How to chit potatoes

Forget politics, forget gossip, everyone loves potatoes. Why not grow your own this season?

Every one loves potatoes. Why not grow your own this season?

I have a roof top garden where I also grow crops in pots. Potatoes are my favorite crop because they are so easy to grow. This afternoon I decided to chit some potatoes.

Chitting potatoes simply means encouraging the tubers to sprout before planting. The easiest way to grow potatoes is in bags, bins or large containers. Here is how you can start chitting your potatoes:

Selecting potatoes
You can simply select any potato that you like the best. It's hard to find potato seeds ( which are basically baby potatoes) here in Karachi, so I use potatoes from the groccery store. Make sure the potatoes you select are healthy and do not show any signs of virus or infection.

Eyes of a Potato:
Yes, potatos have eyes. Ever noticed the black spots all over a potato? Those are its eyes from where its shoots will begin to appear.

Chitting:
Before your potatoes go in a container or a grow bag, you want them to develop shoots. To encourage that, place your potatoes in an empty egg tray or cardbord box with maximum eyes pointing upwards. Place this tray in a well lit  place but not in direct sunlight.

As soon as you see sprouts emerging, leave only 2-3 shoots on each potato and pinch off any extras.

Last year I selected a sack to grow potatoes. This year I am using a huge plastic tub. It gives me more space and I also like its color!

Lets chit some potatoes together and share our experiences.  Stay tuned to learn how my potatoes are doing in a tub and to know what to do next!