1 day Ago By Brian Dillon
Give your potatoes a head start and let them grow faster by using this method that gardeners swear by. Growing potatoes is one of the easiest things you an do in your garden . It doesn't take much when it comes to planting potatoes but when they are grown, you get the satisfaction of putting them to use in your kitchen, whether you are having mashed potatoes , roast potatoes or any other variety of potato dish.
If you decide to grow potatoes in your garden, there is a trick you should know about and you use it before you even put your potatoes in the ground. This method, which gardeners have used for generations, is called 'chitting'. Essentially, chitting gives your potatoes a nice head start so after you put them in the ground, you get your desired results sooner.
But what exactly is chitting and how simple is it? Here is everything to know about this extra step in growing potatoes and why it will give your crops significant benefits and advantages. Chitting is when gardeners place their seed potatoes in a cool, dry, frost-free area forst before planting them in the ground. This can be done in an egg tray or small pots.
This encourages the seeds to sprout before they are transferred outside. You need to make sure that these seed potatoes are in a light area but not in direct sunlight. To 'chit' your seed potatoes, you remove all but three or four of the 'eyes' of the potato, as in the parts that sprout.
This allows the strongest parts to sprout. Once these sprouts are around 1 inch tall, then the potatoes can be placed into the ground. Chitting takes place for about six weeks so the earlier you can do it, the better.
If you decide to 'chit' your seed potatoes, then your finished crop can be ready to harvest around four weeks earlier than usual. When it comes to planting them in the ground, they should be between 4 inches and 8 inches deep. Reddit users have been sharing their advice on chitting.
One person wrote: "If your house is fairly warm, they're going to start sprouting if you want them to or not, so it's best to put them somewhere light to help the sprouts grow short and healthy at least. If you stick them in a dark cupboard any growth would be leggy and brittle, so not good for planting." Another shared: "If you let all the eyes chit you will tend to get more but smaller potatoes.
If you rub most of the eyes off and just leave three to chit you will tend to get fewer but larger potatoes.".
