Starting to chit seed potatoes...

I've been collecting egg boxes ready to chit my seed potatoes. You can chit them in trays but the individual compartments in egg boxes make it a bit easier as they sit in there neatly. I put them into the boxes and then they need to go in a cool light place free from the risk of frost.

I use the boxes for the first earlies to begin with.

Some people think that chitting potatoes is
a waste of time and makes no difference to the end result others think it gets them off to a good start.  You could trial it for yourself by planting some that had been chitted and some that had not... but I just go with the traditional way here and put them to chit.

Deciding which way up to put them can be a bit of a mystery - it is my third potato growing season and I still stare at some and wonder have I put them the right way up to chit. You need the blunter looking end with the eyes upwards in the box/tray,  I have read. It does help if they have started to make the beginnings of tiny shoots, I do n't spend ages deciding which way to put them - if it is the wrong way up I can turn it over later no big deal.

You need to start the chitting process at the right time for the area/region you live.  As it is usually colder in the North of the country then in the South people will start to chit their potatoes earlier.. because they will be planting them out earlier as the soil will warm up sooner. The potatoes only grow once the soil has reached a certain temperature and should not be planted until the risk of frost has ended.

If you have not bought or ordered seed potatoes you may be able to buy them later on in the season but the choice of varieties becomes more limited later in the season as the more popular varieties of seed potato sell out.
Potatoes come in : First Early,  Second Early , and Main Crop.

 First Earlies are the ones that are ready first to use as new potatoes in the spring when they are still expensive to buy in the shops.

I write about growing potatoes and other vegetables on my HubPages collection of pages I will add a link for these...