Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting growing potatoes for the first time, keep reading to know about why chitting potatoes and how!
Why Chitting Potatoes
Chitting potatoes is called pre-sprouting. Chitting it is a way of preparing potatoes for planting by encouraging them to sprout before planting in the ground. This gives the tubers a head start and encourages faster growth and heavier crops once the seed potatoes are planted. The sprouts should be small, and purple in colour. I highly recommended to buy seed potatoes early to get your preferred varieties before they sell out, and it's very important to start with “certified seed potatoes” which are disease-free. Interesting varieties can be found online, but the best varieties for your area are usually sold at the right season to plant at area garden centers.
How to Chit Potatoes
Chitting seed potatoes requires little equipment and is very easy to do: all you'll need is light, heat and some egg cartons.
- Start chitting your potatoes 5 weeks before you plan to plant them. Chit your seed potatoes by setting them out in an empty egg cartons in a cool, bright, frost free position to allow them to sprout.
- Place your seed potatoes in a single layer in egg cartons. If you don't have an egg carton, you can use any container with dividers to give each potato a little space. It is important to let some air circulate between the seed potatoes, otherwise they may become damp and moldy.
- The ideal temperature for chitting seed potatoes needs to be cool but definitely nowhere near freezing. If the seed potatoes freeze they will be damaged, and won't be useful for chitting!
- Label the potato seeds and find a good location for them. Just locate the potatoes in a warm dark area, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit 21 Celsius to break their dormancy.
- After about three weeks, you should see some nice green sprouts or pink, depending on the potato variety. Let these sprouts grow until they are 1 or 2 inches long. Too little light and the sprouts will be long, spindly, and liable to break off. Ideally you want short, stubby sprouts which are deep green, almost purple in color.
- Remember that indirect light for the entire day is the best way to achieve healthy sprouts when chitting seed potatoes.
- Regularly check your chitting seed potatoes to make sure they are developing healthy shoots and are not being exposed to too much heat, light, or moisture.
- Remove any potatoes which may have gone moldy as this could affect healthy ones.
- Plant the chitted potatoes two to four weeks before your last expected frost date, once the soil has drained, and the soil temperature is at least 45˚Fahrenheit.
It's true, we can easily grow a good crop of potatoes with or without chitting. But since it does not take a huge amount of time or effort, I certainly think it is worth doing for a home grower. Personally, I do find that chitting makes a big difference!
Watch My Chitted Potatoes Video
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