Do I need to germinate potatoes before planting and why

Potatoes are rightfully called the second bread. Everyone treats him with respect and respect. Happy owners of summer cottages and vegetable gardens will always allocate a good place for culture. We will talk about germination and how to prepare potatoes before planting in this article.

Well-prepared planting material will demonstrate fast germination, the absence of empty nests and a bountiful harvest. Untreated seed material will sprout slowly, grow poorly, and give a meager harvest.

In what time frame and for how long to germinate potatoes

Weak, rotten, damaged seeds are discarded. Tubers with very large, fragile shoots are also not suitable for planting. During transportation, the thin long roots will break easily and the potatoes will not sprout.

What tubers should be taken

Ready planting material necessary since autumn... Suitable for planting are medium in size, slightly larger than an egg. This is the most optimal size. A small variety will be weak, will not give a viable root, will not provide the growth with sufficient nutrition.

It will be correct to cut a large tuber into pieces, with the condition that each one has eyes.

Why potatoes degenerate

If the preparation of planting material is approached irresponsibly, the culture begins to degenerate and loses its positive varietal qualities. This is because weak, non-standard variants are landing.

Large planting potatoes also does not fit... It will be difficult to "wake up" him. Such seeds are sluggish, inactive, "lazy".

How to germinate potatoes for planting

The preparation looks like this:

1. Tubers removed from the vegetable store, again sorted, rejected seeds with signs of disease, rotten. Selected specimens are recommended to be thoroughly washed. Pathogenic bacteria that are dangerous to root crops can persist in the soil for a long time.
2. Then etching recommendedto protect the planting material as much as possible from harmful spores and bacteria. For this, you can use boric acid (10 g per liter of water).
3. In the next step tubers are dried... It is best to do this in the shade, in a barn, or in an attic.
4. After the potatoes are dry, it is necessary warm up for a few days at room temperature.

How to get planting material from seeds

Immediately after digging, the potatoes must be subjected to the first preparation procedure for storage. It needs to be "greened".For this, the tubers must be laid out in the sun. For uniform exposure to sunlight, they need to be turned over regularly. How much green do you need? About 3 weeks.

Treated in this way the seeds become hard, the skin becomes stiff, which significantly improves its storage. In addition, it becomes inedible for rodents (green potatoes contain poisonous solanine).

Further, the tubers are laid for storage in a dark cool room (basement, cellar, specially vegetable store). The optimum storage temperature is + 5 °. If the temperature is higher, the seeds will begin to germinate. If the temperature drops to 0 °, the potatoes will freeze.

How to quickly germinate potatoes for planting

Thanks to these types of processing, sprouts on potatoes will appear in record time: in a week, in two. You can also recommend the use of plant growth stimulants and fertilizers. They stimulate intensive root growth.

Planting sprouted potatoes

When planting sprouted potatoes, it is necessary to take into account the region, the type of planting, the ripening time and the characteristics of the soil.

The "flat" type of landing is the most common. Suitable for nice, sunny areas. Potatoes are planted in holes and covered with earth without a hill.

Crest

The “crest” method is intended for the territory of Siberia. Potatoes are planted on a hill, in shallow holes. Fertilizer is applied immediately. As you grow they sprinkle the bush, sprinkle it with earth.

So the plant is protected from temperature changes and adverse weather conditions. Reduces the risk of freezing potatoes.

Trench

The trench method is used on light peaty and sandy soils. In such soil, plants lack moisture. For this type of planting, a ditch of about 10 cm is dug, fertilizers are applied.

The hole is spilled, covered with soil. Top can be covered with mulch to retain moisture.

Germination methods

Exist several germination options... They all help prepare the seeds before planting. Which option to choose is a personal matter for each gardener. The most popular methods are as follows:

In the dark

This method is quite simple and effective. In the dark, the emergence of seedlings is slow, and the shoots are thin. It is worth checking the length of the shoots periodically. To slow down their growth, you need to lower the temperature in the room.

Recommended germination period - about 20 days. A prerequisite for this type of germination is to maintain a constant moisture level. Tubers must be sprayed regularly.

In the light

A prerequisite is the presence of sunlight. Without light, it is also capable of germinating. But such seedlings will be weak, inactive.

If the sun's rays are too intense in the room, tubers must be shadedcovering with newspapers. The germination rate depends on the room temperature. The warmer, the faster the sprouts will hatch.

If the site chosen for germination does not have natural light, fluorescent lamps are suitable.

Stages

1. At the very beginning, it is recommended to disinfect and feed the tubers. Disinfection can be carried out with a solution of potassium permanganate (approximately 2 g per bucket of water).
2. After a week, treat the tubers with a complex of mineral fertilizers.
3. Then the temperature at the storage location it is desirable to lower it to 20 °, after a week to 15 °.This can be achieved by opening all the vents and doors.
4. A couple of days before planting, the potatoes must be hardened. For this, the seeds are covered with access to light and the temperature in the room is reduced to + 10 °. After this procedure, germination increases significantly.

Wet

The fastest and most efficient way to germinate. The tubers are laid out in one or two layers in peat, hay or sawdust. A prerequisite is that the substrate should not dry out, otherwise the tender sprouts will dry out. The shoots usually form within 20 days.

