[Two_Sheds]

It's a root.

Plant it root down if you can, but the plant can work itself the right way round, so don't sweat it.

I usually wait until they're all sprouted, but you have to balance their climate just right: not too dry, not too wet

If the root gets tangled in the kitchen paper, cut the paper (not the root). Or, don't bother with the paper, just use takeaway boxes like in my link above

[KittyColdNose]

Once chitted would you plant them straight out or would you pot them up first?

[rustylady]

Once chitted would you plant them straight out or would you pot them up first?

Far too early to plant sweetcorn out, they would need to be potted.

[KittyColdNose]

Thanks Rusty Lady. How about peas?

[rustylady]

Peas should be fine. I chitted some about two weeks ago, and sowed them on the allotment as soon as they sprouted. Put a cloche over them and today I have peashoots about 2" high. Chitting peas before sowing seems to stop the mice pinching them too.

[Martin H]

I'm getting into this chitting lark now. After the sweetcorn was so successful (they are now all in modules, 100% with little green shoots!), I put some beans in on Sunday: dwarf french Castandel from Marshalls and climbing french Matilda which was saved seed 2011 vintage. Both are now sprouting away and will get put into modules tomorrow. It seems such a foolproof way of doing things I don't know why it isn't standard!

[Two_Sheds]

It seems such a foolproof way of doing things I don't know why it isn't standard!

yeah
... because people don't like "new" ideas ?

It saves a lot of space & compost, because you can see the failures before you pot them up. I've had only 3 Ruth Bibles germinate out of a pack of 25, so I'm glad I didn't waste time putting them all in compost