Helpful information
Timing: Late January to end February
Where to do it: Indoors
Garden space: Small garden, large garden, balcony
Sprouting or chitting potatoes is a fun activity to do. It is simply the process of forcing seed potatoes into growth before they are planted out.
- This is a light physical task, involving very gentle motions
- The opportunity to watch your potatoes sprout and anticipate the growth and harvest to come
- Learning about the different and unique ways new food crops are produced
It is not absolutely necessary to chit potatoes before you plant them. It does give them a head start on potatoes which have not been chitted. In turn, this may give you a slightly earlier and bigger harvest.
Commercial growers don't bother chitting potatoes as it would be too time consuming to do. They keep them dormant in cold storage just under 4 degrees Celsius and then plant out when the soil warms up to around 6-7 degrees Celsius.
If you are new to growing potatoes, you might want to try chitting some and not chitting others to see the difference. Record your results later in the summer.
When you grow something from seed to the plate, there’s a real sense of achievement.
Mark, Thrive client gardener
About seed potatoes
Make sure you use seed potatoes for chitting and growing at home. Seed potatoes are specifically sold for planting, rather than cooking and eating.
You can buy seed potatoes from your local garden centre or nursery in small bags or sacks. You can also order the type you like online.
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Sign upYou can generally start chitting potatoes from late January into February. Seed potatoes need 4 to 6 weeks of chitting before they are ready to plant. This will give them a chance to sprout and start putting on growth.
If you start chitting at this time, your potatoes will be ready for planting in mid-March to April, or when the soil temperature reaches about 6-10 degrees. The warmer the soil temperature the better, as they will not do well in cold, wet soil.
Where you live will probably affect when you decide to chit your seed potatoes. If you are somewhere colder, you may want to wait a bit to avoid late frosts.
Essential items
- Seed potatoes (see above)
- Egg boxes
- A pen/pencil
- Labels/stickers
Gather all the items you need to complete this task first. Then, follow these steps to chit potatoes with ease.
Equipment ready for chitting potatoes
Step 1: Check your seed potatoes
Open your bag of seed potatoes and check none of them are damaged or mouldy. Remove any that don't look healthy.
Step 2: Position your seed potatoes
Seed potatoes placed in egg boxes
Position your seed potatoes in egg boxes. Carefully place one seed potato in each compartment.
Make sure the rose end is facing up. This is the blunt end with the most little buds, or eyes. New sprouts or shoots will form from these. The heel of the potato should face down. This is the narrow end of the potato where it was cut from the vine.
Top tip
If you don't have an empty egg box, any container with dividers will do. You could make your own using cardboard. Make sure there is space between each potato, or they could become damp and mouldy.
Step 3: Label your potatoes
Label your seed potatoes with the variety name and the date. This will let you know how long they have been chitting for.
If you are chitting different varieties, it can help to only have one variety per egg box.
Step 4: Find a suitable space to chit them
Seed potatoes chitting in egg boxes
Place your seed potatoes in a light, dry room, in a porch, on a windowsill or in a greenhouse if you have one.
The ideal temperature for chitting seed potatoes is cool but nowhere near freezing, or they can get damaged. Avoid high temperatures, for example a heated room, as this can cause the seed potatoes to shrivel. Around 7-12 degrees Celsius is the ideal temperature.
Somewhere that gets indirect light all day is ideal. Too little light and the sprouts will be long, spindly, and liable to break off. Ideally you want short, stubby sprouts which are deep green, almost purple in colour.
Step 5: (optional) Remove shoots except large ones
Removing shoots from a seed potato
Do this step if you would like to grow a smaller amount of larger potatoes.
After around 2 to 3 weeks, some of the new shoots on your seed potatoes will reach around 1-2cm high. Rub off most of these shoots. You can do this just using your hands. Leave 3 or 4 of the largest, strongest shoots. Each of these large shoots will grow to be a big potato.
If you would prefer to have a crop of smaller potatoes, you don't need to rub off the excess shoots.
Keep a check as they chit
Regularly check your chitting seed potatoes to make sure they are developing healthy shoots. Make sure they are not being exposed to too much heat, light, or moisture. Adjust the conditions as required and remove any potatoes which may have gone mouldy as this could affect healthy ones.
Planting out
After about 4-6 weeks your chitted potatoes should be ready to plant out. This is a rough guide to planting out times:
- Early and salad types - March
- Maincrop - April
Where you plant them is up to you and also the type of potato you are growing. Maincrop potatoes tend to be larger, and grow well in the ground. Early or salad potato varieties will do well in containers. You can buy special potato growing bags, or you can plant potatoes in old compost bags and get the same results.
Potatoes grow well in all types of soil, but the richer the better. Dig in plenty of well-rotted organic matter, such as garden compost. An open, sunny spot is best.
If you are planting in the ground, space early and salad types in trenches at least 12cm deep and 30cm apart. Have 60cm between rows. Maincrop potatoes need more space to produce a decent crop. Plant them at least 12cm deep and 38cm apart, with 75cm between rows.
Remember to plant them with the rose side facing upwards. Take care not to damage the delicate new shoots when backfilling with soil. As the soil warms up, growth develops at a brisk rate producing many new young potatoes.
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