Spuds not chitting?

[Newton]

My international kidney are chitting fine.

My pink fir apple are not.

Both treated same. Both left out in car on a frost night.......the international kidney seed pots are larger?

Do they chit a different rates? Start at different times? Or do you think the cold has affected one and not the other?

Should I bin the pfa?

[alldigging]

Don't bin them!

If they haven't chitted by the time you need to plant them then just plant them. Unless they are rotten or mushy. That's assuming you bought them as seed potatoes.

If they're out the supermarket and you have room to put them in even if they don't produce a crop then still plant them.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Spuds start into life after winter at different rates. Sarpo Mira as an example is an extremely late developer so don't be alarmed on that basis.

If they have beenfrosted, they will be soft(not necessarily mushy) but if they are, bin then.

If they are still firm and they were bought or produced as seed tatties, they should be fine. Plant them in due course. On the other hand, if they have been saved from supermarket spuds sold for the kitchen, they may have been treated with a sprout suppressant. Stick a spud in a pot andput it in the airing cupboard or somehwere else warm, leave it a couple of weeeks and then see what happens. Heaps of time before they need to be planted.

I will repeat what I've said on other threads though. Spuds do not need to be chitted before planting. Chitting just controls the sprouting process and encourages the spud to develop robust stubby sprouts instead of long strangly tryphid like extrusions.

[Alison]

I always find that PFA don't really chit that much, not sure if anything to do with them being a late main crop and therefore take longer to reach maturity. Anyway, I plant them up at the same time as the more chitted ones (not started chitting my main potatoes yet, only doing my polytunnel ones although the others will be egg boxed in the next week or two) and they always produce really well so don't worry. As said above, unless they're mouldy or mushy then they'll be fine.

[Newton]

Thanks. They are seed potatoes. Not gone soft..........I live in hope!

[Aberdeenplotter]

keep the faith. They will be fine