How to Chit Potatoes

 

You can see the exposed cut skin drying out in

one hour. Put the chitted potatoes in a cool dark

at this point! A garage works like a root cellar this

time of year

What is chitting you say?


Chitting simply means getting the potatoes off to a good start by getting the sprouts to start growing before planting them. Home potato growers chit to increase the yield and quality of their potatoes.

 

Seed potato tubers need “chitting” before planting but if you don’t have time to do this, don’t worry. The potatoes will still grow but they will take several more weeks to mature. 



Start the chitting process about 6 weeks before you intend to plant. To do this you need to place them in seed trays, egg boxes or something similar in a cool well lighted place. Make sure you put the seed potato rose end up (the blunt end with the most shoots or ‘eyes’). After a while they will start shooting out new growing shoots. Once these are 1”- 4” long they can be planted out. This process is more important when planting early varieties of potato.

Planting times vary depending on when the last frosts are expected and potatoes need to be planted no earlier than about 6 weeks before this. Potato varieties are classed into three types: 1^stEarly, 2^nd Early and Main Crop. (These terms refer to the time from sowing to harvesting only.)

• Start the 1st Earlies in Mid to late February. 1^st Early are ready in around 10 weeks
• Start 2nd Earlies in March/April. 2^nd Early are ready in about 13 weeks
• Main Crop potatoes are planted a couple of weeks later. Main Crop potatoes are ready after 20 weeks or so. 

 Here are two ways you can grow your chitted potatoes once they are ready to be planted out.

1. Use a plastic container (with a lid). The lid is important because if the weather gets cold, you can just put the lid over the green potato leaves to keep them from being burned.
2. Or use a store bought potato growing bag. 

To turn this plastic container into a potato growing tote,
make holes two inches from the bottom for drainage.



Store bought potato growing bag

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Pictures and information provided by Mike