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This video explains how to chit potatoes step by step to prepare seed potatoes before planting. It shows how pre-sprouting encourages earlier growth and helps produce stronger plants.
The guide covers where to place seed potatoes, how much light they need, how long to chit them and what healthy sprouts should look like. It also explains common mistakes to avoid and when potatoes are ready for planting.
If you are growing potatoes for the first time, this video provides practical beginner-friendly advice on preparing seed potatoes successfully.
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0:00
it our potatoes. Welcome to Gardening
0:02
with Ben, everybody. And in today's
0:03
video, we're going to be chitting our
0:05
potatoes and showing you what varieties
0:07
we're going to be growing this year down
0:09
at the aotment. So, at this time of
0:12
year, all the potatoes are starting to
0:13
get into the garden centers and into the
0:15
shops. These are seed potatoes, what you
0:18
usually look out for. So, we've got four
0:20
varieties that we're going to be growing
0:22
this year. We've got loads. I absolutely
0:23
loved them in the air fryer last year.
0:25
They were absolutely gorgeous. And I had
0:27
lots and lots of chips. So yeah, we've
0:30
got plenty of potatoes to be growing
0:32
this year. So we've ordered all these.
0:34
We've got them all come. So we need to
0:36
start chitting them. If you've not
0:37
watched my video on what chitting means,
0:39
make sure you drop that a watch and see
0:42
what it means. Basically, it means that
0:44
they'll be ready a bit earlier, probably
0:46
about 2 to 3 weeks earlier, so they're a
0:49
bit faster cropping, and you get them
0:50
ready, and sometimes they can produce
0:52
more potatoes from chitting them as
0:55
well. So the varieties that we are going
0:57
to be growing this year are Jazzy.
1:01
We got some Jazzy ones. This is a
1:03
kilogram of potatoes. So there's quite a
1:05
few of that. These are a great variety.
1:07
And as you can see, they're starting to
1:09
sprout already. When you're buying
1:10
potatoes, don't have lots of leggy
1:14
sprouts on them because that won't be
1:16
any good for them. You just want them
1:18
with short spout short sprouts on them
1:20
already. And if they've not got any on
1:23
them, even better. So yeah, watch out
1:26
for that. Make sure that you don't store
1:28
them in the dark as well because you
1:29
that's what makes them leggy.
1:32
Next up, we have got the red juke of
1:35
York. Great for chips. So yeah, 2 kg of
1:40
this. So we've got a load of potatoes
1:41
this year. We're going to be growing
1:43
absolutely loads on the plot for down
1:45
here. So hopefully we'll get some great
1:47
crops. Next up is our main crop potato
1:51
which are Maris Piper.
1:54
Another great variety to grow down at
1:57
the plot. Only issue with main crop
1:59
potato is that you've got to watch out
2:00
for blight. So yeah, keep an eye on
2:03
that. So another 2 kg of them. And then
2:07
one of my favorite potatoes, what I love
2:09
to grow are this Charlotte potato. So
2:13
yeah, we've got four varieties that
2:16
we're growing down here at the a lotment
2:17
this year. And we best get these into
2:20
egg cartons and seed trays ready for
2:22
chitting. I've got no egg cartons as I
2:25
don't tend to add many eggs, but yeah,
2:27
we're going to put them into seed trays
2:28
and we're going to put them into these
2:30
mini green houses to stop hopefully the
2:32
mice and the racks getting into them and
2:35
hopefully the squirrels as well cuz last
2:36
year they pinched them all. So, we
2:39
didn't have many potatoes to grow last
2:41
year, which was absolutely rubbish for
2:43
me. I didn't like that at all. So, yeah,
2:45
we didn't get many potatoes last year.
2:48
So, let's get them all prepared and
2:50
ready for. So, right, we're ready for
2:53
chitting these. And if you're like me,
2:55
you store all your seed uh your seed
2:59
trays and your containers what you get
3:01
all your flowers in. These are perfect
3:03
for using for chitting your potatoes as
3:06
they don't get soggy like egg boxes do.
3:08
So, they're pretty good at being great
3:11
for chitting with. So, we're going to
3:13
start with our jazzy potatoes first and
3:16
get those in. So, what we need to do is
3:18
just empty out that compost cuz we don't
3:21
want that in there.
3:24
So, yeah, basically
3:26
what you need to do is get your potato.
3:30
Like I said, these are starting to
3:32
sprout already, these ones. So, these
3:34
help in identifying where the eyes are
3:37
on the potato. The eyes are where the
3:39
sprouts come through. So yeah, as you
3:42
can see, the eyes are more at the top of
3:45
that. So all I'll do is basically pop
3:49
them in to these containers like that,
3:53
face upwards, so that they start
3:55
sprouting.
3:59
Like I said, egg cartons are probably
4:00
usually better for doing this, but they
4:02
can get pretty damp, so you've got to be
4:05
careful about them. So, just stand them
4:08
up like so in these trays.
4:17
Obviously, if they start sprouting at
4:19
the bottom, you can turn them around and
4:21
put them where the sprouts start coming
4:23
through. But yeah, the eyes are pretty
4:26
easy to find on these.
4:43
And this just encourages better growth
4:45
on the potatoes and hopefully getting
4:48
some great rewards from them.
4:52
So yeah, those are done. So, we need to
4:56
keep us label with them so that we know
4:57
which variety they are and we'll put
5:00
them into our mini greenhouse to start
5:02
chitting in a second. So, let's do all
5:04
the rest.
5:07
So, right, we put them all into the seed
5:09
trays and we know which varieties are
5:12
which. So, we just need to pop them into
5:14
the mini greenhouse now on the shelving
5:16
so that they can start chitting and
5:19
hopefully secure away from the rats and
5:21
the mice and the squirrels.
5:23
So yeah, let's get all them moved and
5:25
put on the mini greenhouse.
5:29
So that is all the potatoes on the
5:31
shelves with the seed packets on each
5:34
tray so that we know which varieties of
5:37
seed potatoes we've got growing. And
5:40
yeah, make sure that you keep them
5:42
labeled up. You need to know what
5:43
varieties are which and when they'll be
5:45
ready for harvesting at different times.
5:47
If you've not seen the video on what's
5:50
the difference between earies, first
5:52
earies, second earies, main crops, have
5:54
a look at that video and it explains it
5:56
all. But yeah, they'll be ready to
5:58
plant. We'll be planting as on Good
6:00
Friday as that is when I usually plant
6:03
them. Yes, it moves every year, but it's
6:05
an old gardener's tail that you plant
6:07
them on Good Friday. It's to do with the
6:08
moon, so that is what I've always stuck
6:10
to doing. So, yeah, we'll leave those in
6:13
there and we'll plant them out on Good
6:15
Friday. So stay tuned for that video.
6:20
So I hope you've enjoyed that video on
6:22
us chitting our potatoes and found it
6:24
useful. And let me know in the comments
6:26
if you're going to be cheating your
6:28
potatoes or not and if you've got any
6:30
yet and what varieties you're going to
6:31
be growing. So until next time everyone
6:34
remember keep smiling, keep shining and
6:36
keep gardening. We're better everyone.
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