to chit or not to chit

[simmo116]

i have not much room on window sills so may not chit. does it realy make that much difference. ?:)

[simmo116]

[tonybloke]

It don't have to be on a windowcill, anywhere with some light will do,  ;)

[Sinbad7]

Life wouldn't be the same without chitting  ;D

[cornykev]

I buy them in January and plant them mid March so their chitting, no.  ;D ;D ;D

[fishpond]

1st earlies --imo--essential, to gain a couple of weeks.
2nd and maincrop--no need. 8)

[Froglegs]

I don't,i like mine to save there energy for when they are put in the ground, not use some of it up growing on some windowsill.

[daileg]

much better crop if you chit first earlies i believe tried both ways

[caroline7758]

How do you stop them chitting? If you've got them now and they're not going out until March/April, won't they start chitting anyway?

[daileg]

yes they will just break them off as they start to grow its not easy too much light makes them chit thick purply colour not enough light white spindley ones  to hot to cold all to much let them grow a little and plant em i say

[Vortex]

I aught to put this as a stock answer in a file so I don't have to keep typing it.
First and second earlies should be chitted - it makes no difference to maincrop.

Results from the GW trial done by Monty Don 4 years ago

1st Earliers 50% greater crop in 1 week less than non-chitted
2nd earlies 20% greater crop - no difference in time
maincrop no difference

The growth to harvesting time is the significance here
1st earlies 10-12 weeks
2nd earlier 12-14 weeks
maincrop 16- 20+ weeks

Chitting should be done in an enviroment
1) cool and frost free
2) with a reasonable degree of light but NOT direct sunlight
3) where there are no mice or rats

you want short dk green/purple shoots about 1-1/12" long
If you want bigger spuds rub off some of the shoots.

[littlebabybird]

If you want bigger spuds rub off some of the shoots.

leaving how many ?   i want bakers
lbb

[RobinOfTheHood]

If you want bigger spuds rub off some of the shoots.

leaving how many ?   i want bakers
lbb

From first earlies?

[littlebabybird]

i have winston, bonnie and british queen oh   and aphrodite
winston is a first early  bonnie is called a 1st or 2nd depending where you look the other 32 are 2nd earlys
all are supposed to be good baked, so i figured anything that helps them be bigger would be good, have a few others as well but they were the ones i was worried about.


lbb

[cornykev]

I leave two chits on some of my Kestrels 2nds.  ;D ;D ;D

[ManicComposter]

I have my potatoes in the greenhouse, it has been quite mild this week so I figured that would be ok. I propose to bring them in when the weather goes cold.

That sound ok?

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm not really bothered about chitting. I got some PFA today, they didn't have Duke of York or Cara, which are the others I want. Chitted or not, they'll go in in a couple of weeks as soon as the soil warms up a little.

[PurpleHeather]

Gardening has to be treated with the same reverence of any other religion.

If the high priest says you must chit. Then chit you must. The spirit of growth needs light to enter into the potato.

You know full well that potato farmers have built huge glass topped buildings to chit potatoes. LOL

Truth is, if you leave them in those little netting sacks they still chit and the new growth gets all tangled up. Some can start to rot if they get damp.

So, they are spread out by gardeners to stop that happening.

Light stops the shoots becoming straggly. Separation prevents them rotting.

No need to panic, the top of any piece of furniture in a light room, garage or shed which is not too warm will do to spread them out, you can use a cardboard box/newspaper, to protect the furniture and to stop 'sweating'.

Potatoes are very hardy and will chit more than once, even a wrinkly old spud will grow and produce something.  It can all seem very daunting to the newly converted.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Ah, but I don't believe in the Sacred Doctrine of Chitting, any more than I believe in the Virgin Birth. I'm a liberal gardener, just as I'm a liberal preacher.

[Vortex]

The argument that farmers don't chit doesn't add anything. They don't chit because its not economical for them to do so - they'll also grow the varieties whose growth period most suites their local, which is why most new potatoes grown in this country are grown in Devon, Cornwall, The Scilly Isles, and the Channel islands.

As allotmenteers we have certain luxuries not afforded to farmers or commercial growers and have the capability by chitting of getting a jump on the season. The GW trial figures speak for themselves. Chitting of 1st earlies makes a considerable difference to the size and maturity date of the crop. Chitting of maincrop makes no difference; which is why farmers don't need to bother with maincrop potatoes - they just stick them in the ground for 18 weeks then harvest them.

[tonybloke]

Farmers DO chit their spuds (well, some of 'em do!) I have worked on a farm which chitted about 200 tonne of seed spuds per year. (cambridgeshire)
they put them in shallow, stackable trays, and use artificial lighting in insulated sheds (the same sheds are used for spud storage after harvest)
;)