"Robert" wrote in message

How odd, I disagree with the organic gardening people, if you put
them in
the dark it only speeds up the chitting which at the early stage of
the year
is not what you want

I've just got to ask. Why would one bother to chit potatoes? By that
I mean what are the advantages of chitting over not chitting them.

I've grown lots of spuds (under straw for many years - on top of the
ground with straw on top - not in the ground) and I've never chitted
them and they still seem to produce well and push their way up with no
problems at all.

My family has grown spuds commercially for at least 5 generations (and
God knows how many before that in Ulster) and I know that they were
never chitted for field planting in at least the last 3 generations
which is as far back as I've known how they planted their spuds in
Oz..