[DD.]

I've never heard of this and I would have thought Iain would have had something to say if this were the case. Do you have a reference rather than "a friend of a friend told me?"

What about the following argument?

Chitting starts off the life cycle of the spud. This leads to quicker leaf growth. Leaves as we know are the food factory of the spud, the sooner, (obviously giving heed to frosts), you can get these leaves to sunlight, the earlier they will start producing food for the plant.

This is one reason why I earth up in stages as the spud grows, rather than hill up straight after planting and the spud having to find it's way through a foot of soil. By the time its done that, I would suggest it's considerably weaker than if it had just been sitting in daylight for a fews weeks, gently catching a few rays!

[lacewing]

I will look it up and get back!

[Salmo]

Ahh, but then I'm a little weired on this one. I can't actually see what all of the fuss is about 'new potatoes'. I much prefer the 'mealy' taste and texture of spuds that have been dug up for a few days, preferably after the 'skin set' stage, rather then wen the skins are loose. I want to eat my potatoes early in the season rather than eat new potatoes.

If you do not want early potatoes you would be better of with a second early variety and get more yield.

Good topic!

[GreenOwl]

Despite agreeing with DD I'm still not going to deliberately chit this year.  

Reasons:

• I always find it difficult to find somewhere cool and light to chit them so they usually end up warm and light
• I've bought a big bag this year and I haven't got the space, previously I've only done a dozen or so.
• The kids always manage to upset them and send them everwhere.

I've left them in the cool dark garage, if they chit they chit.

[lacewing]

I've never heard of this and I would have thought Iain would have had something to say if this were the case. Do you have a reference rather than "a friend of a friend told me?"

What about the following argument?

Chitting starts off the life cycle of the spud. This leads to quicker leaf growth. Leaves as we know are the food factory of the spud, the sooner, (obviously giving heed to frosts), you can get these leaves to sunlight, the earlier they will start producing food for the plant.

This is one reason why I earth up in stages as the spud grows, rather than hill up straight after planting and the spud having to find it's way through a foot of soil. By the time its done that, I would suggest it's considerably weaker than if it had just been sitting in daylight for a fews weeks, gently catching a few rays!

I quote from GARDEN NEWS Jan. 5th 2010 (page10). Thompson & Morgans potato expert, Colin Randel advises that ''Chitting isn't  necessary, there's a bit of folklore to it really. If you chit first earlies you can have poatoes ready about a week early,but you won't necessarily get the yield because you are pre-ageing the seed by bringing them forward,and chitting them''.  I rest my case!!

[JayG]

I'm going for a lie-down (feeling a bit chitty!) 

[craggy]

Comments to previous posts:

RichardA >Chitting is inevitable
- Is it? Mine are in the spare fridge in the garage - so cool, dark, and frost free. I'm hoping that some of them don't start sprouting and that way I might try planting some earlies later on in the year too.  So I can produce early-season and late-season earlies and use the ground after the early-season earlies and the ground before the late-season earlies for something else!

DD
- Your link to spud-guru Iain's post was most useful, thanks.

Salmo > If you only grow first earlies then surely this is compelling evidence that you should chit. The important thing with first earlies is not the eventual mature yield but that they bulk up early to give you those heavenly first diggings.
- Ahh, but then I'm a little weired on this one. I can't actually see what all of the fuss is about 'new potatoes'. I much prefer the 'mealy' taste and texture of spuds that have been dug up for a few days, preferably after the 'skin set' stage, rather then wen the skins are loose. I want to eat my potatoes early in the season rather than eat new potatoes.

SS

don,t they need light?

[DD.]

but you won't necessarily get the yield because you are pre-ageing the seed by bringing them forward,and chitting them''.  I rest my case!!

Note the word "necessarily". Doesn't quite read the same if you leave it out.

[JayG]

The saving grace for this thread is that come the end of the season hopefully everyone will have had a good crop of spuds and no-one will know (or even care) who was right and who was wrong! 

[lacewing]

Quite so!, and the question  'to chit or not to chit' continues!

[Swing Swang]

Very true JayG.

Salmo - It's just possible that you've given me a 'eurika' moment. The big issue for me is that I need to get my spuds out in time for my leeks to go in. Now if I can do this with seconds and get a larger crop (that arguably will store better) by late June/very early July I could be onto a winner. Won't leave me with much playing around time between spud harvest and leek transplanting, but it could just work.

Good call,

SS

[Swing Swang]

Of course then I'll need to chit to give tham a head start...

[Iain@JBA]

As usual there are many valid points of view on here and I will add my two pence worth.
Chitting should be used a tool to select the most favourable eyes to let the shoots appear on. I have done a short video on youtube about how to select them.

By selecting the strongest shoots you will have improved crops due to the potato putting its limited energy reserves into the selected shoots. To chit all the eyes will result in only an earlier cropping time and not be a major benefit.

That is what I call chitting(selecting the best eyes for the best results)

As for claims that chitting is a thing of the past, there is now independant data from the potato council telling commercial growers that chitting is the way to increase profits by allowing harvest of maincrops to be 3 weeks earlier.
Some companies that are selling pre-chitted potatoes to get crops off to a flying start seem to have changed their tune now that they are backlogged with orders and find customers will not have time to chit.

At the end of the day the choice is yours and your potatoes will produce crops no matter which way you plant them(chitted or not).

The best potato growers in the world all chit and swear by it.
I have all my ones set up for chitting now.

[DD.]

I have all my ones set up for chitting now.

Boom boom.

[Iain@JBA]

I have a picture on my blog for you DD.
They are all lined up in their little boxes