Boxes should not be airtight, the water should not stagnate. A constant supply of air is also important. The room must be heated, with a temperature not lower than + 12 °.

It is better not to water the soil in the boxes, but to spray it with water with fertilizers dissolved in it (potatoes love potassium salt and superphosphate).

Stages

1. First, the seeds must be treated with fertilizer or EM - preparation. This will saturate the tuber with vitamins and start the growth and development mechanism.
2. Arrange the tubers in prepared boxes or boxes.
3. The sawdust is poured with water, then lightly squeezed out and distributed over the potatoes, completely covering it.
4. The boxes can be stacked one on top of the other. The main thing is to make sure that the sawdust does not dry out.
5. If it is not possible to place the boxes indoors, you can equip the planting material for germination directly to the garden. To do this, it is necessary to use a dung "pillow" with a height of at least 30 cm. The process of laying the seeds is the same: lay out the tubers and sprinkle with a damp substrate.

Necessary control that the length of the shoots does not exceed the diameter most tuber... Such seeds are not viable. They will be severely damaged during planting.

Preplant withering

After a couple of weeks, the potatoes will be ripe for planting. Heat and light will start the seed germination process. The higher the temperature, the faster the sprouts will appear.

In polyethylene

Effectively you can sprout potatoes in your own apartment... For this, strong plastic bags will come to the rescue. They need to make several small holes for ventilation.

You can put about 10 tubers in each bag. Then the bag is tied and suspended in an apartment on the sunny side.

Periodically, it is necessary to turn the bag over so that the sun's rays evenly affect the tubers. Too intense sunlight should be avoided.

Ready seeds can be transport directly in packages, but very carefully so as not to damage the sprouts.

Germination in boxes with fertilizing

The planting material prepared in this way is of high quality and strong.

1. This will require boxes covered with cellophane. Potatoes are laid out in several layers, which are lined with peat, humus or sawdust. Several layers can be made.
2. When everything is laid, you need spill crates with water... After a week, when the sprouts hatch, they must be shed with a nutritious mineral mixture. To do this, take 10 g of potassium chloride and nitrate and combine with 50 g of superphosphate. Stir the mixture in a bucket of clean water and pour over the tubers. Fertilizers can be replaced with a glass of wood ash for 10 liters of water.
3. After a couple of days, repeat the vitamin watering.
4. After a week, the tubers will be ready for planting.

In pots

This method of germination is convenient with a small amount of planting material and if germination is planned to be carried out in an apartment. For this, the tubers are preliminarily fit for a week in a box with wet sawdust... After that, the seeds are spread over clay pots with nutritious soil.

Regular feeding of tubers with mineral fertilizers is recommended. At night, it is better to take the pots out to the balcony to prepare the tubers for possible temperature extremes. It is not recommended to carry out hardening at temperatures below + 10 °.

Potato pickling

Tuber dressing should be included in the seed preparation process before planting. It includes seed treatment with insecticides, growth promoters and fertilizers.

Same biostimulants of root formation are shown... The list of them on the market is huge. The drugs Poteytin and Mikom are widely known. To increase the resistance of tubers to diseases, copper sulfate, superphosphate, trace elements are used. You can find out more about the spraying options in specialized stores.

Outdoor germination

A very convenient and simple way, in the absence of a suitable room. Germination in the garden can be started when the snow melts and the air temperature warms up to + 10 °. A layer of dry straw, sawdust or peat is laid on the ground.

Laid out dry potatoes in 1 - 2 layers... The resulting ridge is covered with a film that will protect against night frosts and create a greenhouse effect favorable for germination. The process will take 1 to 3 weeks.

If you put a layer of manure under the dry litter, the germination period will be significantly reduced.

Seedling potatoes

Necessary monitor the maintenance of a comfortable temperature and humidity. It is possible to plant ready-made green seedlings in open ground when the soil warms up enough and the danger of frost has passed.

Secrets to Improve Yields

To increase the quantity and quality of the crop, the following tips from experienced gardeners should be taken into account:

1. Mineral treatment is recommended on the day of planting. The tubers are soaked for several hours in fertilizer, dried and immediately planted.
2. Large quantities of planting potatoes easier to fertilize by spraying... The procedure must be performed every week for a month.
3. The day before planting, it is recommended to treat the tubers with a growth stimulant. This activates germination, speeds up metabolism and increases yields.
4. If there is no specially planting material, you can prepare the seed yourself from ordinary potatoes. To do this, large tubers are cut into several parts, so that each one has eyes. Such manipulation is performed not only for reasons of economy. In a cut tuber stress hormones are produced, and the process of accelerated regeneration and root formation begins.
5. Mulch will help to preserve moisture and nutrition in the soil for a long time.

Do not be lazy when preparing seed potatoes for planting. There are many ways to process planting material. This can be done with minimal financial and time costs: in the basement, in the garden and even in your own apartment.

Well-sprouted tubers are capable of producing an early, bountiful harvest. And the application of all the secrets and recommendations proposed in this article will help increase the yield of potatoes at times.