The potato is the perfect starter vegetable. It needs no raising on the windowsill, forgives beginner mistakes and rewards you in the very first year with a harvest to be proud of. A single planted tuber often turns into a dozen new ones by summer.
Two simple actions decide head start and yield: chitting before planting and earthing up during growth. Both are quickly explained and quickly done. This article shows you how to get both right and what matters when planting.
Chitting brings the head start
Chitting means bringing the seed potatoes into the light four to six weeks before planting. From around mid March set them out bright and cool at about 10 to 15 degrees in an egg carton or a shallow box, the eyes facing up. Short, sturdy, greenish-purple sprouts form.
Such chitted tubers get going immediately after planting and give you two to three weeks head start. That is worth gold above all with early potatoes and helps to outgrow late blight in late summer.
Planting: spacing and depth
Plant as soon as the soil has dried off and warmed a little, usually from mid April. Draw a furrow around ten centimetres deep and lay the tubers in with the sprouts facing up. In the row keep about 30 centimetres spacing, between the rows around 70, because later you will need the soil for earthing up.
Potatoes love loose, humus-rich soil and a sunny spot. Waterlogging they dislike. The young foliage does not tolerate frost, so in a late cold snap a light earthing up or a fleece helps.
Earthing up: no ritual but yield
When earthing up you draw the soil from both sides against the plant with a hoe, as soon as the foliage is about 20 centimetres high, and repeat it once or twice. This is not an old custom but brings solid advantages.
Why earthing up pays off
- More tubers
New tubers form on the shoots under the soil. The more shoot you cover with loose soil, the more starting points for new potatoes arise.
- Protection from greening
Tubers that reach the light turn green and form poisonous solanine. The earth ridge keeps them dark and therefore edible.
- Support for the plant
The earthed-up ridge props up the haulms, which otherwise fall apart easily in wind and rain.
- Less weeding
While earthing up you at the same time work in the weeds between the rows. Two jobs with one action.
How you grow potatoes
Chit from mid March
Set out seed potatoes bright and cool until short, sturdy sprouts form. That brings the harvest head start.
Plant from mid April
Lay into a furrow ten centimetres deep, sprouts up, 30 centimetres in the row, 70 between the rows.
Earth up from 20 centimetres height
Draw soil from both sides against the foliage, repeat once or twice, until a clear ridge stands.
Harvest after the foliage dies down
Early potatoes from June as young tubers, main-crop potatoes once the foliage has died back, dug up on a dry day.
Chit for the head start, earth up for the yield. Two simple actions turn one tuber into a whole bucket.
The core rule for potatoes
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to chit potatoes before planting?
It is not necessary, but it pays off. Chitted tubers start faster and crop two to three weeks earlier. Set them out bright and cool four to six weeks beforehand until short, sturdy sprouts appear.
When do I plant potatoes?
From mid April, as soon as the soil has dried off and warmed a little. Tubers planted too early only lie cold in the ground. In case of late frost risk, a light earthing up or fleece protects the young foliage.
Why do you have to earth up potatoes?
Earthing up brings more tubers, because new ones form on the covered shoots. At the same time the earth ridge keeps the tubers dark, so they do not turn green and poisonous, and gives the plants support. It also replaces weeding between the rows.
Why do potatoes turn green and are they still edible?
Tubers turn green when they catch light, usually because they lie too shallow or too little earthing up was done. The green signals poisonous solanine. Small green patches you cut away generously, heavily greened tubers belong in the bin.
When can I harvest potatoes?
Early potatoes give tender young tubers from June, as soon as the plant flowers. Main-crop potatoes you harvest once the foliage has died down, on a dry day. Then the skin is firm and the tubers keep for months, cool and dark.
