Q: Chitting New Potatoes
I was hoping you could give me some advice on new potatoes.
I just got a delivery yesterday from Fruithill Farm of seed potato of Orla , Casablanca , Maris Bard
Do I need to chit these before planting?
My plan is to plant them in containers. I have 30 large drums which I am going to fill with a mix of soil and horse manure. I’ll plant the seed potatoes into these. Then the drums will be placed inside my polytunnel along the path. How does that sound?
Richard
A:
Chitting will definitely bring them on faster. You may gain a couple of weeks.
Obviously there is a danger with that: If they come up early they are also prone to frost and need protection either with fleece or earth them up completely on the evening before the frost is expected. So chit them if you want an extra early crop or don’t if can wait.
Klaus