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Seed potatoes - already started to sprout

polbpolb Posts: 198
in Fruit & veg
Hi, I had some seed potatoes delivered about a month ago and left them in their box in a cool dark place. I have just got them out to place them in a cool light place for chitting and they have already started to sprout (inch or so). I didn't plan on planting them in the ground outside until next month. Last year they caught the frost. Should I leave them to chit some more? Plant them? Not sure what would be best?

Posts

  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Put them somewhere light, frost free but cool and out of direct sun. The sprouts you have now are probably yellow/white/pink and rather spindly? What you ideally want are stout greeny purple sprouts. Mine are on a north facing windowsill in egg boxes so each one isn't touching the rest. The anaemic shoots you get in the dark should colour up and toughen up if you put them in the light now, as soon as possible.

    As a rule, I get my seed potatoes out of the box/dark around Valentines Day and they stay on the windowsill until the first weekend or so in April - so about 6 weeks - to chit. Sometimes it's a bit less but as you say, leave them much beyond the end of Feb and they start to chit themselves.

    I agree it's much too soon to plant them in the ground. They may be OK in pots if you can warm the compost up by putting it a greenhouse or the like. But generally it's better not to be in too much of a hurry
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • polbpolb Posts: 198
    Thank you that's really helpful and good to know! I'll go and make sure they are not touching!  :)
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