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This video explains why gardeners chit potatoes before planting and whether it improves harvest results. It shows how pre-sprouting seed potatoes can encourage earlier growth and stronger plants.
The guide covers how to chit potatoes correctly, where to place them, how long to leave them and what healthy sprouts should look like. It also explains when chitting is beneficial and when it may not be necessary.
If you want to grow potatoes successfully and maximise yields, this video provides practical beginner-friendly advice on preparing seed potatoes before planting.
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0:00
Let's chit our potatoes. But what is
0:03
chitting? Welcome to Gardening with Ben.
0:05
In today's video, we're going to be
0:07
explaining what chitting potatoes means
0:10
as I get asked the question of why we
0:12
should chit our potatoes. Some people do
0:15
it, some people don't. I tend to do it
0:18
because I've always done it and have had
0:20
great results from chitting my potatoes
0:23
before planting them. So yes, now is the
0:27
time when all the garden centers and the
0:29
shops will start getting in all their
0:31
seed potatoes.
0:33
Seed potatoes are usually better than
0:35
the shop bought potatoes from the
0:37
supermarket as they've not had any
0:39
pesticides or things growing on them.
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They're fresh and organic and great
0:46
probably usually disease resistant
0:48
potatoes. So that is why we use seed
0:51
potatoes rather than the supermarket
0:53
ones. So, what is chitting? Chitting
0:57
means when you put them in egg cartons
1:01
or in the square seed trays and you
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place the eyes facing up on them, you
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usually can see where the eyes are
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because some of them have actually
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started sprouting when you purchased
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them. When you purchase the potatoes,
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don't purchase ones that have been like
1:17
kept in the dark and stuff like that and
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they've got loads of shoots all over
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them because they're too long on them.
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They're not the sort of potatoes that
1:25
you want. You might think, "Oh, I'll get
1:27
more potatoes off them once, but you
1:29
won't actually. They won't do very
1:31
well." So, when you're purchasing your
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potatoes, make sure that they've not
1:34
started growing on them, that they're
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still pretty short and
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not much sprouts on them. So, that is
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one tip. Don't don't store the potatoes
1:46
in the dark because that's not what you
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want them to do when you're storing your
1:51
potatoes. And how to chip them is
1:54
basically you get your egg carton. You
1:56
place them so that they've stood up in
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the egg carton and the eyes are facing
2:02
up. You need to put them in somewhere
2:04
light. So like my poly tunnel and where
2:07
it's frost free because you don't want
2:10
them going getting the frost to them and
2:13
getting rock hard. And something that
2:15
I've learned from last year as well is
2:18
make sure that you don't leave them
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anywhere where rats, mice, or squirrels
2:24
can get to them because trust me, they
2:27
pinched all my potatoes last year and I
2:30
didn't grow many potatoes last year
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because they've been pinched and they
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disappeared. So yeah, make sure that
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they're somewhere safe. So, I'm going to
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store mine in my mini green houses and
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fastened up so that they can't hopefully
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fingers crossed get to them and take
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them out of there. So, that is one
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lesson that I've learned for last year.
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And with chittin, it means that it's
2:55
faster growth after planting them. It
2:58
encourages short shoot on them to form
3:02
before the potatoes go into the ground.
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This means that they'll grow more
3:05
quickly once they have plened.
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Next is that you'll get earlier harvests
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from them. It usually encourages
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harvests probably about two to three
3:18
weeks faster than what you would do with
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normally planting them. So, if you
3:23
wanted a fast harvest, get them
3:25
chittered first. Also, it encourages
3:28
stronger, healthier plants. Pre-spouted
3:30
potatoes tend to establish better,
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especially in cooler spring soil, giving
3:35
you sturdier plants. Now, I usually
3:38
plant my potatoes on Good Friday. Yes,
3:41
it moves every single year, Good Friday,
3:43
but it's an old gardener's tale where
3:46
you should plant them on Good Friday
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because it's to do with the moon. So,
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I've always stuck to that rule and
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that's when I usually plant my potatoes
3:53
out in the ground
3:55
and it makes a better use of the growing
3:58
season. In the UK, our growing season
4:03
can be tight and chitting helps potatoes
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make the most of every week of good
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weather. So, yeah, getting them in
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pretty early helps getting better,
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faster potatoes. So, that is the reason
4:16
why we chit. So, some obviously, like I
4:18
said, some people don't chit. They just
4:20
put them straight in the ground, but
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they'll take a bit longer to grow if you
4:23
just put them in the ground rather than
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chit them. So, yeah, that's what I enjoy
4:28
doing. And the reason why I like
4:29
chitting them is cuz then they're in the
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ground before I'm starting to sew all my
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seeds and cracking on with that job. So,
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that is what chitting is. So, make sure
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you stay tuned for my next video where
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I'll be talking about what the
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difference is between first earies,
4:44
second earies, and main crop potatoes as
4:47
well as I've been asked a lot of
4:48
questions about that. So, thanks for
4:51
watching today's video. Make sure you
4:52
drop us a follow to stay up to date with
4:54
all our videos. Until next time,
4:56
everyone. Remember, keep smiling, keep
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shining, and keep guarding my bed
5:00
everyone.
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