Planting

hi all , could you tell me when i plant early potatoes, i no you have to chip them first,  do i buy some now to start. thanks.

"Chit" -not chip

Have had mine chitting for weeks-a lot of places are now reducing seed potatoes-so you will need to be quick-as for planting-they dont like cold, wet, or frost-at the earliest the end of the month-but it depends

hi pondman01  my potatoes are CHITTING nicely still in my shed and i will be planting them in the next couple of weeks depending on the weather

Early potatoes grow best if they have chitted. Doesn't matter so much with late ones. It's best that the leaves come up after the frosts have passed, so, depending where you live, April is fine. Tradition is Good Friday, but Easter is early this year and it moves about and Good Friday may not be convenient!!

Thanks all it looks like i will have to get busy and get some now to start the process thanks all for the replys.

Pondman I hope you are O.K. with me hijacking your question but it seems a very similair topic. This is my first go at potatoes and I bought a load of seed potatoes about 4 weeks ago. I was told to put them somewhere cold and dark in trays and then move them somewhere light about 2 weeks before planting. They are chitting away some with sprouts about an inch long and am now worried they have chitted too early. Does anyone know if it is O.K. to still leave  planting them till April which was my original intention.

Who said put them somehere cold and dark?-they need light-then you get nice compact shoots-the shoots are long because they have been searching for light.

Thanks,I'll shift them tommorrow. I have had another look at them and it is just a few which have the long shoots. Have you any thoughts about how I might make the best of a bad job if I still feel April is the earliast I can put them in. I can't remeber who advised me to leave them in the cellar but hopefully I'll learn to be better advised in the future.

Get them into a cool but well lit spot as soon as you can-they should be ok

I would get them in as soon as you can - dig out a trench to plant them in and pile the earth to one side of each row then plant and cover with some of the soil to give a pile then trench then pile - if frost likely then cover with fleece from pile on one side to pile on other thus trapping warmer air over your potatoes

I think it's too early to plant potatoes, the leaves are meant to come up when the frosts are over and it's very cold at the moment. Ian's potatoes will be fine in the light.

hi all again, i got some seed potatoes the other day with long shoots coming i am going to plant mine about easter time, hopfully the frosts might have eased by then.  fingers crossed.

Hi i put row of earleys out two weeks ago and hope to have the rest in over easter if the weather is dry.

It really does depend on where you live and when you are likely to get late frosts. Early potatoes are bred to grow and crop much more quickly than main crop or late potatoes.

Frost will kill off the tops which affects the final crop.

Mine are chitting on the bathroom window sill, North facing, I will be planting all of mine in bags and pots in late March, early April. but Cornwall does not gave many late frosts.