More on "Chitting" Potatoes

If the potatoes you are "chitting" (exposing to sunlight before planting) already have extensive sprouts, and the sturdy central sprout has many small root-hairs coming off the sides, it's important that you remove those, otherwise you'll get many tiny potatoes instead of large ones. These smaller side-sprouts also hasten the dehydration of the potato and weaken its ability to thrive.

You can rub off the rootlets with your bare hands, they snap off easily. Ideally you will end up with a potato at least the size of a hen's egg with one or more strong sprouts growing out of it.

 

Potatoes on left have too many "sproutlets." On right they have been properly stripped of all but the central sprout.

Links to our other potato blogs, go to:
Sprouting Potatoes? What to do.

Do I need to buy seed potatoes?

Can I Speed Up Potato Sprouting?

"Chitting" Potatoes
How to Plant Potatoes 
Planting Potatoes in Clay Soil

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