Getting Potatoes Ready for Planting in Spring

Before the warmer spring weather arrives begin by sprouting or ‘chitting’ seed potatoes to give them a good start, improving early growth. Chitted potatoes will emerge 2–3 weeks earlier than un-chitted ones.

Stand the seed potatoes in egg cartons with the end where most eyes are concentrated facing uppermost. Leave them somewhere protected from frosts, and with good light, but

not in direct sunlight. If left in the dark, the shoots will be long and white and easily damaged. Aim for short, sturdy sprouts - if they grow too long or leggy, reduce the temperature or increase the amount of light they get.

Small, green shoots will appear in 3-6 weeks. Once they are roughly a finger length, they are ready to plant. Plant outdoors, or in buckets, after the risk of frost.

Seed Potatoes: - it is best to use certified disease free seed potatoes as they are purpose-grown to maximise the likelihood of healthy, high-yielding crops and minimise the opportunity for disease. Planting a potato from the supermarket, or a leftover from the previous year's crop leads to lower yields and the potential of disease as the tuber may have been infected with viruses spread from plant to plant by aphids.

In addition it is not always possible to tell the variety of a potato by looking at it and hence it’s best use - boil, fry, roast, bake, is unknown.

Certified seed potatoes also tend to produce cleaner, more attractive and uniformly sized potatoes, which store well.

Tips for Success

Begin chitting 6–8 weeks before the last expected frost date.

Large seed potatoes can be cut into smaller pieces (each with at least one “eye” to sprout). Let the cut surfaces dry for a day or two to prevent rot.

Don’t overcrowd or stack potatoes on top of each other, as this can lead to weak sprouts.

Remove any weak or diseased tubers as they are not worth growing on.

Advantages

Chitting is a way to break the potato's dormancy, so the tuber starts to grow as soon as it is planted rather than sitting and possibly rotting in cold spring soil.

Pre-sprouting encourages stronger sturdy, healthy plants less prone to disease.

Early growth gives potatoes a longer growing season, leading to higher yields.

Seed potatoes are now available at Mitre 10, Bunnings, The Warehouse and plant nurseries ready for you to give it a go.