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Start Chitting Potatoes Now!
Chitting Potatoes
It’s time to start chitting! And I mean that in the best possible way. If you have been growing your own potatoes you know what I am talking about. Take the potatoes out of storage and let them sprout in daylight.
These potatoes arrived in a bag already sprouting. If kept in the dark they would grow long sprouts and be a disaster come spring so I immediately started chitting them on my windowsill
Potatoes kept in the dark form long unwieldy sprouts. If yours are sprouting then the only thing you can do is pull them out of the cupboard or storage area right now and break off all those long sprouts. Then get to work chitting them. This means putting them somewhere where they can get light (a windowsill?) so they will resist getting long white sprouts too soon. I got a whole bag of sprouting potatoes from a friend leaving on an extended winter vacation. Instead of fussing about these sprouting spuds, I simply started chitting the unlabelled potatoes right away.
Last year I was told and then discovered for myself that potatoes can be left in this “chitting” state for up to 16 weeks. In other words, regardless of where you live and when the best time to plant potatoes is in your area, you can “hold” them in this semi-ready-to-grow state for months and months. I planted my last batch of potatoes in early August and they went on to grow super fast in the warm soil and produced a crop before they died back in fall.
Remember most potatoes grown commercially are sprayed so they will not sprout. If you are waiting a month or more and there are no signs of chitting or small stems emerging then you probably have potatoes that have been sprayed. These potatoes sat on my windowsill for almost a year and they never did sprout. The Dirty Dozen list includes potatoes simply because they are often sprayed so much on commercial farms and the sprays are still in the potatoes when we eat them. Avoid eating sprayed potatoes by buying organically grown ones or growing your own.
I grow indeterminate potatoes in wire fencing.
I also grow indeterminate potatoes in root pouches (fabric bags), adding more soil or compost as they grow.
Potatoes harvested in old straw are clean and pest free. This year I will experiment further to see if there is a best way to grow potatoes at home in root pouches.
Kale harvests his first potatoes at my house. A big day in the garden for sure!
There are so many kinds of potatoes but one I love and discovered a few years ago is the French Fingerling – a red potato with white interior. This year I am also growing German Butterball, Sieglinde, Red Chieftan and Warba as well as French Fingerling. Yummy!
Red Fingerling are delicious and buttery but they don’t last as long in storage as some of the other fingerlings because the skin is thin and they start to get rubbery. We just make a point of eating them first.
All types of potatoes are heavy feeders and prefer really rich soil. This is why I have started growing them in straight compost. Luckily I produce a lot of compost in my garden! When the leaves start to yellow, the plant dies and it is the end of the potato-making season for that plant. Most commercial growers fertilize heavily to keep plants growing vigorously and making new potatoes for as long as possible.
These potatoes have been waiting to be planted for several weeks but at least they are not sending up the long weak shoots yet. Instead, they are chitted on a windowsill. I can plant them when I am ready.
My dog is a truffle dog. She loves to eat anything that smells of soil. The only thing she likes better than soil is her rubber pig. So when I saw this root pouch missing potatoes after I got called away to do a different job I knew exactly what happened! Corle had traded in her pig for one or more of my potatoes.
Rubber pig traded in for potatoes. Corle in action.
It is going to be spring eventually so why not get your potatoes on your windowsill and start prepping them for planting by chitting them now? On the other hand if you haven’t tried growing potatoes so have none in storage, get on with ordering them as soon as possible. There are so many kinds and many farmers like John at Eagle Creek sell them in 4-packs so you can try many kinds. But from what I see online they are already running out of many desirable kinds, so get your order in soon.
Donna Balzer is the Brand Ambassador for BCGreenhouse Builders and she has two greenhouses in her big backyard.
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Thanks Mink-Lac – Yes the pouches seep water because they breathe – I usually put them over bark mulch so the excess moisture can escape or I put them on a tray. Size of pouches is in my shop…. I would suggest that you use a flood tray (homemade or purchased) if you are using root pouches on a wood surface such as a deck.
Amanda- it is true that manure – composted or otherwise seems to cause scab on some varieties but I use compost from my speedibin – it is a mix of household and garden refuse. I find potatoes are such heavy feeders and need – as you say – good drainage plus heavy nutrients so I always start them in my compost and have really good results. I top them up with compost if it is available but this year I am trying a research project using top-ups of compost, weeds (without seeds) and wood mulch. I will let everyone know in the fall.
Donna, I have read previously that potatoes should not be planted in soil that is too full of compost, as this can cause them to be scabby (actually, I thought John said that on the Eagle Creek potato website)? But maybe I am incorrect in that line of thinking. I try potatoes every year, trying different amendments to the soil, but our yield has been fairly poor unfortunately. Here in Calgary, since our soils are so clay-heavy, I think the potatoes find it difficult, despite my amending the soil with compost, straw, and fallen fall leaves. I order seed potatoes from John every year; love the variety he has!
We love your articles and your tips in chitting potatoes. Also the garden pouches got my interest. I’m checking the size of the 25 gallon pouch, it would be around less than 2 feet in diameter and about 1.5 feet in high? Do the pouches leak water out on the side and the bottom?
I’m going to chit my potatoes right now and will look into the garden pouches. Your garden pictures look awesome.