Cinnamon Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 My pots are merrily chitting away, but there are a couple of things I would like to ask. Just to confirm really, I have grown them for the last couple of years, but I want to make sure I am getting it 100% right. 1 - When is it ready to plant - that is, what will it look like fully chitted? 2 - How deep do I plant them - do the leafy chitty bits need to poke out of the top of the soil? Differing ideas on this one. I have always sown them deepish, but a few people have said to do it shallow with the leafy bits on top of the soil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 The longer the chits are the more chance you have of damaging them when you plant, about an inch is probably as long as you would want to let them get (I am looking for about half an inch or so on mine) If you are looking for big spuds rub the chits out till only one pr two remain, if you want smaller (and so more spuds from one plant) you can leave more chits on The sprouts should be stocky and pale green, dark green or red (depending on the type of potato) if they are really pale white and spindly rub them off and re-chit the potatoes in a lighter spot) If you are planting in a greenhouse in bags they can go in now, if they are going outside wait a couple more weeks and maybe even a tad longer (the Charlottes I sent you had good sized chits unless they broke off in the post so if you are waiting to plant them outside rub the chits off - they will re-grow in time) I am planning to plant mine deep and cover the sprouts, thats how my grandad does his and I use him for guidance in these things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Oh great, thanks Tasha. I didn't realise I could rub the chits off & re chit.....why didn't I think of that? I will get my first ones in in a couple of weekends time then,then the others as & when I think that they are ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola H Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Glad you asked the questions Sarah I didn't realise you could rub some of the chits off to get larger spuds..........Thank you Tasha maybe this year i will get a better yield... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 In America they only plant the chit/slip, they don't have the tubers at all. But some people don't bother - just think, the farmers would need a lot of windowsills to chit their spuddies on! Judging by the tractor activity around here and the spuds on the road, I think it must be the right time to sink 'em in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoebe Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I put my earlies in this weekend; six inches deep as recommended by Carol Klein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 One of the gardening programmes on TV did a chit/don't chit trial and the result was that it didn't seem to make any difference if you chit or don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I don't think you need to chit any potatoes and I don't plan to chit my maincrop ones but chitting the earlies is useful to get them ahead a bit apparently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 We didn't chit ours last year and when we got them out of the bags they had long white shoots. We planted them as we normally do, pretty deep, best part of a foot, then earthed up, we have very sandy soil which has a tendency to wash away over the season, so we plant them deep to stop them being exposed and going green, plus they get more moisture that way. We had the best crop for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 We didn't chit ours last year and when we got them out of the bags they had long white shoots. We planted them as we normally do, pretty deep, best part of a foot, then earthed up, we have very sandy soil which has a tendency to wash away over the season, so we plant them deep to stop them being exposed and going green, plus they get more moisture that way. We had the best crop for years you may not have chitted them but they clearly did it all by themselves.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cordelia Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 OOOOoo Im currently chitting potatoes in our garden room......the first time I've grown them....they will go into some big potatoe bags to grow.. (Im also growing mushrooms....for the first time.... I planted some fruit bushes last year and got....6 redcurrants...literally six...they were lovely though oh and one loganberry) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Note All the old wives tales around chitting are exactly that.. many trials have shown that chitting makes not difference to the final crop. BUT I do like to do it.. makes me feel positive and doing 'something' when the weather is bad Re the rubbing off of chits View is that you 'may' get larger potatoes, but that the crop will not be any bigger than if you keep them all on.. If you're potatoes are getting chits that are long and white then get them into somewhere with lots of light and cool and frost free, this should halt them in their tracks and get them ready for popping in the ground. A top potato grower also told me to wait until the potatoes are 'well green' before going into the ground as this puts the slugs off eating them (don't quote me ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 OOOOoo Im currently chitting potatoes in our garden room......the first time I've grown them....they will go into some big potatoe bags to grow.. (Im also growing mushrooms....for the first time.... I planted some fruit bushes last year and got....6 redcurrants...literally six...they were lovely though oh and one loganberry) Loganberries only fruit in year 2 so you should get a load this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cordelia Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 oo lovely thanks for the advice (they were just bare rooted from Aldi, but all took in large pots last year, and then were transplanted into the garden...many thanks...fingers crossed for the fruit this year....and my potatoes !!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 My 3 types of tatties are merrily chitting away in the shed, but don't seem to be doing that well. Only a couple of green shoots so far I have raised beds and potato bags to plant them in and plant them at least 10" down under the bottom level of the raised bed. I have made another wooden bed to put on top on the permanent bed, so I could earth them up more. I kept earthing up until I reached the top of the second bed. We had enough to store a huge bag and finished them around the middle of February Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Ooh, they look lovely and healthy plants. How neat it all is too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 My 3 types of tatties are merrily chitting away in the shed, but don't seem to be doing that well. Only a couple of green shoots so far You need to get them into somewhere with a lot of light... unless your shed is actually nearly a greenhouse then it I'd consider moving them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We have decided to chit ours after all because we have managed to sort out the summerhouse and get a table in there. We will arrange them in trays tomorrow As you so rightly said Matthew our tubors did chit themselves last year, we were not hopeful when they went in because we thought that the shotts would fall or rot off, but enough survived Looks like it might be fit for some allotment work this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
