Chitting in an unheated greenhouse

[Pachyderm]

Can anyone advise if i can chit my potatoes in an unheated greenhouse, or will it be too cold. How about covering the trays with bubblewrap or dry compost to protect them? will this work/ is it necessary?
thanks in anticipation

[Chantal]

Hi Pachyderm

If you have a look in Best Practice there is some info about chitting potatoes that was posted recently and may help you.

Chantal

[A. guest]

I put them under some "scrunched up" fleece, but my greenhouse is also double insulated and I have a propagating unit in that side. A 10' x 3' horti hot sheet (which is enclosed in a further tent of polythene) so not completely unheated. I have on occasion had one or two that were close to the glass touched by hard frost.An unheated spare bedroom is good if you have one As the last posting in the best practice thread mentioned. if you have bought your pots early you have to store them in reasonable conditions. too warm and in the dark, you will end up with long gangly shoots that will be prone to snap off when you plant.If you cant provide cool and light, then just cool is well, cool daddy-o.

[A guest]

sorry, should be a full stop after; spare bedroom is good if you have one. then new paragraph regarding best practice posting.

[nog]

I go along the MOD line. Bung them in the greenhouse and if they die ok well theres more in the shop.
Most years I loose a few.

[darren c]

Chitting your spuds in an unheated greenhouse is fine as long as they are protected from any frost.Both my earlies and maincrop are done in the greenhouse with the exception of half a dozen which are chitted at home on a window ledge .These sprout quicker enabling me to plant them in my polytunnel for an extra early crop. Incidentally has anybody out there used Nemaslug to combat slugs in the spuds and has anybody tried Pink Fir Apple as i got round to ordering some this year.

[nog]

They are a pain the arse to peal so you have to have them as salad potatoes but the skin is very think.

[Tigger]

Why chit? There's quite a debate about the benefit or otherwise. I'm chitting half of mine (all from Ryton's Potato Day) in my unheated tunnel and planting the other half directly, as an experiment. I bought 6 tubers of each variety (some 16 types), so it should make interesting growing and eating!

I think potatoes are addictive - I avoided them totally until last year when I only grew first earlies. What's gone wrong?