Potato Chitting Problems ?

1st problem , and hardly started yet ! I put my seed spuds , Annan Pilot and Sarpo Miras , into the unheated greenhouse to chit . Put them in on the 24th of Feb - so 4 and a half weeks ago. No signs of chitting on any potato so far . When the beast from the east struck in early March , we had no snow but temps were -5°c for 2 days . Has this effected the spuds ? Should I buy new stock ( only planting a handful ) ?
TIA

 

I’m nowhere near as experienced as some of the folk we’re lucky to have on here, but I’d say it has done some sort of damage. The beast that is.. I would have thought in over 4 weeks, that you’d have an array of 1” shoots around and near to the rose end.

My advice is to bite the bullet and replace them. When you consider that the ideal time to get in your first earlys is around the beginning of April, and your main crop around mid April, time isn’t on your side in this case as such. So although they’re double the price spuds for you this year, some, are a lot better than none at all.

Good lucky buddy!

 

Simliar problem, this ones been in the car thru the snow.

 

My reply above is on the basis of you wanting spuds this year and want the odds on your side. So it’s dependent on yourself mate. If you’re happy to gamble and plant the seed spuds as is, then don’t bother picking up replacements. The ones you have may we’ll be absolutely fine. Some people don’t even bother with the chitting process at all so keep that in mind.

 

If they've been lost to frost, I thought they'd be showing signs of spoilage by now..


Put some in a tray of moist MPC, place somewhere warm, and you should see roots appearing within 2 or 3 days




Plus, if they are frost damaged, warmth might accelerate signs of spoilage showing.

 

Thanks all for the advice. I have brought the suspect ones indoors and placed in moist MPC.
Also nipped up to the GC and bought another two bags. These are already starting to chit , as they were in clear plastic bags. Got them in the GH on the egg boxes now. Should be OK for planting out in containers first weekend in April.

 

It may not have been obvious from my image above, but those spuds were covered by the MPC and I only drew back some of it to expose the eyes and show the fine white roots growing from them.

The shoots were only tiny on those Sarpo Mira before burying them, having hardly grown since buying them on 13th February, but doing so (last Friday, 4 days ago) has really kick started both shoot and root growth.

 

@Scrungee , I had only 3/4 covered them . All are now fully covered with damp MPC

 

I've got spuds that I bought for eating sprouting in my garage.
Funnily enough the PFA and King Edwards I bought for seed are not.

Not bothered, they will do at some stage.

 

Mine had gone soft and limp after the cold weather so I splashed out 2/- on a nice firm new one

 

2 bob was a bit steep Zigs?

Now we're leaving the EU, will we be going back to LSD and imperial? That would really confuse the younger generation

 

The one it replaced cost 3/6d

They already sell baccy in ounce pouches and Travis Perkins sell boxes of nails in inches

Doc says I shouldn't go back to LSD though

 

I've always bought mine by the pound.

 

I buy my nails singly , really annoys the staff at Screwfix when I ask for delivery