Chitting potatoes must be done properly, according to John Sarup of the SAC.
Chitting is the controlled production of sprouts on seed potatoes before planting. But the controlled production of sprouts is the key. The length & strength of the sprout must be controlled to give a short (1.5-2.5cm (0.5-1in) long), stubby, green chit.
The 3 factors involved in chitting are:
- temperature – 4 degrees Celsius is ideal, but the temperature should not go above 10 degrees, neither should it reach freezing.
- ventilation - plenty of fresh air
- light - plenty of light – but not bright sunlight – a north facing window is best
Early and late main crop potatoes could especially benefit from the chitting , but it must be done properly.
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It is not necessary to chit potato seed.
chitting-in-egg-box
But chitting does bring an earlier crop because chitting starts the growing process.
- This is particularly important for new or early potatoes, as the growing season is short & every day counts!
- Many people do not chit maincrop poatoes because the potatoes seem to catch up over the long season.
Chitting does act as an insurance. If the planting season is delayed because of bad weather, or family duties, the potatoes have actually started growing so will not be quite so delayed.
Chitting is not necessary, but it does start the shoots growing on the seed potatoes, so chitting is popular with early potato growers.
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This is how a potato seed looks when it is ready for planting.
seed-potato-with-chits
The potato chit should be:
dark green
dark-green-chits
strong and stumpy
strong stumpy-chits
These Maris Bard potatoes have an ideal chit on the seed and are ready to plant.
potato-seed-ready-to-plant
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How to Chit Seed Potatoes
- Place the seed in an egg tray.
The scar-side (point where the tuber was attached to parent plant) down, with rose uppermost.
- pot-chit-7day
- The majority of eyes (buds) will be around the rose, and so pointing upwards.
- Place 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.
Potato seed is always ready to plant – but it should not be planted until the
weather and soil conditions are favourable.
Potato seed is often chitted, so that it has started to grow before it is put in
the ground.
plant-MarisBard-12
The ideal potato chits are dark green and stubby, and will be ready to plant
when the ground & weather conditions are suitable.
plant-MarisBard-6
plant-MarisBard-7
plant-MarisBard-9
In an ideal world the potato seed will be hardened off, by placing it outside
during the day, to get it acclimatised, before planting. But it is often not
possible to do this.
Chitting potato seed gives the seed a good start and means that the new potatoes will be ready to harvest earlier. But the condition of the chit does not dictate when the potato seed is ready to plant. It is the soil & weather conditions in the garden which say when the seed is ready to plant.
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I’m just about to do mine this week, in bags though as I don’t have enogh
space.
Cheers Mark
Comment by Mark – April 6, 2008 10:29 am
I have my first earlies planted but was wondering when to plant my king
edwards which are chitting at the moment. i am going to consult your excellent
ebook.
Sara from farmingfriends
Comment by farmingfriends – April 6, 2008 8:01 pm
Hi Sara
Main crop potatoes can be planted when your soil is ready. It needs to have
dried out so that it does not stick to your hands when you run them through
it. If the soil is cold and wet, your potatoes are better chitting on the
window sill!
Glad you are finding the eBook useful!
TopVeg
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Some vegetable gardeners are concerned about their seed potatoes which
are developing long chits.
Seed potatoes want to be put in as cool a place as possible with plenty
of light. If the seed is on a windowsill, the sun may be coming through
the window & heating the space up, or the room may be too dark.
If possible put the seed outside, under glass, in a light place. Bring
them in at night if it looks like a frost.
They need a lot of light, but a very cool temperature!
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Large seed potatoes may be cut into several pieces, as long as each piece
contains at least one eye. The ideal seed potato is the size of a hen’s egg.
The eye of the potato is a leaf scar with a depressed lateral bud. This bud will
grow into the shoot, which appears above ground, and also produces the new tubers below ground. When the eye first starts to grow the new shoot is called a chit.
How to Divide, Cut or Split Seed Potatoes:
- divide potatoes a day or two before planting, so they have time to heal
- use a clean knife, to prevent spreading disease from one potato to another
- cut when sprouts/chits are 1/4″ long pieces should be about the size of a small egg.
- cut pieces should be block shaped, with at least one eye or sprout, but two are preferred. Thin slices of potato are no good.
- cut lengthwise, across the top, to divide the chits that usually group there.
potato-chit-day20
MBard-potato-chit-day20
- part of the center core of the potato should be in each piece.
- cover the cut potatoes with powdered limestone, to dry the cut up. Or sprinkle with flowers of sulphur, to stop any disease entering the cuts.
- let the potatoes “heal” by storing them at 65-70 degrees with fairly high humidity. The humidity is important to stop the potatoes dehydrating. The cut surface will develop a protective coat that can help prevent seed decay. Covering the box with clear plastic film will also stop dehydration.
There are pros and cons to cutting seed potatoes into several pieces before they are planted.
The advantages of splitting seed potatoes are:
- large seed potatoes are utilised to the full
- less tubers are produced per seed, so each tuber harvested is bigger
- apical dominance is broken, releasing more eyes to sprout
- expensive seed potatoes go further in the vegetable garden
- saves buying another packet, if just need one more seed to finish the row
Disadvantages of dividing seed potatoes are:
- bacteria & pathogens may be spread between the potatoes on the cutting knife.
- Large seed potatoes may be divided up into several pieces, as long as each piece contains at least one eye, to achieve the ideal seed potato size, equivalent toa hen’s egg.
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Hi Top Veg,
Just to answer your question about my signal box.So far I have relied on the
p-lants seeding themselves, some of the plants are taking over so this year I
will have to split plants up and move them around a bit.I wil also add seed
this year to introduce a bit more variety.
Cheers Mark
Comment by Mark – January 15, 2008 7:52 pm
Hi Mark
That is amazing – so good to know they are reseeding. Do you have signal box
open days?
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Most potatoes naturally produce one main chit (sprout). This is apical dominance.
The eye at the rose end of the potato (ie furthest from where the potato was
attached to its parent plant) is dominant. This dominant eye is at the ‘apical’
end of the tuber, & it supresses the sprouting of other eyes.
Is it better to plant a potato with one main chit, or lots of chits?
One main chit will produce fewer larger tubers.For early potatoes, this will bring an earlier harvest.
Knocking off the main chit, desprouting, may result in more stems and smaller tubers, because apical dominance is eliminated.
Cutting tubers into pieces breaks apical dominance between eyes, releasing eyes to sprout.
Other factors will effect sprouting:
- Seed planted in light, sandy soil which warms rapidly tend to produce more stems and set more tubers & result in smaller harvested tubers.
- Later planting tends to produce more stems per plant and have a lower yield.
- Sprouting of tubers under light produces short, tough green sprouts.
Chitting:
- enhances emergence
- tuber formation
- vine size
- earlier maturation – as much as 2 weeks.
Chit for early harvested yield.
When planting chitted tubers:
- avoid sprout damage
- warm seed to 50-60degrees F for a few days before planting & plant in slightly cooler soil.
Don’t try to use potatoes from the vegetable section of the supermarket because they may be diseased, and they probably have been sprayed with a chemical to inhibit sprouting.
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* The Maris Bard potatoes in the eggtray on the window sill have opened their eyes and started to grow.
Maris Bard potato with chits after 20 days
* The small stems are called chits.
* They are kept cool so they grow slowly
* This makes them plump and strong
* The light makes them green
M Bard potato with 20 day chits
*
short, plump, strong chits will help the potato get off to a quick
start when they are planted in the ground.
*
This will mean new potatoes will be dug a few weeks early!
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