Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: JayG on April 09, 2013, 17:13

Title: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: JayG on April 09, 2013, 17:13
A few years ago the only thing I used to chit was potatoes, but since then I've had a duff packet of sweetcorn seeds, some saved sugarsnap pea seeds which I wasn't quite sure about, ditto some saved runner bean seeds, and now having read Aidy's post (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=104011.msg1164797#msg1164797) in the current "Parsnip and radish" thread I am in danger of becoming a compulsive chitter!  :ohmy:

Parsnip seeds are pretty fiddly but I can see the benefits of planting single seeds that have already been germinated in the warm (the possibility of using year-old seed, far less waiting, no thinning, and no danger of causing forking by transplanting seedings too late.) I'm a bit tempted to give it a go.........

What do you others do, chittingly-speaking?  :unsure:
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Auntiemogs on April 09, 2013, 17:15
I chit my peas and beans.  :)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: BabbyAnn on April 09, 2013, 18:14
I only ever chitted potatoes but when I got stuck in with the chilli project, I followed the main chilli websites advice and chitted them on paper towelling in a warm place - magic, not only did they germinate much more quickly but you can see at an instant which ones are viable and so not waste compost.  I had some special tomato seeds that I wanted germinating quickly and I'm afraid I'm now a convert.  So next will be parsnips, sweetcorn, beans ...  :lol:
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: LJB12 on April 09, 2013, 18:36
Oooooh! How do you chit a seed and what is the benefit?
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: A Reyt Tayty on April 09, 2013, 19:00
I usually do my parsnips in toilet rolls. This year I have had a pretty poor germination rate........less than a quarter. So, I have done the jolly old blotting paper germination trick with the rest of the packet. They have been in about a fortnight (by the side of the boiler) and not a glimmer as yet. I am a failure. Boo hoo.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: mumofstig on April 09, 2013, 19:09
Oooooh! How do you chit a seed and what is the benefit?

reasons and how to  are here
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=76184.msg862191#msg862191
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: shokkyy on April 09, 2013, 20:12
Never chitted anything but a spud in my life. I rarely if ever seem to have problems getting any seeds to germinate, and it's already hard enough finding time to do all the sowing/pricking out/planting/watering/etc. that has to be done, so I've just never really seen any point in giving myself yet another task to do which will probably be completely unnecessary.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: New shoot on April 10, 2013, 05:33
Apart from spuds, the only things I have done before are sweetcorn and the odd saved seed to test viability.  Then I read a tip about sowing sweetcorn virtually on the surface of the compost and that worked so well, I forgot about the chitting  :)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Salmo on April 10, 2013, 08:26
I usually do my parsnips in toilet rolls. This year I have had a pretty poor germination rate........less than a quarter. So, I have done the jolly old blotting paper germination trick with the rest of the packet. They have been in about a fortnight (by the side of the boiler) and not a glimmer as yet. I am a failure. Boo hoo.

Do you therefore conclude that the initial poor germination was because the seed was at fault?
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: JayG on April 10, 2013, 08:34
Oooooh! How do you chit a seed and what is the benefit?

Seed chitting used to refer mainly to partially breaking down the seed coat of very hard seeds (like sweet peas) to assist with germination, whereas what we are talking about here is pre-germination of seeds.

If there is a "standard" way of doing it it's placing the seeds on a damp (not wet) piece of kitchen paper in a sandwich box or similar, covering with another sheet of damp paper, putting the lid on, and keeping in a warm place until the seeds start to sprout. Some very large seeds can be soaked for at least a few hours first, whereas some are just too small to be able to handle so are not really suitable.
With all of them it's important to plant in soil as soon as the first sprouts are seen, or you will potentially have problems with roots and shoots getting dried or damaged, or knowing which way up to plant them.  :unsure:

I tend not to do anything involving effort unless there is a clear benefit  ::), or the time potentially saved in future is greater than the time taken to do it, and a few years ago I didn't chit any seeds, but after sowing 35 sweet corn seeds and only getting 4 to germinate I lost confidence in them and now pre-germinate them first.

So, pre-germination is far from being essential, but can be useful if there is any doubt about the viability of the seeds, and is something to think about this year in particular given that the cold weather has squeezed the time available to get some of the early crops started (and therefore the time available to re-sow if things go wrong.)

+ + +

Reyt Tayty: how warm was it near your boiler? A temperature of around 20C is all you need for germinating parsnip seed - above that the germination rate declines quite rapidly.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: richy on April 10, 2013, 09:02
Spuds and sweetcorn for me, i dont fancy chitting 500 or so parsnips or peas.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: DD. on April 10, 2013, 09:14
3,000 pea seeds is also a no-go for me!
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Aidy on April 10, 2013, 15:31
I only chit parsnip, spuds, broad bean.

The rest is sown as normal
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: sowitgrowit on April 10, 2013, 15:40
Parsnips, sweetcorn, potatoes.

The rest are sown as normal. Or should that be sowed.  I can never decide.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: JayG on April 10, 2013, 16:56
The rest are sown as normal. Or should that be sowed.  I can never decide.

