I presume the sprouts on potatoes are called chits, hence chitting?
Either way, im sure you know what I mean!
What I would like to know is what colour they should be at this early stage.
I have seen refernces to white, purple and green, but worryingly mine seem to be black!
They dont look very healthy at all.
One thing I may have done wrong was to leave the existing chits on the spuds - the ones that they had on them when I bought them. Should I have rubbed these off and let them grow new ones? Should I rub them off now?
Thanks
Are we talking SPUDS here or SWEET POTATOS?
The shoots on spuds should only get to 1-2 inches long with embrio leaves on them. Colour will vary according to variety and strength of light but typically a purplish green. These shoots are left on the spud and the entire spud planted when the time is right.
Sweet potatoes are a bit different as each shoot is converted into a separate plant. Again colour varies according to variety but usually somewhere between cream and red. Usually these shoots develop roots after 1-2 weeks then they should be carefully detached and potted individually to grow on in warm comditions. Shoots can be removed before roots appear but get away quicker if they have roots prior to potting up.
My sweet potato shoots were the most beautiful purple, eventually turning green as they got much bigger ;)
Im talking SPUDS. Perhaps im just being paranoid, but the shoots really do look almost rotten.
I tried to take a close-up photo but this is the best I could do with my mobile phone:
(http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/825/chitblackfb8.jpg)
<edit> They are Arran Pilot, from B&Q
Perfek!!
Thanks for the re-assurance Tim!
You seasoned pro's must see this each year - Newbies like me worrying about every single thing that happens.
The great thing about A4A is that advice is always given without any sign of exasperation!
Having just gone out and bought a load of seed potatoes at a local potato day I've realised I don't really know when to start chitting...
Do I start them all now?
Or do I only start first earlies?
If I'm not starting them now should I keep them in the dark till I do?
first proper year of potatoes so bare with me... :)
Masses on this if you check back. Right or wrong, I put all mine in the light together - each variety knows when its ready to sprout. EG Pink Fir may take a couple of months.
Quote from: Cuke on January 20, 2008, 08:17:05
Having just gone out and bought a load of seed potatoes at a local potato day I've realised I don't really know when to start chitting...
Do I start them all now?
Or do I only start first earlies?
If I'm not starting them now should I keep them in the dark till I do?
first proper year of potatoes so bare with me... :)
do them all now as it won't be that long before you start planting (and I still say light is better than dark because the sprouts get leggy and fragile when done in the dark)
Clearing out a cupboard I found a few potatoes that have just started to sprout. Can I plant these, is this what chitted means??
If I can plant them, how many would you put in a bucket for a crop of potatoes. I am using builders black buckets for potatoes!!.
Any info would be appreciated :)
Thats exactly what we did last year Springbokgirlie, found a couple of spuds down the back of the veg rack that had sprouted so lobbed them in the ground to see what happened. Didn't get a great crop but then we put them quite close together and didn't do much with them in terms of feeding them.
As for buckets, not sure how big a builder bucket is, but we bought some tubs designed for potatoes yesterday and were told they should suit 3 tubers per tub... :)
Can i lob them in now then lol... 3 in a bucket?
lol ummm... no idea... We're chitting ours for a bit before planting, the first earlies we got said plant into the ground in March I think but I've no idea if its different in tubs (you can afterall move them around and cover them to avoid the frost if they're in tubs...)
No doubt an expert will be along soon though.... :)
Mine say to plant in March too.
I have chitted all of mine, and the early ones have much longer shoots on them. As was stated by Tim they seem to know when they want to sprout!
I'd put two in each bucket Spring, don't plant them yet if their going outside its to cold and make sure you put a drainage hole in the bottom. ;D ;D ;D
From putting potataoes into trays how long does it take them to sprout/chit before you can plant them out, for example if I want to plant them in march when should the spuds be put intio trays, :)