Potato planting

[lizzie]

Oh, forgot to ask. I forgot that i'd left my spuds under the stairs and they now have very long, pale sproutin tips on them, some about 6 inches long. Can I still plant them or have I botched up my entire spud crop for the year?

[Sue]

You can try and plant them Lizzie, but they are very tricky to do without snapping all the sprouts off. I did the same myself a couple of years ago and they took flipping ages to plant cos I had to be so careful with them. You do get an OK crop off them assuming you haven't hurled them across the allotment in frustration - not the most patient type me and fiddly jobs do my head in

If you get your skates on, you might be able to pick up some new seed. We've only got second earlies and mains at work now, but they are starting to chit quite nicely in their bags!

Sue

[pigletwillie]

We grew them last year, much better than bought ones as much fresher, they are just later arriving.

[Guest]

oh thanks, can we buy international kidney here then or will I be forced to take a trip? ho hum......

[Chantal]

I doubt you'll get any now as there has apparently been a problem with the seed potatoes and supplies were very low this year, it's also a bit late, but normally, yes you can buy them in England.

[Chantal]

In my local garden centre today, much to my amazement, they had bags of International Kidney on the shelf; so they are still out there.

[lizzie]

Hi all

Dug mine out from under the stairs and planted them today. They seem ok and most of the shoots stayed on. Will just have to wait what pops up I suppose.

[vivie veg]

Long pale sprouts on your chits can be broken off and new ones will form. This can be good if the weather is not right when your chits are at the right stage for planting out. However do not do this more that twice as the tuber will be weakened.

[John]

Each chit is in fact a new potato plant with its own immature roots and shoots. So is it worthwhile breaking off these chits, potting them up then planting them out once they are getting established? Proper spacing would be easier to control and it would certainly avoid the clumping that happens when you use seed tubers with too may eyes on them. Perhaps the yield is poor this way? Anyone tried it?

John

[Tigger]

In America and Canada, because of the great distances, seed potatoes are not sent by post. Instead the producers chit them, then cut out a scoop of potato with the chit and post them off instead. (I think I read this in KG).

So the answer is yes.

[John]

Thanks Tigger.
I've got some leftover 'Foremost' that are well chiited now so I'll give this method a go to see how it works.
John

[Johnboy]

Further to Tiggers posting if you look carefully at a chitting potatoes you will see that amongst the green there is a collection of roots and I suspect that prior to the event of Micro Propagation the baulking up of a new variety was carried out by using the method Tigger describes.
I'm sure there are not many people who have not forgotten to use the odd spud in the cupboard and when you finally get to it it has chitted to about 6" totally useless but you would note that all the chits have a very good roots system growing from them
if these were eased off the spud I have often wondered if they would grow into anything meaningful.
BTW I have just opened a new bag of spuds that I store in my cold store and there is absolutely no sign of any chitting in storage. I have 3 further bags to go. The store is in the north corner in the barn heavily protected against vermin and is clad in 4" expanded Polystyrene, including the bottom, which keeps the warmth out.
I was using spuds stored like that until the begining of June last year from a Sepember Harvest.

[mazmezroz]

My spuds have chitted nicely - they are indoors in a lobby at home, so guess warmer than most greenhouses cosof freeeezing weather.

They could do with going in, but frosts are predicted this week, and I think they will have to wait. Just wondered is fleece really adequate to protect our spuddies from damage? I ask cos I did cover mine up last year, but they were still bitten.

[pigletwillie]

I dont deliberately chit spuds but as they arrived too early they are in trays in the workshop and have started to.

The Anya (very like pink fir apple) are chitting all over the place, do I plant them horizontally, vertically or what? There is no defined rose end on them.

[Johnboy]

Hi Piglet,
I have always planted spuds by putting the point where it came off the stem downmost. Sometimes this point is not easy to see but I am not sure that the planting attitude is that critical with Spuds.
The Maris Bard's I planted the other day had chits at all angles including sone next to the point I have mentioned so what do you do then?