How do you chit potatoes?

[Aberdeenplotter]

So why do we worry so much then ........

it is absolutely not necessary to chit spuds. It is not an aid to growth, It is a method of controlling the sprouting process to prevent long spindly sprouts developing. Farmers do it by controlling the temperature and keeping it below the level at which the spuds will sprout. We can't control the sprouting process by controlling temperature unless like Two Sheds, we keep our spuds in the bottom of the fridge. Instead, we expose our spuds to full lightwhich encourages the production of small stubby sprouts which are not so easily damaged as long spindly ones.

Seed spuds are not seeds, they do not germinate.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Don't we chit in order to gain a bit of time -starting them growing indoors while its too cold for them to be planted out. No other reason?

That may well be why you do it VC but it doesn't start them off earlier. If kept in a warm atmosphere inside as we have to do to protect our spuds from frost, they will start into growth. If kept in the dark, they will develop long spindly sprouts. In the light they don't. The sprouts that develop are short and stubby

[cptncrackoff]

Jade, as AP says its all about controlling the potatoes, keeping them in good condition ready to go out when its time.

What varieties have you got?

[Two_Sheds]

TS's spuds were saved from the previous year's crop - so kept in the fridge until required for chitting/planting.

Yep !

I would have thought that placing them in the fridge would have dropped them below germination temperature range.

Yep !

Don't we chit in order to gain a bit of time -starting them growing indoors while its too cold for them to be planted out. No other reason?

Yep !

[Two_Sheds]

iv currently planted ... carrot broccoli perplue sproting sprouts parsnip onions nothing seems to be happening

It's too cold for carrots, and you can't start them off in moulds (sic) ~ they need to be sown direct into their final position

Look at the dates on the packet (although they aren't always THAT helpful)

[out in the cold]

Fair point.

I will ask some of the kids that are from local farms tomorrow (if I remember) how they get around this. I suspect that chitting just increases the chances of proper germination and given that even a large allotment is "small plot" stuff compared to a tatty field, it probably doesn't matter to the farmer if a few plants don't take

Wee update on this, as I asked one of the kids from a farm.

He said they use a tatty pit (a big hole in the ground basically), lift the seed after about 2 to 3 weeks, by which time they will have started sprouting and then replant it via the tatty drills.

He said his dad bought the seeds ready to replant via a neighbour who supplies them, but he thought the pit was under cover and kept dry. Given the lad's usual phrasing of things, I think by "under cover" he means indoors in a shed...?

[Bigmallly]

Well this chitting business has got me flumoxed............I was preparing a bed for newspapering today & I dug up 6 cracking spuds from last year.................all happily chitting away..........

Why do we spoil them...........

[buzzingtalk]

Is there a way to bypass the chitting process then? I am off on holiday next week for 2-3 weeks, and won't be about. I don't have a light room as my house doesn't get much light, and I keep it quite warm for my tropical plants who like 18c or so...can I get away with a room with a little indirect sunlight and warmth of around 20c? How long does it take? I am looking for first earlies mainly

[Bigmallly]

Can you leave them with anyone?.............They can just rub any off that show but my belief is that it is earlies that need chitting.

[veggiechicken]

Or put them in the fridge until you're back?

[rustylady]

Is there a way to bypass the chitting process then? I am off on holiday next week for 2-3 weeks, and won't be about. I don't have a light room as my house doesn't get much light, and I keep it quite warm for my tropical plants who like 18c or so...can I get away with a room with a little indirect sunlight and warmth of around 20c? How long does it take? I am looking for first earlies mainly

So have you already bought your seed potatoes? If so they need to be kept light and cool to stop them developing long thin useless sprouts. If you haven't bought them yet, then you can buy them just before you wish to plant them and just stick them in the ground.

[buzzingtalk]

BM - Sadly not! My friends are not garden folk

VC & RL - No I haven't bought anything yet as I wasn't sure how it would work. What varieties would any of you kind folk recommend for direct sowing then? How far does it put me behind, and should I plant out at the same time you would all be planting out your chitted spuds? Can I order them soon and just store them in the fridge until I need them - the shops are looking frantic at the min with everyone buying them in for chitting and I'm worried about missing out on the ones I want.

[buzzingtalk]

Basically my problem is I don't have a light and cool room - I have a lot of very warm rooms with OK light, and a very cool room but with no light at all. /Quandry.

[out in the cold]

Basically my problem is I don't have a light and cool room - I have a lot of very warm rooms with OK light, and a very cool room but with no light at all. /Quandry.

We chit ours on a shelf in the kitchen near the window, which is fine.

It gets quite hot in there from time to time. I also remember my old uncle used to stick them in an egg box on the windowsill

[Alison]

Warm isn't good, nor is lack of light. If you want to be sure you get the right varieties then you can store them quite safely in the fridge for as long as you want (well within reason ). I've save some earlies until August in the past for sowing in pots for Christmas - doesn't work that well due to the weather but the seed spuds are in perfectly good condition. In all reality, tests have shown that you don't really lose much by planting straight out without chitting but it gives us the illusion we're doing something positive so you'll probably only be a week or so later than if you'd starting chitting now so don't panic.