Chitting is usually done in January or February, around six-eight weeks before you intend to plant your potatoes out. I have read, understood and agree to The Terms & Conditions and The Privacy Policy and from time to time I may receive special offers and discounts from Organic Gardener, nextmedia Pty Ltd, or its valued partners. You should not eat these green potatoes, nor should you feed them to your animals. Is it better to plant potatoes in the fall or in the spring? Potatoes planted outside in the ground in midsummer should grow and form tubers before the first frosts in autumn, especially in sheltered gardens in the south.. Where there is a frost free-greenhouse, cool conservatory or bright porch, potatoes can be planted in August for harvesting at Christmas. If you're gardening in a place with a long growing season, however, chitting is probably a bit pointless. Absolutely. Tips for Planting Potatoes From the Store. Suburban Hobby Farmer is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. In a couple of weeks shoots will start appearing from the potato “eyes”. Do everything you would normally do when you plant potatoes, except plant just before your first frost of the fall / winter. They grow vigorously in the moist spring soil, getting the jump on weeds and many pests like cutworms. Whether it helps remains to be seen, but I look at it this way: at least it can't hurt. When to Harvest. Hilling is useful for covering potato tubers that push up above the soil surface. Click here to read about the one I picked and use, plus two others I considered. Harvest potatoes that you wish to use next year as seed potatoes and brush off, don’t wash, any dirt. I Shopped for Hoop House Kits. Unchitted potatoes would start sprouting in the cold soil and be a little less mollycoddled. If you try chitting potatoes, or sprouting seed potatoes before you plant them, you can harvest your potatoes up to three weeks earlier. No chitting. Facebook link  If you live where winters are mild, you probably want to plant potatoes in fall so that you can take advantage of the cooler season and harvest in winter. To come back to this table of contents, just use the back button on your browser. If you live in an area where spring is short and summer turns dry and hot soon after the ground defrosts, fall planting is probably for you. As a consequence, chitted spuds can be ready for harvest at least a couple of weeks before un-chtitted spuds, which is an important consideration for an impatient spud lover such as myself. Truth be told, chitting isn't strictly necessary – spuds will shoot and grow without being chitted – but it's one of those traditional practices that actually has a couple of genuine benefits beyond making the gardener feel like they know what they're doing. Much longer than I want to admit. The answer to that question will be determined by your environment. Many people will say that they’ve successfully been growing potatoes without chitting (pre-sprouting) and never had a problem with their harvests. The humble potato is a staple on many dinner tables around New Zealand. Green potatoes contain solanine, which is a toxic substance that can make you sick. Plant your tubers around six inches (15cm) deep, and space them a foot (30cm) apart along the row. Absolutely. I tend to have this issue with my homegrown spuds! That means if you click and buy from my partners, I will make a tiny amount of money at no cost to you. Having said all this, I'm planning to chit my spuds this year. If you want, you can use heirloom seed potatoes. Additional rows of early varieties should be spaced at least 18 inches (45cm) apart, while maincrops need a minimum of 30 inches (75cm) left between rows. Here's What I Know. Flexible bags make it comfortable for your potatoes to stretch freely without the limitations. I’m Bill Brikiatis. Cutting the potatoes length ways instead of across will give a better yield as there are more sprouts on one end than the other. Once the chitting begins, cut your potatoes up into 2 to 3 … Once you have your potatoes selected, I recommend a good chit. Every year after I turn the cover crop, volunteer potato plants sprout in the beds where I planted potatoes last year. Hello! In the gardening world that’s a chunk of the planting calendar. I started this website in 2010 to help you get better at growing organic food in your backyard. A Review of the One I Bought. Grow Millions of Cucumbers in a Hoop House. Should You Use Neptune's Harvest Liquid Fertilizer? This way you can still enjoy an early crop without taking the risk. This probably helps a bit, but in my experience it's more important to prepare the soil well, using plenty of rotted manure or compost, along with some blood and bone or pelletised chook fertiliser. Follow us:    Dig a tench about 12 inches deep. Chitting is a simple method. Plus, they will start growing above ground as soon as the soil warms up. Without hilling, any potatoes that are exposed to sunlight will turn green. This in no way affects my recommendations. Chitting should begin about 6 weeks before planting so from late January. But the reason for planting potatoes in autumn will differ greatly depending on where you live. This is rarely a problem in fall. I make plenty, then I write about them so both you and I get better at growing great things to eat. Potatoes that are placed near a light source don’t need to stretch in search of light. Store-bought potatoes are often treated with a chemical that prevents them from sprouting, so they do not make viable seed potatoes. You can plant potatoes without chitting (allowing them to sprout), but most gardeners chit them. If, on the other hand, you want to plant in fall and let your potatoes grow over winter in order to get a jump on the spring growing season, this article is for you. Step 1 – Buy seed potatoes. Follow our potato growing guide to plant Tui Certified Seed Potatoes in garden beds or containers, and you'll be harvesting a bumper crop of homegrown potatoes this season. Of course, the amount of time your plants