The seed potatoes arrived in netting bags in a box. So far so good. What I didn't realise was that I should have sorted out some sort of storage for them. When I went to open the bags to taken out some for chitting, some of the potatoes in the bag at the bottom of the box looked like they has a bit of moisture on them. Not good. Thankfully it appears that no real damage has been done and I have left the potatoes out on the table overnight on a layer of newspaper to allow those affected to dry off.
Pink Fir Apple seed potatoes on a bed of saturday's guardian
I'm guessing then that they need somewhere dark with more air circulation. We have inherited a wire veg rack that was in the cupboard when we moved in and we have yet to find a use for it. As we can only have 18 seed potatoes chitting right now (our 3 potato planters only take 6 each at a time) I need to be able to store the remainder before they are chitted for successional sowing. I am thinking that a cardboard tray lined with shredded paper might do the trick and I can use the wire veggie rack to put the trays on.
On the bright side, the roseval seed potatoes are happily chitting away out in the kitchen as this is the coldest room in the house. I'll have to move them out for a time each evening whilst cooking though.
4 comments:
Stop! Don't put them in the dark as you'll get stringy white shoots that'll break when you plant them.
I chit mine on the windowsill of the coldest room in the house, laid out on a piece of cardboard and they develop small, tight, purplish shoots.
Pink Fir Apple is delicious though prone to disease! But you can keep a close eye on them.
Ok, ok! : )
I read that pink fir apple is slow to chit so they should be started off in the dark until shoots appear then move to a windowsill.
The ones I was planning to store in the dark are those that I am unable to sow straight away. How would you store your seed potatoes that will be sown a bit later?
I'd just delay sowing them but keep them in a bright cool place. In my experience the strong sprouts just get a bit bigger and a bit darker - this happened last year when I delayed sowing the seed potatoes for the allotment by a month.
Thanks John - I've sorted out a open top tray lined with a bit of shredded newspaper for them to lie on. I've put the pink fir apple in the dark temporarily until the shoots begin to show and then they will come out into the daylight too.
I am dubious about a couple of the seed pots though that look a bit sort of wrinkly and feel a bit soft. That doesn't seem good to me. Should I just dispose of these do you think?
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