[JT101]

I put my bag of Maris pipers I bought at the end of march in a cool dark shed and only pull them out the other day.  They've grown the spindly white shoots.  Are they any good to plant now?  Can I salvage them.  If so, how?

[arugula]

You can still plant them sooner would be better than later, but it is advisable to rub off most of the long white shoots prior to doing so.

[JT101]

Do you know what these white things are?  I've already planted them in the ground with the white things sticking up.  I thought they were the shoots.

Thanks

[azubah]

They are shoots. It is better to plant your potatoes when they are half an inch long when the frosts are nearly over.

[sunshineband]

Are you planting them  today?  

[mumofstig]

Do you know what these white things are?  I've already planted them in the ground with the white things sticking up.  I thought they were the shoots.

Thanks

They were the shoots ;)I hope you didn't break too many shoots when planting them, but It'll be no worse than if you rubbed them off to let them start again.
It's not ideal to let the chits get that long, but they should still produce something. As they're main crops you should leave them till the foliage dies back, they'll need about 20 weeks.

[simonwatson]

They've grown white spindly shoots rather than short dark shoots because they were in the dark. You want to chit them in the light.

The white things are indeed shoots, but they will be very weak as they haven't been made tough by exposure to sunlight. There's a good chance they'll just snap once there's a bit of top growth and the wind gets up.

[JT101]

Any ideas how long I should expect to wait before they break through the soil?

[mumofstig]

that all depend on how deep you planted them, and whether you earthed up or not