I can tell you that "sown" is the "past simple" and "sowed" is the "past participle" (because I know how to Gurgle!)

What I don't know is what the correct usage is because I'm too thick to understand the explanation and examples!  :lol:

I do know that seeds are "sown" and plants are "planted" though, and so do you obviously!  ;)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: mumofstig on April 10, 2013, 17:05
Think you have that the wrong way around Jay .....

You use a past participle with another verb ( usually either to have or to be) in this case - it would be, I have sown.
Simple past is just I sowed  ;)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: JayG on April 10, 2013, 17:17
Think you have that the wrong way around Jay .....

You use a past participle with another verb ( usually either to have or to be) in this case - it would be, I have sown.
Simple past is just I sowed  ;)

Oh yes (I'm even more confused than I thought!)  ::)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Eileen M on April 10, 2013, 21:28
Like most people, I've only ever chatted spuds.  How interesting though, will have a go at chitting other veg seeds now  :D
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Bing on April 10, 2013, 21:32
I have soaked my runner beans, French beans seeds for about three hours, planning to bury them in compost pot on Friday.

Is soaking a good idea? Or should I wait till they germinate?
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: JayG on April 10, 2013, 21:54
You seem to be a bit betwixt and between Bing - either soak and go through the pre-germination routine with the damp paper and so on, or soak then sow straight away (you seem to be leaving 2 days doing neither.)  :unsure:
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Dave Mack on April 10, 2013, 22:07
I'm a little chitter and proud of it ... chit chit away  :D
I can never get my peas or sweetcorn to grow direct into the ground , as DD says its a lot of faffing round not to do this ... but after having a good chit ... i sow them into cells , i end up with 99% of my plants growing  :)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: DD. on April 10, 2013, 22:12
You can sow 1,000's of peas in cells?  :ohmy:
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Totty on April 10, 2013, 22:31
I chit spuds, sweetcorn, broad beans, peas, runners, as well as some flower seed.
It is not a time consuming process, means you know exactly how many viable seeds you have to bother sowing.
I grow lots of peas and dont find it too much of a faff to throw a packet into the chitter wait a few days, then sow them normally, you can be fairly certain they wont rot in the ground too.
First sowing of sweetcorn and I want 72 plants. Chitted about 90 seed, put 72 in pots and now have 72 little sweetcorn plants coming through. I'd sooner chit seeds than spend my time sowing seeds that are never going to grow, no matter how long we wait for them to start showing.

Totty
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Dave Mack on April 10, 2013, 23:07
You can sow 1,000's of peas in cells?  :ohmy:

Well thats what i'm doing now  ::) sitting here with a arrowed union form on  :nowink:
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: yaxley on April 10, 2013, 23:55
Just read a bit about sprouting seeds that i looked up and they spray there seeds with a diluted hydrogen peroxide to stop mould /fungus on the chitting seeds does anybody do this ..
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Paul Plots on April 11, 2013, 00:52
Chitting is a pain I prefer to avoid if I can. Once set to chit I then have little choice about when to plant or they can go too far... sprout and snuff it.

Right now I have a small shallow tray of chitting (I love that word) sweet peas that really should have been potted up but are just chitting well sitting there getting soggier by the hour. Had too little time today.

I try to: Chit only when all else has failed in the past.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: mumofstig on April 11, 2013, 10:00
Just read a bit about sprouting seeds that i looked up and they spray there seeds with a diluted hydrogen peroxide to stop mould /fungus on the chitting seeds does anybody do this ..

I never have.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: aelf on April 11, 2013, 10:03
Never chitted anything but a spud in my life. I rarely if ever seem to have problems getting any seeds to germinate, and it's already hard enough finding time to do all the sowing/pricking out/planting/watering/etc. that has to be done, so I've just never really seen any point in giving myself yet another task to do which will probably be completely unnecessary.

Ditto  :) I'm not even convinced that chitting spuds is beneficial, but if you have the time and it works for you...
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: green_lolly on April 11, 2013, 10:20
I've rapidly become a big fan of chitting or pre-germination.

I've done broad beans, peas, tomatoes and courgette seeds so far. As a beginner it helps me know that at least I'm getting seeds off to a good start and if they still fail to grow it narrows down the post mortem of where I went wrong.

I'm only sowing small quantities though. I can understand that for those with larger spaces this would add significant work so maybe when I'm more experienced and graduate from my small garden to an allotment I wouldn't bother.

3,000 peas?! Wow! Jealous.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: crh75 on April 11, 2013, 12:01
I chit potatoes, partly to break the dormancy and partly because it is the simplest way to keep them prior to planting.

I tried chitting sweetcorn many years ago, they spouted so I put them in pots and never saw a sign of them again!  Not a single one!

Ever since I sow sweetcorn in loo rolls, these are placed on a seed tray in a plastic bag.  This goes into the airing cupboard for 2 days then they go onto a warm windowsill.  A few days later vertually all appear.  I find one packet lasts me two seasons with no loss of germination rate in the second.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: DD. on April 11, 2013, 12:10
I chit my sweetcorn and have no problem transferring them to pots.

