Mr Sweeting, from Barnard Castle has emailed me a question. He wants to know why he should chit his potatoes, and could I just run through the conditions that they require for him.

CHITTING is the process of placing seed potatoes in a cool, light place to encourage strong sturdy shoots to grow before they are planted in the ground.

There are plant hormones in certain places within the potato (known as the eyes) which, given the right conditions, will begin to put out new growth and eventually turn into shoots, roots and new plant. If you look at a potato, you will see that all or most of the eyes are at one end, known as the rose-end. Keep seed potatoes in a cool, but light situation, rose-end upward.

All potatoes will naturally start to sprout at this time of year due to light levels and increased temperatures.

However, if they are not offered the right cool, light conditions they may develop elongated and white shoots which make for weak potato plants.

The aim is to have a small number of sturdy shoots, not masses of elongated sprouts, which dissipate the energy of the seed potato. If you rub the sprouts off, then you’ll get a smaller crop, but larger potatoes.

If the potato is large and you want to make two seeds from it, you can cut it lengthways from the rose-end to the bottom, just before planting, ideally with the eyes upwards.

Commercial growers usually don’t go through the process of chitting their potatoes and it seems to make little difference to the yield. However, they are able to keep their seed potatoes dormant by providing very exact storage conditions and this is very hard for the home gardener to do. For this reason, most amateur gardeners do chit their seed potatoes, but any you have bought late can go straight in the ground, unchitted, As a rough guide, aim to plant your potatoes around Easter, assuming that the ground is not frozen solid, whether they have chitted or not.

After all, they are such a cheap commodity that you can afford to have a bit of fun and try both methods.

Jobs this week

IF your winter bedding plants are still going, continue to deadhead the faded flowers to keep them tidy and encourage a few more blooms.

GIVE your shrubs an instant boost with a fresh layer of compost. If your plant has outgrown its pot, gently tease out the roots before repotting.

IF your pond liner is damaged or ripped, repair it now to limit any disturbance of the pond’s natural balance.

■ Brigid presents the BBC Tees Gardening show on Sundays from 1pm to 2pm. Questions can be answered on the day by emailing brigidpress@bbc.co.uk any time during the week, or texting 07786- 200995 and phoning 01642-225511 during the show. Written letters can be addressed to Lazy Dayz,10 Farm Road, Houghall, Durham, DH1 3SF.