Chitting Hell

[Mubgrub]

Hi all, just got my seed potatoes (hurrah!) and since its my first season I went on to HDRA's website for info on how best to 'Chit' them.  However, in two articles, both on the HDRA site there was conflicting info.  One said to put them in a light, warm place untill sprouts appear and then move them to a cooler light place and the other that they should be put in a warm,dark place to sprout and then moved to a cooler light place.  Which is right?  Light or dark to sprout?  I'm confused ???
What are everyone's methods?

[Mubgrub]

[Moggle]

Mubgrub, I'm in my second year of spuds (first of 'mass' production) and I'm going to plonk them in egg boxes in my spare room - light and hopefully not too warm.

Last year I chitted around 10 spuds in direct sunlight on the windowsil, and they were fine.

[Mrs Ava]

There has been lots of chitting chat around the boards.  My spuds are in our unheated spare room which gets daylight, and occassional evening light.  Did the same last year and all was well.  I think the idea is keeping them cold, but not frosted, and darkish keeps the bud formation slow and stocky as the spuds are going to be around for a couple of months yet, the longer the chits, the harder they are to plant as you don't want to snap them all off!

[Wicker]

That's it in a nutshell, Emma - except our earliest earlies are in egg trays in the g'house already chitting and the rest have not been delivered yet!

[Mubgrub]

Ok, thanks a lot guys, now to make some space!

[abarton6]

Do you put all your different types of pots out to chit at the same time ??? I.e do maincrops go out at the same time as earlies ?

[Mrs Ava]

Mine are.  Room to do all the different spuds is a big problem and i have to make sure the kids don't come in and play with them and mix them all up! :o

[tim]

Back to 'the rules'? In cool dark till sprouts emerge - & different pots will do this at different times - & then into cool light to chit. V simple?

When sprouts are 1/2 -1" & nice & green, out they go - unless the weather is really terrible. = Tim

[lurmot]

Sorry I'm very new to all this but why do you need seed potatoes? The normal ones I buy end up sprouting in the vegetable rack after a while. Could I not plant with those?

[Bionic Wellies]

Seed spuds are produced in Scotland where the weather is colder and fewer greenfly are around to spread disease - apparently greenfly bite into one plant and become carriers of any plant virus that is  present so that when they move home they infect their next host.

By gorwing in colder climates the spuds are less likely to have viruses/diseases and therefore stand a better chance of being disease free throughout their growing period. (this is part of the certification process).

[tim]

I have sometimes grown sprouting s/mkt ones -  they work fine - but at the risk of introducing some disease. = Tim

[aquilegia]

by light do they mean direct sunlight? I understood before that it was not direct sunlight - put last year's on east facing windowsill. THe sprouts were rather spindly. Do they need more or less light this year? (I'm really confused now!)

[Sarah-b]

Would north-facing-cold-but-frost-free-garage-windowsill be fine?

[Lady Cosmos]

Do not put chitting potatoes in direct sun light.
In a unheated room with DAY light is ok.

[tim]

Garages, yes - if there is a reasonable window. East facing w'sills, yes - that's how we always do ours.

And I'm no purist - we use perforated plastic 'mushroom' trays from the s/market & usually stack them 3 high on the sill. = Tim

[loz]

Hi Mubgrub

You are not alone with your chitting query, there is so much conflicting info out there that it does get confusing.   Hundreds of years ago, when I were a lad ( :D) I tried chitting straight away in light and cool, but only produced tiny chits, so now I keep them dark until they start and then move them to the light.  Basically the dark gets the sprouts going quickly, and moving them to the light slows the process and keeps them green (it's all to do with growth hormones and the effect of light).  Keeping them cool means less water loss from the tuber and slower growth of the chits.

Try experimenting with old kitchen potatoes in different amounts of light and varying temps and compare the results.

Loz

[tim]

They know when they're ready to come in to chit.

And if you haven't got egg boxes, crumpled paper works just as well! = Tim

[faerie9]

Hello - um, what is chitting?! ???

I have grown tatties for the last 3 years: I always by a bag of organic spuds from the shop and leave them in the cupboard to grow roots, then plant them..... has worked pretty well for me. Would love to know of a better way, though!!!

And another question - can you grow potatoes throughout the year? As I was digging over the other week, i found some good spuds still in the ground that I must have missed in the autumn! :o

[john_miller]

That (1st question) is chitting, but it is normally done in daylight, not in the dark, and cool, as this produces shorter shoots, making them easier to plant. Yes to the 2nd question but what you have are potatoes stored overwinter in the ground. Growing them AYR is lot of work and/or money (frost protection during the winter) and you are limited to 1st and 2nd earlies as maincrops only crop in response to falling daylight.

[faerie9]

Thanks John :)
so grow lots in summer and store them... that makes sense!! (effectively what i did but by accident!)

I might try in the light - the roots do get a bit unwieldy if i leave them too long!