Where should I put'chitting' seed potatoes

[Kristen]

I would say the problems start when they are then planted - as weather, blight, etc. hold you to ransom.

Yes, good point. The earlier they are planted (particularly First Earlies, which grow the fastest) the more nights of frost there will be which will need any plants that are above ground protecting ...

Nowadays I grow my early-Earlies in containers, in greenhouse, so that I can plant my slightly-later Earlies out later, and reduce how many times I have to protect them from frost as a consequence.

[WilliamD]

I don't know if this'll be useful to anyone. It's the nice clear instructions from Verve Charlotte second earlies which i bought a week ago.

[Martin H]

Interesting, WilliamD. I plant mine about twice as deep as that, I wonder if I'm wrong.

[Kristen]

There are several things I do differently to those instructions ...

Deeper planting is just less, or deeper, earthing up I reckon ...

[Snow]

If you keep them pretty cool then surely you can keep them in the dark too, and they will remain dormant longer, just an extension of how they have been kept up till now anyway..?

Thats what im trying but i'll keep an eye on them. no greenhouse so now is too early for them to start chitting in my view.

[Kristen]

If you keep them pretty cool then surely you can keep them in the dark too, and they will remain dormant longer, just an extension of how they have been kept up till now anyway..?

The packs I got would have been cool stored (in a proper cool store, which would be better than anything I have here) and they were starting to sprout. Most of the varieties of spuds that I harvest and store are sprouting by Christmas or shortly thereafter....

Storage in the fridge would keep them cool enough, provided that they don't come into contact with the freezing element, but I haven't got fridge space for 10kg of spuds!

If you can keep them cool without sprouting then, yes, in the dark is fine ... if/when they start to sprout then they need to be in the light, or you'll have to knock off the spouts and start-over when you come to chit them.

My Pink Fir Apple, in store, are slow to sprout, but that's the only one that I store that is relatively slow.

[stevekentuk125]

when do you start chitting maincrop potatoes?

[Kristen]

Unless you can store them in the dark cool enough that they don't sprout, then "now".

Other than that there is no need to chit maincrop. The purpose of chitting is to advance the growth of the potato tuber, which helps bring forward Harvest Date for early spuds, but for main crop is irrelevant.

So, for me, the only reason to chit maincrop seed potatoes is if they would otherwise sprout in storage, ready for planting. That, for me, is "always" so I always chit my mains too as I don't have any other means of storing them in such a way that they don't sprout.

[NatalieCooke]

Do my potatoes like ok. I bought them last week they already had the things growing on the sides. Just worried they don't look like others people I've seen in this thread.



I was going to grow them in a large tub with holes in the bottom. How many potatoes should I expect to grow?

[Alison]

Look fine to me

[Snow]

The packs I got would have been cool stored (in a proper cool store, which would be better than anything I have here) and they were starting to sprout. Most of the varieties of spuds that I harvest and store are sprouting by Christmas or shortly thereafter....

Storage in the fridge would keep them cool enough, provided that they don't come into contact with the freezing element, but I haven't got fridge space for 10kg of spuds!

If you can keep them cool without sprouting then, yes, in the dark is fine ... if/when they start to sprout then they need to be in the light, or you'll have to knock off the spouts and start-over when you come to chit them.

My Pink Fir Apple, in store, are slow to sprout, but that's the only one that I store that is relatively slow.

I've got mine in the garage (not attached to house) in paper bags and surrounded in shredded paper in a large open draw. The alternative is in my house but its very warm, and my soil is somewhat clay so is going to take time to warm up, though I hope to setup a fleece tunnel on it shortly to speed things up a tad - so they'd be chitting an awful long time otherwise.

[brownfingers]

I only put my spuds to chit in the back bedroom just over a week ago, and they are chitting wonderfully well already. Nice stubby purple sprouts. I shall have to take some off though as they ar producing too many per spud.