will need will vary by variety. Before we start with our guide on planting, growing, and harvesting potatoes, we thought we would give you some time-tested tips; The Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania regarded March 17, otherwise known as “St. I Tested the 4 Top Seed Staring Mix Products. Your potatoes will have plenty of time to grow without chitting. These plants seem to know exactly when to start growing based on the weather that season. Seed potatoes can be cut in half before planting, to increase your crop of spuds. The process of chitting potatoes is simply encouraging the potato seeds to begin growing before they are planted into the ground. Filed Under: 2. Almost everyone has opened the cupboard under the sink and discovered a forgotten potato spreading out long vinelike roots. You can get more potato plants from a bag of seed potatoes by cutting large tubers in half and planting both halves. Related: Grow Sweet Carrots in the Winter. Chitting simply means encouraging the seed potatoes to sprout before planting. Plant seed potatoes 30cm apart and cover them with soil to fill the trench. Two crops in one season? After I buy my seed potatoes, I sort the large potatoes from the small ones. You've probably chitted by accident, but here's how the technique works if you want to do it deliberately. Their shoots are short and strong, just what you need for potato planting. You shouldn’t chit your autumn planting potatoes. Place them in a cool, dry are of around 50 F. (10 C.). If this is the case, you are golden. When to plant the seed potatoes. Beyond this, there are suggestions that chitting can improve yield. These potato … Learn Everything I Know About Growing Tomatoes, Soil Temperature for Transplanting Vegetables. Plant seed potatoes into dug trenches or individual planting holes. Chitting potatoes is SO easy! Start sooner, harvest sooner. This article may contain affiliate links. Roasted, boiled, mashed or in a salad – no matter how you serve yours, they will always taste better dug out of your own garden. Intermediate -- A Little Difficult to Complete, How to Get Free Seeds from the U.S. Government. Since these volunteers grow so well in the cool weather, the idea came to me, why not plant potatoes in the autumn inst… Harvest sooner. Potatoes that you plant in autumn will start growing their roots during the winter. Choose a spot in your yard with lots of sun. The advantage of chitting is that it ensures viable eyes – not all eyes will develop sprouts. The usual time to plant potatoes is after any threat of frost is past and when soil temps are in the 50’s. Here’s how to do it: You may save your own seed potatoes. Around here, the bug season is in spring. For me, this is typically the middle of September. These plants seem to know exactly when to start growing based on the weather that season. For two springs in a row my young potato plants have been burnt off by October frosts, so I think this year I'll try and get a head start by chitting. Hope you enjoy, like, comment, share, and go plant some potatoes! No, it's not a typo. But if planting is delayed for whatever reason, there is no harm in leaving them for a little longer than you intended. Planting potatoes in the autumn is a lot like planting in the spring. How to Use Aquarium Fish Water to Fertilize Plants, Oatey Mystic Rainwater Collection System / Downspout Diverter. Chitting is the process of keeping potatoes in the optimal conditions for quicker sprouting. Autumn planting might also be right if you can get your potatoes out of the ground before pests can find them. Furthermore, you should add mulch, leaves, grass clippings or other organic matter to the bottom of the trench. Growing potatoes is easy, helps break up tough soil, and a good crop makes many meals for your family. It never fails. Lucy Hall, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, explains how to do it, in our Quick Tips video. Planting potatoes from eyes is not a difficult process. This helps prevent rotting of your seed potatoes over winter. Grab yourself a couple of egg cartons, pop a seed potato in each segment, and place the cartons in a warmish, dry, well lit position indoors. They grow vigorously in the moist spring soil, getting the jump on weeds and many pests like cutworms. Your potatoes will grow roots during the off season, so they will explode with growth above ground when the weather turns. Here's How to Do It, Grasscycling and Composting Grass Clippings, Five Gardening Ideas from Building Soils Naturally. I’ve been growing fruits and vegetables for most of my life. You should plant your potatoes whole. Potatoes are one of those vegetables that most people who grow their own, always find a place for. In fact, there are many reasons why you might want to plant in fall. Forcing potatoes To force potatoes for harvesting in May and June, plant two tubers in inside-out compost bags in the greenhouse now, without … It's Easy If You Know How. The organic matter will warm the dirt as it breaks down, giving your potatoes a head start. This will simulate the cold, dark soil of winter, and they should begin to sprout once you place them in a sunny warm location afterwards. If you have several potato patches, why not plant a small patch in the fall to see how it works for you. The theory is that the gardener can direct a potato plant's energy into just one or two shoots, rather than four or five. The potatoes will need 4 to 6 weeks after chitting before they're ready to plant. Chitting or sprouting starts the growing process in the potatoes because they get exposed to light and warmth. Weather in spring is unpredictable. Typically, I have a lot more compost and other soil amendments in autumn. A Review of the Three I Considered, Growing Salad Greens in Winter. Three to four weeks prior to planting, put the potatoes in an area with brighter light, such as a sunny window or beneath grow lights. Twitter link  Chitting for folks in warmer climates saves us about 10-14 days. 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