3 April 2008
Idiot chitting
Ahem.
Let me preface this post by saying that I have been rather distracted by work over the last couple of months so my potager concentration has not been what it might have been. Honestly.
Plus I feel utterly ashamed and stupid. So be gentle with me, OK?
So, I finally got around to planting out my potatoes today. The potatoes that have been stuck in their box since I took delivery of them. Not in trays. Not on a light windowsill. Not even taken out of their plastic net bags. Safe to say, this is not a good way to chit one’s potatoes – but then you knew that already, didn’t you? Here’s what greeted me when I opened the box:
I won’t humiliate myself further by detailing the tedious process of exuming the seed pots from this impenetrable tangle of shoots, but let’s just say that my penance is well and truly paid. I rubbed off the enormous reaching shoots and have planted what appeared to be the strongest tubers and I am now crossing my fingers. Does anyone think for a minute that they will actually grow? Words of encouragement, please.
Filed under: Dos & Don'ts, Hard labour — Clare @ 5:13 pm
they’ll grow, don’t worry
i planted similar looking spuds from the back of the kitchen cupboard last year. It was an experiment, when i found them i thought, oh, these have well and truly chitted.. i know, plant em! so i did. and to my surprise, i got a crop off em. not a huge one, cos i didn’t earth up properly, and the slugs and snails got a lot of the foliage, but enough for 2 meals of salad spuds, and it was good enough to encourage me this year to go get proper disease free seed spuds (which are, as i write, chitting in the bedroom. they were chitting in the bathroom. couple my propensity to say “ch” sounds as “sh” sounds due to my deafness and you understand why i get either odd looks or giggles when i say that).
so anyway. if mine, which had been abandoned at the back of the kitchen cupboard, forgotten about, weren’t certified seed free or anything like that… came good, yours will too!
keth
xx
(04.04.08 @ 11:29 am)
Course they’ll grow! No problem at all. Bung ‘em in quick and I’ll bet good money you’ll get a fine crop. Potatoes are dead forgiving.
(06.04.08 @ 11:29 am)
They’ll grow fine. Chits can be rubbed off 4 times before it has a detrimental effect on the potatoes. It’s also interesting to note that commercial growers don’t chit their potatoes anyway, so there is no way you are losing out! Good luck.
(06.04.08 @ 12:27 pm)
Reassuring words – phew!
(07.04.08 @ 10:02 am)
Phew for me too, cos I bought some others this weekend, as mine look like your pic – not as bad tho (joke!).
Glad to know from veg monkey about 4 times before its a problem…my sort of gardening!
(07.04.08 @ 4:38 pm)
I’m sure you will get lots of potatoes. Everyone makes mistakes and potatoes are very forgiving.
(09.04.08 @ 1:53 am)
Looks like the ones i planted last year! and i got decent crop from them..Makes me wonder why bother to chit
(09.04.08 @ 10:23 pm)
Ahh, they look very familiar!! Our’s have come up and looked very healthy til the frost got them. We have been reassured by fellow allotmenteers that all will be fine!
Perhaps idiot chitting is the way to go!!
(30.05.08 @ 3:50 pm)