While it is still a bit early to start putting anything in the ground, it is time to start ‘chitting’ potatoes. By putting seed potatoes in a cool, light position you can encourage them to start developing sprouts (although I’ve always found that if you leave potatoes for long enough in the bottom of the fridge this seems to happen anyway).
Having researched a bit I’m not really sure that there’s that much benefit from chitting them, except perhaps it helps them get going a bit earlier. From what I’ve read, commercial growers don’t bother with this stage and if you buy them later then you can just put them straight in the ground. Still, even if there’s no real benefit to the final potato crop, it is nice to see them sitting on the windowsill every morning; their little sprouts acting as a reminder that spring is on the way.
