Topic: Potatoes no good?

[Stripeybea]

Hi all

Have got an allotment this year having previously just had containers on the patio so I apologise in advance for the many daft questions I'll be asking!  ;D

Question is - I bought 2 lots of seed potatoes from JBA that have grown nice healthy looking little sprout things.  I also bought some Pink fir from the local market, these after about 4 weeks, have only sprouted a few Teeny little things about 1mm long no more and then have just stopped.  Is it worth planting these out or are they no good?  :-\

thanks
Bea

[Flighty]

I'm sure they're fine so plant them out along with all the others!

[Chrispy]

Potatoes do have a dormancy period, so if they have recently been harvested they may not start for a while.
Do you know where they were grown? If they were imported from somewhere warm then they may have only just come out of the ground so will take a long while to get started.

[ripley]

I am also trying to chitt pink fir with no results. All the other potatoes are growing fine.

ripley

[Trevor_D]

For some reason, they don't always produce much in the way of shoots. Plant them - they sound fine.

Of course PFA also get harvested later - much later - than other potatoes. Late October is pushing it; November or December gives a heavier crop; I've even left them until mid-January. Perhaps that explains the slow chitting - they're just late developers.

[Weed-Digga]

PFA's are very slow to chit. I bought all my seed pots at Hampshire potato day, they have all been chitting for the same length of time and the PFA's have only tiny little chits.
Same every year, but we always get a good crop

Weed-Digga

[Stripeybea]

Many thanks folks!

In they shall go then  ;D

Bea

[BoardStupid]

My PFA are well behind on the chitting stakes. I think that some varieties chit differently. Don't worry, all will be fine :-)

Oh and welcome to the madhouse of A4A and allotment keeping  8)

[saddad]

A long dormancy was much more normal... most late mains have it, with the rush to earlier potatoes we have lost a lot of natural dormancy and so have to store potatoes in chilled conditions. Has anyone ever grown Arran Consul... it was grown in the war and is supposed to have the longest natural dormancy of any variety...
As others have said, don't worry about the PFA... they'll be fine!  :)

[cornykev]

As said PFA have tiny chits which seem to take forever, but in the past I have planted them without no problem, late maincrops don't really need chitting  anyway because when they go in, the soil is warmer and they spend a lot longer in the soil, earlies need that head start while the soil is warming.  ::)

[calendula]

no spud really needs chitting it just saves a bit of time - last year I got my earlies late (if you follow me) and planted them all without chitting, it just means they are in the ground much longer

[nolandyet/nowwedo]

Good luck with the fur apples I'm sure they will turn out fine. Some time ago on gardners world they did a potato trial on whether to chit or not and I believe there was no diference in the yields.
Rich...

[cornykev]

No difference in the yields but it gives the earlies a head start and you can have them on your plate early June.     :P

[aquilegia]

Just to reitterate what others have said....

I bought all my seed potatoes at the same time. My PFAs have hardly any chits on them. I just thought it was because they are a much later crop than the other 7 varieties that I have (most of which are earlies).

[Stripeybea]

Many thanks all!  ;D

Have dug 3 trenches, earies , Lady Christl, middle sort of Charlotte and another for the Pink fir

Was going to put them intoday but its been frosty overnight so will wait a bit longer I think as I seem succesfully killed the broad bean plants I'd been hardening off in paper pots, theyve gone all sad and....dead looking  :'(

Back to the drawing board there then!  ;D

Bea