Potato Help please

[korolev]

Wifey has had some seed potatos delivered. does she need to "chit" them before planting or can they go straight in the mud ?

[hobo]

Yes, chit them. Mine took 2-3 weeks.

[itsybitsy]

Wifey has had some seed potatos delivered. does she need to "chit" them before planting or can they go straight in the mud ?

I've they are already sprouted when they arrive then they can go straight in. I ordered two lots this year and chucked them straight into the pots.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Chuck them in farmers don't chit them ... One old farmer I know chops them in 2 if they have 2 eyes...

Quick YouTube brings this up

https://www.google.com/search?q=plantin ... e&ie=UTF-8

[jansman]

Same as Andy. Never bother to chit them. Bung ‘ em in, they’ll grow.

[hobo]

Suppose I'm by-the-book

[daylen]

I don't mean to hijack the thread but... I've not really grown a lot of potatoes so was reading up about them and whether I could simply grow them from sprouting shop bought spuds.

All the articles I read said you can but you risk a build up of disease as seed potatoes are grown in strict conditions and are tested to be disease free.

With this in mind, are potatoes a viable SHTF crop? I mean, if they build up disease and need strict controls, home-grown crops that are replanted would become dangerous after a few years, wouldn't they? Or is this talk just protectionism from the seed potato growers?! A bit like the old tales about mandrake root!

[Nurseandy]

I've always grown them using old potatoes from the kitchen. No problems with disease just make sure you plant them in a different area each year. You can eventually return to the original position.

[diamond lil]

I just throw them in the ground. I used to use ordinary kitchen potatoes that had got old, this year I bought seed tatties.

[Yorkshire Andy]

I don't mean to hijack the thread but... I've not really grown a lot of potatoes so was reading up about them and whether I could simply grow them from sprouting shop bought spuds.

All the articles I read said you can but you risk a build up of disease as seed potatoes are grown in strict conditions and are tested to be disease free.

With this in mind, are potatoes a viable SHTF crop? I mean, if they build up disease and need strict controls, home-grown crops that are replanted would become dangerous after a few years, wouldn't they? Or is this talk just protectionism from the seed potato growers?! A bit like the old tales about mandrake root!

Over time you can get diseases in the soil ...but what do the farmers grow ..... Which is what we get in sacks from the supermarket..... Crop rotation even in a small ISH veg garden is key. I'm on a 3/4 year rotation on the allotment to try and keep pests at bay be it onions and bottom end rot or similar...