Time to start chitting!

Yes it’s time to buy your seed potatoes from the Ashley Down Allotment shop and start chitting them! Seed potatoes arrived on Feb 9th and are now available.
Buy soon while stocks last!

If you’ve never done this before, chitting is the process of giving the seed potatoes a head start before you plant them, by setting them upright in trays in a cool, light place (but not in direct sunlight). An ideal location is a garage or an outhouse where you arrange the potatoes with their “eyes” pointing upwards. This will encourage the potatoes to develop sprouts which grow  towards the light. After about 6-8 weeks of chitting the potatoes will be ready to plant out into the ground.

Although chitting is not absolutely essential, it is a way to ensure that potatoes are ready to put on rapid growth when you finally plant them out.

The Ashley Down allotment shop is located in Station Road, off Ashley Down Road and has a good selection of 1st Early, 2nd Early and Maincrop potatoes. It also has lots of other seeds and essential allotment supplies. For more details go to the Allotment Supplies section of this website