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Organic Gardening Container Gardening

prepping potatoes for planting

last year

was going to container bag grow some potatoes. never did it but would like to try it out. bought some organic potatoes and am ready to prep the potatoes. confused about how to do it. some say place on a window sill and some say place in a brown paper bag. anyone have an answer? was going to use 7 or 10 gal bags.

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Comments (6)

kevin9408
last year
There are two ways to do it and complicated. The first one is...... place in dirt and water. The second way is let potatoes sit any place warm above 50, but not in the light until you start seeing eyes starting to sprout and than.....place in dirt and water.

Potatoes can be cut into pieces with at least two eyes and weigh at least 3 ounces but should sit for a day before ..... placing in dirt, or can be cut and immediately..... placed in the dirt. There is no benefit using a big potato for a seed and will do no better than a small potato or a 3 to 4 oz piece.
jerry
Original Author
last year
thanks for your idea.
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beesneeds
last year
Chitting can be done with indirect sunlight or in a bag. Or both. Some folks do it in the bag that they came in from the store while it's sitting on the counter- usually by accident rather than with the purpose of planting them. The point is, you provide the potato with some warm and light to wake the potato up. Normally potatoes should be stored cooler, darker to keep them in their dormant state that we eat them in.

Putting them in a windowsill gives them the warm for chitting. Putting them in a paper bag can help control the light and make it mellower. Also can help maintain the moisture level of the potato better than leaving it out in the open. This can help trigger the eyes more than or quicker than the chlorophyll production in the skin. Also, greening in the skin indicates the development of solanine, the toxin of the family :) Once a potato is chitted, the new growth can be in the sun to grow while the tuber does it's thing under the dirt.

Chitting a potato is a bit akin to sprouting a seed before transplanting into the garden. You are providing the conditions for the potato to start it's growth phase before planting it instead of direct seeding it. Chitting is not absolutely necessary. For many gardeners it helps ensure success much like starting seed indoors before transplanting out helps ensure success with those plants.
kevin9408
last year
Beesneeds, I did not know there was a name for letting potatoes sprout before planting. I do it to get a head start in the spring so late potatoes have a better chance getting big, with enough time to set skin before digging. Chitting, thanks.
Mani Gupta
last year
I cut potatoes ususally like Kevin recommended as it increases the number of healthy plants. I normally plant them in bed and now each year new plant sporut themselves as there are always small potatoes which is left in the dirt.
jerry
Original Author
last year
bought some organic golds. got them in a bag in the basement. am going to florida for a few weese and when i get back they should be ready to start. thanks

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