Here's some I started earlier today.

(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c182/G4IAR/P1020191_zps728650a3.jpg)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: coleman1 on July 07, 2013, 06:28
I have used both methods with both similar results
Regards
Robin
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Nikkithefoot on July 07, 2013, 10:03
I chit my spuds, but only because I have a vacant windowsill. They then remain in full view in the light so any sprouts they produce don't get spindly. I then remember I have them and can plant them when convenient to me and the weather. If planting is delayed with spuds there is no problem, they only get wrinklier  :)

I chit sweetcorn as I lost 2 lots in the past to rotting in the soil.

I chit parsnip to use up older seed, if nothing shows after 2 weeks they get binned and I start again. I can be fairly confident about the 2 weeks as whenever I have chitted new seeds the vast majority have sprouted in the tray within 2 weeks. We love parsnips in our family and given the unpredictability I have when growing them I find it is worth the additional hassle. I know some people can chuck them in the ground and they grow, I am not that person. My plot neighbour on the other hand is! Very annoying  :)

I might occasionally chit some peas and beans if I am either very bored or it is the last few seed of a favoured variety.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Beetroot queen on July 07, 2013, 10:07
Yes for potatoes, corn and runner beans this year.  ::) runners this year were a nightmare.

I dont worry about other bits they get done without any extra tlc
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: maxie on July 07, 2013, 14:34
Just potatoes for me,if i buy them later on they just go right in the ground straight out of the bag.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Rosehip on July 07, 2013, 17:41
Each year I seem to chit more,with the cold slow start to the year beans and peas were a problem so I chitted second batch,with 100% germination it something I will be doing from now on.always chit early potatoes.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Yorkie on July 07, 2013, 18:59
Complete failure chitting sweetcorn this year - twice.

Bunged the 3rd lot straight into the roottrainers and hey presto!
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: peedee555 on July 07, 2013, 22:35
started to chit stuff this year only to hasten along the seeds has a hungry pheasant ate alot of my stuff worked very well but i dont think i will do the peas again it took forever to plant them
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Sparkyrog on July 07, 2013, 22:43
planting first earlies in the polly tomorrow that started chitting in march works for me  :D
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: composthappens on July 08, 2013, 14:42
I am a compulsive chitter!! I always chit my spuds, but this year i also started to chit my peas and sweetcorn, i soaked them in water for a few days until they showed little spouts coming from them, then i plant them in pots or on the alloment. 

I found both peas and sweetcorn grow much quicker once i give them a start like this, and will alway chit them from now on, i might even try it on other seeds too!  ::)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: mumofstig on July 08, 2013, 17:02
My list for chitting seems to be growing.................

I chit potatoes, then DD showed us how to chit sweetcorn  ;)
I added white runner beans to the list as germination wasn't good this year.

Parsnips weren't good either and Aidy said you could chit them, so that's another one now  :D

Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: rawrecruit on July 08, 2013, 21:33
I think I may be a 'no chit' sort of person, as I didn't feel this made a vast difference in the long run. In fact, I'm not sure that next year I'll even bother cluttering up my windowsills with seed trays and toilet rolls and pots of seedlings etc as everything that got thrown straight in the ground, including peppers, has grown just as well and in some cases better than seeds I cossetted and coaxed!
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: peedee555 on July 09, 2013, 01:31
can you chit beetroot
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: Beetroot queen on July 09, 2013, 07:49
can you chit beetroot

I wouldnt even if you could, they grow too well just thrown in direct.
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: JayG on July 09, 2013, 10:31
My "chit list":

Sweet corn - yes, ever since I went from always getting nearly 100% to almost zero germination in the space of one year. Probably a duff packet of seed but they chit so quickly and easily it's no real bother to sow them as soon as the root appears.

Runner beans - I have had trouble with my saved "White Lady" in recent years so now chit them, but you have to be careful not to oversoak because being such large seeds they can hold a lot of water and the embryonic seedling can rot off even after germination. I actually sowed a few seeds direct this year and they came up quickly, but that was probably because soil conditions were perfect, which it usually isn't!

Parsnip: I tried Aidy's method of sowing just pre-germinated seed individually and finished up with a few gaps. I'm sure that sowing two per station would have overcome that, and it's probably worth doing especially in a cold spring to make sure they get off to a good start.

Sugarsnap Peas: again, saved seed so I pre-chit and sow as with sweetcorn - no real bother and you know that what you are sowing are viable. Maybe not for those with huge plantings though (who could I possibly be referring to?  ::)  ;))

Other than the above (and spuds), I've not found anything else which I feel either needs or I could benefit from chitting (yet!)
Title: Re: Are you a seed "chitting" or "no-chit" sort of person?
Post by: crh75 on July 09, 2013, 12:00
Spuds only.  Potaotes tend to be delivered way before planting out time so it's the easiest way to keep them.  Never had that much bother with other stuff such as parsnips and sweetcorn!