Chitting - growing potatoes

Posted by TopVeg - January 20th, 2007

  • Chits are the sprouting shoots that grow out of the eyes of a potato.
  • Gardeners encourage these chits to grow before the potatoes are planted, so they have a heads start when they are put in the ground.
  • Maris Bard seed potatoes have been chitting for a week.
  • The seed is in an egg tray.
  • The scar-side (point where the tuber was attached to parent plant) is down, with rose uppermost.

pot-chit-7day.jpg

  • The majority of eyes (buds) will be around the rose, and so pointing upwards.

IMG_0055.jpg IMG_0058.jpg

  • The tray is on a north-facing, light, frost free window sill.
  • The chits (shoots) need to grow slowly.
  • The light keeps the shoots short, fat and green.
  • 4 degrees Celsius is ideal, but the temperature should not go above 10 degrees, neither should it reach freezing.

Posted in potatoes

8 Comments »

  1. […] The potatoes in the eggtray on the window sill (see http://topveg.com/?p=32) have opened their eyes and started to grow. […]

    Pingback by Top Veg » Blog Archive » Maris Bard potatoes - chitting progress - February 5, 2007 10:05 am

  2. I am a teacher and I have entered the school in the Grow Your Own Potato competition. This information about chitting is very useful and I have printed it off so that I can use it with my competition potato seeds!

    Thanks for the help. Heres hoping they are the winning potat seeds. With Top Veg support I’m sure they will be!

    Comment by Sara - March 2, 2007 4:32 pm

  3. Hi Sara

    Good to hear that your class has entered the Grow Your Own Potato competition.

    I hope the young people do not get confused by the term ’seed potatoes’. These are not true seeds, but small tubers. They will produce more tubers when they are planted in the ground. It is these new tubers which we harvest as potatoes to eat.

    Whilst the potatoes are growing in the soil, they produce shoots with lots of green leaves. They may even produce flowers on these green shoots. These flowers will produce true seeds.

    We do not usually grow potatoes from true seeds as it takes too long. It is much quicker using the seed potatoes rather than potato seeds!

    Good luck with the competition

    TopVeg

    Comment by TopVeg - March 2, 2007 6:06 pm

  4. […] More information about Chitting Potatoes can be found at the TopVeg website. […]

    Pingback by Farming Friends » Grow Your Own Potatoes Project - March 23, 2007 9:43 am

  5. […] and chit seed […]

    Pingback by Top Veg » Blog Archive » Jobs for January in the Vegetable Garden - December 31, 2007 7:15 am

  6. […] to read more about chitting potatoes and different potato varieties. potatoes seed vegetable […]

    Pingback by Top Veg » Blog Archive » Certification of British Seed Potatoes - January 9, 2008 2:19 pm

  7. […] Chit the potatoes […]

    Pingback by Top Veg » Blog Archive » How Many Seed Potatoes to Buy? - January 16, 2008 6:42 am

  8. […] Chit the seed for about six weeks, so that the sprouts are about 5cm (2in) long, and dark in colour. Prepare the container: […]

    Pingback by Top Veg » Blog Archive » Planting Potatoes in Pot Containers - January 29, 2008 12:06 pm

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