WHEN TO CHIT POTATOES
To work out when to start chitting your potatoes you'll need
to do a few simple calculations if you want to get the date
absolutely correct. But the beauty of growing potatoes in
containers is that you can get the dates wrong and still
have a great crop. The key factor in deciding when to chit
your seed potatoes is the last likely frost date in your
part of the country.Let's take Birmingham, about average
for the UK, it has a last frost date of 5th May. To chit your
seed potatoes will take two to three weeks. In our page
about
when to plant out chitted seed potatoes we estimated that
they should be planted out in late March (click
here to go to that page). On that basis we recommend you
start to chit your potatoes around early to mid March.
Adjust that date depending on how late a frost can occur in
your area.
SETTING UP SEED POTATOES FOR CHITTING
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You will need containers to hold the potatoes in
position while they are chitting (sometimes called
sprouting). Egg boxes are ideal because they are the
correct size and shape to hold the seed potatoes.
Click the picture on the left to enlarge it and
see exactly where the eyes are on a typical seed
potato. |
The eyes on a potato are where sprouts will start
growing. When you position your seed potatoes in the egg box
try to position the majority of the eyes upwards. they tend
to be in clusters on potatoes but some will inevitably be
facing downwards.
LIGHT AND TEMPERATURE
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The ideal temperature for chitting seed
potatoes needs to be cool but definitely nowhere
near freezing. If the seed potatoes freeze they will
be damaged.
Nearly as important is not to subject them to
high temperatures. This will cause the seed potato
to shrivel badly. An ideal temperature range is 45°F
/7°C to 60°F / 15°C. These sort of temperatures are
found on a double-glazed windowsill which receives
no direct sunlight. |
Light levels are also important. Too little light and the
spouts will be long, spindly and liable to break off. You
want short, stubby sprouts which are deep green, almost
purple in colour. Click the above picture to see an enlarged
version of healthy looking sprouts. Indirect light for the
entire day is the best way to achieve healthy sprouts when
chitting seed potatoes.
HOW LONG TO CHIT POTATOES
It takes two to three weeks to chit / sprout seed potatoes.
You want deep green shoots which are about ¾cm to 1½cm (¼in
to ½in) long. the length is not critical, health, deep green
coloured sprouts are.
If you start too early it's fine to simply rub off the
shoots and let them start to grow again, no harm will be
done.
NEXT STEPS
Having chitted your seed potatoes the next step is to plant
them in containers. Use the link immediately below to go
there now.
PREPARING TO PLANT YOUR
POTATOES
HOW TO PLANT
POTATOES IN CONTAINERS
HOW TO CARE FOR
POTATOES IN CONTAINERS
HARVESTING POTATOES IN CONTAINERS
HOW TO STORE
POTATOES
GROWING POTATOES
IN CONTAINERS FOR CHRISTMAS
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