Allotments 4 All

Part of an Alan Romans newsletter, just received:

"Chitting" is no longer regarded as essential. It is a hangover from mid Victorian times when all varieties were late maincrops requiring a long growing season. Modern varieties have a shorter "biological clock" and if they are started early they finish early with loss of potential yield. Better to keep them cool with the smallest possible bud and plant into warm soil. It is always possible to bring on a small number of earlies for earliest possible crop by chitting in a warm room. Right now it is more important that your tubers are safely insulated or in a temperature controlled environment on a farm (somehow cold store doesn't seem appropriate).

Surely nothing in gardening is essential  as we all do our own thing. I still think that to give your potatoes the best possible start you chit them. Mine are set up now in full daylight to avoid weak spurs, if they have good strong spurs when you plant them they have a head start over the slugs etc. and getting growing right away.

Quote from: RobinOfTheHood on January 05, 2010, 20:27:40
Part of an Alan Romans newsletter, just received:

"Chitting" is no longer regarded as essential. It is a hangover from mid Victorian times when all varieties were late maincrops requiring a long growing season. Modern varieties have a shorter "biological clock" and if they are started early they finish early with loss of potential yield. Better to keep them cool with the smallest possible bud and plant into warm soil. It is always possible to bring on a small number of earlies for earliest possible crop by chitting in a warm room. Right now it is more important that your tubers are safely insulated or in a temperature controlled environment on a farm (somehow cold store doesn't seem appropriate).

The bald truth is that if, like me and maybe some others, you didn't order from, say, Alan Romans, until over Christmas, then they aren't going to deliver until later than we would normally start chitting, so we won't be able to chit in any way, shape or form!

It's an adventure.

I agree with both Laurie and Delboy and suspect that Alan Romans, quite rightly, is attempting to forestall future customer complaints. Having said that I have chitted and also not chitted - I always end up with a huge load of spuds!

Didn't they do an experiment on GW sometime in the recent past? I don't remember the outcome.  ??? ???

From memory they said its worth chitting 1st earlies, but it didn't matter one way or the other with the others. I've got the few I've already got on a window sill to keep the chits from etiolating, looking at AR, I'll not get a long time to chit the 1st earlies anyway, the others... well my best place to store them is on the windowsill at work where they chit anyway, it's fairly cool and there's little to no direct sunlight...

chrisc

Agree with whats been said, they sit in their boxes chitting getting a head start while the soil is cold, the 2nds and main go in while the soil has warmed and take longer to grow, so they don't need chitting.  ;D ;D ;D

I'm still waiting for a delivery from Marshalls with my pots.  My first lot to go in will be Charlotte but as I have no idea when Marshalls are dispatching, (rang them today and they have no idea either) will having possibly not enough time to chit affect their growth?
Julie
:-\

I thgink ours are stuck in scotland, might get here about june  ::) ;D

When they did the test on planting chitted and unchitted potatoes the persentage was only about 5% difference.
I wont be getting mine till Feb to go in about March,so they dont get a great deal of chitting.

I got this message from Alan Romans as well and so it's interesting to read what other people think and do. It seems to make sense about chitting the earlies. In the last 2 years I've started mine off between now and Feb> This year, as I've ordered with AR, and don't expect to get them until end Jan, there's no real change or chance!! Oh well having read what's written on here I won't bother chitting the later varieties - that will save a bit of windowsill space  ;D

I always chit my  spuds, (I only grow 1st & 2nd earlies)
I've got 2.5 Kg (34 spuds) of 'Maris bard' chitting away already.
Mind you, I will be eating fresh spuds before end may
;)

I guess it is really up to the what spud you grow and to the weather condidions, the way it looks now-white from snow 'chitting' could help with getting it to grow a bit faster.
but that is not from much experience.

it's not about it growing faster, it's about forming really stout, dark green shoots, these then go on to be the stems, along where the new spuds are formed. ;)  (I speak from experience)

This is the reason why our local gardening association in their monthly competitions has one for ten seed potatoes, to try and encourage members to get good strong shoots before planting regardless if they are earlies, mid-season or late. I know some early daffodil shows that include classes for chitted seed potatoes. We get our seed about 2 weeks before Christmas.

Quote from: tonybloke on January 08, 2010, 17:36:53
it's not about it growing faster, it's about forming really stout, dark green shoots, these then go on to be the stems, along where the new spuds are formed. ;)  (I speak from experience)

Quote from: laurieuk on January 08, 2010, 19:50:56
This is the reason why our local gardening association in their monthly competitions has one for ten seed potatoes, to try and encourage members to get good strong shoots before planting regardless if they are earlies, mid-season or late. I know some early daffodil shows that include classes for chitted seed potatoes.

that is interesting laurie!! the folk on this site are a veritable font of knowledge  ;D ;D ;D

Hi Tony,
I have just found a catalogue a few years old in which there are recommendations by Alan  Romans and they were offering for sale "super spuds" ready chitted, quote " the best way to get your potato crops off to a good start". How things change!

To chit or not to chit that is the question.
The best growers in the country all chit and this allows them to select the strongest shoots to grow their crop from.
First thing to do when you receive your spuds is to remove all the rose end eyes as they will produce many, but weakly shoots. The ones you want to leave on are the strong shoots on the sides/shoulders of the potato.
I think it is a benefit to chit if you are doing it this way.
Even if you can only chit your spuds for a few weeks before planting then it will still be of benefit.

interesting thread

And thanks Tattieman for the extra info about the eyes on the sides of potatoes. I'll look out for those when my order arrives (not very soon tho as we haven't had any post for 4 days!)

1066

This will be my 31st season growing spuds, and have allways chitted my seed potatoes,  not for speed of groth, but to make shure...what i plant grows and doesnt rot off to leave a gape in the row

not saying things written on here dont work, we all do it our own way...even AR

J.T.Worzel