Home > Projects >

How to Chit Potatoes

You will need: Seed Potatoes, Seed Tray, Egg Box

Chitting is the practice of encouraging potatoes to start to shoot before you plant them. It makes it easier to pick good potatoes to plant and helps them get off to a rapid start. Buying seed potatoes each year is preferable to saving your own, as you always have fresh, clean stock.

Best time to do it:

Step 1

Use fresh, healthy tubers each year and discard any that show signs of rot or damage.

Step 2

Each of these 'eyes' will grow into a stem that will feed the root system and encourage lots of delicious potatoes.

Step 3

Put the potatoes in a seed tray or egg box to chit, with the end showing the most eyes uppermost.

Step 4

Place them in a cool, frost-free, well-lit spot to let the eyes develop. Once they are around 1cm long, the potatoes are ready to be planted out. Keep them the same way up as you plant and they will soon start to grow.

Related FAQs

Ask a gardening question:

Latest Gardening News

How to Make a Christmas Wreath: A Step by Step Guide

Why Poinsettias Mean Christmas: The Festive Flower's Surprising History and Symbolism

Essential Gardening Jobs for Early Winter

Essential Gardening Jobs for Late Autumn

Gardening Projects for January

---

How to pH Test Soil

How to Propagate Mistletoe

How to Make a Bird Feeder

How to: Maintenance Pruning

Latest Gardening Videos

---

When and how should I prune a jostaberry?

How to Grow Orchids

How do I insulate my greenhouse?

How should I overwinter a potted Canna lily?

Why are there brown / black marks on my Hellebores?

How do I protect container plants from the cold?

All Videos

Explore Gardens from Around the World

Pamplemousses Botanical Garden
Pamplemousses, Mauritius

Humble Administrator's Garden
Suzhou, China

Medellin Botanical Garden
Medellin, Columbia

Majorelle Garden
Marrakesh, Morocco

Gardens of Versailles
Versailles, France

Nongnooch Tropical Garden
Pattaya, Thailand