Know Why Chitting Potatoes and How

Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting growing potatoes for the first time this year, this is what you want to know about why chitting potatoes and how to give your potatoes the best start possible, before they have even gone in the ground.Know why chitting potatoes and how

You are right as that is one of the easiest ways to get potatoes a head start.

Let your potatoes or seed potatoes sprout.  Then cut the potatoes so that each piece has a part of the sprouted potato.

This is how I and dear hubby have always planted potatoes.

I just didn't know it was called "hitting".  Who knew?

I didn't know that potatoes have a bum. So when chitting in an egg box or something to keep them from not touching put them bum down, which is the way they want to be to grow :)

Anne Miller wrote:You are right as that is one of the easiest ways to get potatoes a head start.

Let your potatoes or seed potatoes sprout.  Then cut the potatoes so that each piece has a part of the sprouted potato.

This is how I and dear hubby have always planted potatoes.

I just didn't know it was called "hitting".  Who knew?

Is there a minimum size for the piece of potato? I'm always worried that I might cut them too small...

As long as there is at least one eye has worked for us.

No eyes and the potato cannot sprout.

Another way to do this "chitting" is to leave the potato whole and wait for it to sprout as the OP suggested.

Here is some additional information on "chitting" that you or others might find interesting:

https://permies.com/t/32568/Potato-chitting-advice-newbie

I'm just commenting on the beautiful photos... First email I open in the morning while the house is quiet... after a nice dream that's still lingering... and here are some potatoes appearing to float in space, demonstrating that they are ready for planting.    

If the sprouts have developed a fuzz, are they still fine to plant?  I too have done this only by accident having left them on the countertop too long (only buy organic potatoes, and you have some to plant!) but I've been worried about the ones with fuzz, or the potatoes themselves with slime on them, so those ones I have composted instead of planted, concerned about bringing a disease to the potato bed.  Could I have planted either of those sprouts?

Don't let your potatoes dry out!
Don't cut your potatoes too small!
The sprouts use what is left of the potato and the moisture left in that to keep feeding the sprout and growing!
Once cut let the cut pieces heal a bit before planting.

Can''t get potatoes to grow? Try different methods of 'planting'.
     Use the 'Back to Eden' method with wood chips.
     Try potato bags/barrels/boxes.
     Try the 'Back to Eden' method using other materials to cover the potatoes.
     Try furrowing in the soil when planting, cover lightly then add soil covering while the plants grow.

Consistent watering works wonders on potatoes, especially just before and during blooming time.

When you cut the potatoes into smaller areas for planting, do you need to allow the exposed flesh to dry before planting? I’ve read some about that for minimizing fungus and such but I usually don’t plan ahead far enough in advance of good weather to get this done. I wondered if I could cut them and plant them immediately with the exposed side still fresh?

Jessie: from the article ". Remove any potatoes which may have gone mouldy as this could affect healthy ones."

Hi Amy,

I always dab the cut end of my seed potatoes in wood ash or allow them a couple days to callous over so they're sealed. I've heard this helps prevent disease. Good luck!

Here’s a small potato from last year’s harvest that didn’t make it to the dinner table. Do I plant this creature sideways so as not to disrupt the sprout or do I trim it down before burying it?

Darin Redding wrote:Hi Amy,

I always dab the cut end of my seed potatoes in wood ash or allow them a couple days to callous over so they're sealed. I've heard this helps prevent disease. Good luck!

I have wood ash and today may be the only beautiful day forecasted in awhile. I may try this, thanks Darin!

I've read that the optimum number of shoots for a good potato harvest is three. Too many and you get lots of tiny potatoes, too few and you get few but large potatoes.
I've also heard that it makes no difference whether or not you chit them.
Has anyone done any experiments on this? Maybe it depends on your climate, or the potato variety.

I have been chitting my potatoes for years (didn't know there was a name for it lol).  Last year I chitted my potatoes, and I think I cut my seed potatoes into too small of pieces.  I didn't get a good crop like I had before.  Sorry can't remember who responded and said leave at least three sprouts per piece...I will try that this year.  

To speed up the process of chitting, I have been placing them in my worm bin.  The conditions in there are so favourable that the potatoes are fully chitted with sprouts and roots in about a week.  Not only, that but the worm activity and castings around those developing new roots is a great way to introduce microrhiza and fungi which will benefit the plant through out its life.  

Jack...I have a worm bin...sorry for my stupid question...do you place the potatoes on top of everything in the bin?

Amy Sauke wrote:Here’s a small potato from last year’s harvest that didn’t make it to the dinner table. Do I plant this creature sideways so as not to disrupt the sprout or do I trim it down before burying it?

I've produced potatoes by just planting a similar long sprout or sprouts just bury all but the tip. You can even loop it a bit so It's not stretched out quite so far.

Alaska gardener here - potato paradise.

Disease can come into your garden on potatoes  we buy certified seed potato from a local farm, I highly recommend supporting any local organic certified seed potato farms near you.  The cost vs value of what we produce makes it worth every penny!

Every year when we harvest and sort for the root cellar we reserve the little ones to be next year's seed potatoes.  Thus we rarely buy new seed potato and never waste time cutting up potatoes before planting, we just leave the small ones whole (sprouts pointing up toward the sun).

Remember to rotate beds!!! DO NOT PLANT IN THE SAME PLACE AS PRIOR 3 YEARS.
Folks who ask me for solutions to their gardening issues (especially pest & disease) can almost never answer "yes" when I ask if they're rotating beds.  A roundabout way to say - failure to rotate beds creates many problems.

When harvesting potatoes remove all the plant scraps from your garden - DO NOT TILL IN POTATO FOLIAGE.  Leave crop residue in the field or worse - tilling it in is a great way to get scab or other potato problems in your soil.  Instead put all that greenery into your compost pile and let it completely decompose before you even think about adding it back into your garden.

Those are the *maybe not totally obvious* issues that I see come up with growing potatoes.

Nancy Reading wrote:I've read that the optimum number of shoots for a good potato harvest is three. Too many and you get lots of tiny potatoes, too few and you get few but large potatoes.
I've also heard that it makes no difference whether or not you chit them.
Has anyone done any experiments on this? Maybe it depends on your climate, or the potato variety.

I have already 'planted' whole potatoes underneath a thick layer of baled grass in a 4 ft X 4 ft raised bed planter. Hopefully they will produce well. We just started having warmer weather in East Central Indiana as of last Sat./Sun. but, we may still have some frost nights coming. SO, we'll see if these potatoes do well.