If you’re planning to grow potatoes this year this is the time to both have your seed on hand and consider ‘chitting’ it. Chitting is a form of pre-sprouting your potatoes and though not everyone does it, many home gardeners swear by it.
What Does Chitting Mean?
‘Chitting’ is essentially another word for sprouting. We all know that potatoes kept too long will produce white, stringy sprouts, and chitting is a little like that except we add light and warmth to the process to develop strong, healthy sprouts. Think of it like starting seedlings in a greenhouse before planting them out.
Why Should I Chit My Potatoes?
While not everyone agrees that the chitting process makes a difference, many home gardeners believe that it helps you get a start on the season, creating larger, high quality potatoes and a larger overall crop.
to give them a head start on the season. Potato seed is usually available here in the UK by late January, and as it’ll be too wet and cold to plant out most varieties until March, chitting can allow you to get a full 4-6 weeks head start on the season.
How to Chit Your Potatoes
Chitting is super easy. To begin with, find light, warm place (around 8C-10C) that is both frost free and out of direct sunlight. (A porch can work perfectly.) Find a way to place them upright, setting end with the most ‘eyes’ face up. If you don’t have a lot of potatoes, this can be done using egg cartons—one in each egg cavity if you’re planting smaller potatoes. (Our Maris Peer potatoes fit perfectly in these!) If you’re planting larger ones (i.e. russets) or in larger amounts, you can use seed trays with newspaper bunched up to keep them upright.
In about 4-6 weeks you should have stout, short, green sprouts. (If they’re pale or translucent they’re not getting enough light.) Once they’re about 2-3cm long they’re ready to plant out (assuming the outside climate is ready for them—the best time to chit is from late January until March). For best results, limit your chits to 3-4 per potato, rubbing off the weaker ones. When planting, be super careful with your chits—they break easily.
That’s about it. If you’re not convinced, try chitting some of your potatoes and not others and do a comparison test. Let us know the results!
Haven’t yet bought your seed potatoes yet? Head on over to Growseed’s seed catalog and order yours today!