Approx 2-4 cm already started to sprout (Chit)
Traditional long-standing favourite; great flavour.
Main crop
Growing Information
Immediately upon arrival unpack your seed potatoes and keep them in trays in a light, airy, cool but frost free place for planting Feb to April.
Plant into warm soil after the risk of frost has passed.
Root development is best between 15 and 20ºC.
Test by pushing your hand into loosened soil if you can keep it there comfortably it is warm enough!
Chitting - If growing conditions are not suitable, seed potatoes which have started to sprout can be kept in good condition by placing them in a seed tray with the bud end uppermost to chit.
Give maximum available exposure to light but protect from frost.
A good chit is firm and green/purple and will not knock off easily.
Chitting speeds up growth and is particularly useful for encouraging the earliest possible crop but it does shorten the natural growing cycle at the end of the season.
Planting Potatoes are easy!
They will yield a worthwhile crop under a wide range of conditions. Traditional winter digging incorporating well-rotted farmyard manure and trenching in more manure or fertiliser in spring undoubtedly produces the best crop but is very hard work! Why not try for reasonable yields with less effort? Loams and light soils don’t need digging.
Natural organic manures or composts can be placed in contact with the seed potatoes in a shallow trench.
High potash chemical fertiliser can be placed on the surface after the tubers have been buried using a trowel or a bulb planter.
A potato fertiliser can be raked into the soil during seed bed preparations.
Growing - Earth up the rows 2 or 3 times using a rake or draw hoe before the foliage gets too extensive.
This provides enough soil cover to prevent tuber greening and is very effective in controlling weeds.
Water well in long dry spells this is especially important when the tubers are swelling.
If you water 10 days after emergence when the tubers are forming you minimise the risk of blight. It is important not to over water.
