The dictionary definition of chitting is to “cause (a potato) to sprout by placing it in a cool light place.”
Here is all you need to know about chitting potatoes . . .
Potatoes are grown using ‘seed potatoes’ which you will find for sale in garden centres and online and there is a HUGE selection to choose from.
Once you have bought your seed potatoes they will need chitting, prior to planting. ‘Chitting’ basically gives the potatoes a head start to start growing once they are planted.
You can start chitting potatoes from late January – basically you should be allowing about six weeks for chitting to take place and then you should be ready to plant. So depending on the weather and where you plan to grow your potatoes – indoors or outdoors – you can work back from when you would like to plant to work out the date to start chitting. If you intend to grow your potatoes in a greenhouse or polytunnel, you should be able to start chitting the potatoes two weeks earlier than if you were growing them outdoors. As a result, potatoes grown indoors will be ready to grace your table earlier than those grown outdoors. Yum!
To start chitting your potatoes you’ll need some trays or egg boxes in which to place the potatoes – egg boxes are great as you can fit one potato into each egg compartment, so the potatoes will be held perfectly in place. Each potato should be placed ‘eyes up’ for chitting to work correctly. You’ll find the ‘eyes’ on the more rounded, blunt end of the potato, with the ‘eyes’ basically being small dents I the skin of the potato. The potatoes should be stood in the trays with this end uppermost.
These trays of potatoes should now be placed somewhere where it’s relatively cool (frost free) and there is lots of natural light. If this isn’t possible, you can use artificial light to turn any spot suitable for chitting – e.g. under artificial lights you could place the trays in a garden shed. The reason for placing the potatoes in a cool, light spot is that you’re aim is to have thick, sturdy shoots emerge. If there is insufficient light or the temperature is too high then weak, spindly shoots may be formed, which you want to avoid.
The chitting process can be declared as finished and you can start planting the potatoes when the potato has sturdy, dark green shoots are about ½-1” in length (1.5-2.5cm). The results of spending time chitting prior to planting is that they grow faster – so you can be harvesting from chitted potatoes up to three to four weeks earlier than none chitted potatoes.