Features of preparing potatoes for planting in open ground

Planting potatoes is not an easy process. To get a high yield of potatoes, you need to follow certain instructions for care and preparation.

Before spring planting in open ground, tubers should be correctly selected and a number of mandatory procedures should be carried out.

It is recommended to process the planting material well. Germination should be started only after the planting date is precisely known. Processing and sorting of planting material is carried out either in spring or autumn.

Another rule of thumb when packing seeds is the larger the planted tuber, the faster the plant develops... Thanks to this, the harvest can be obtained earlier and in greater quantities.

Better to choose tubers weighing 100 grams or more... It is good to plant potatoes with a weight from 50 grams and more. It is better not to use fruits weighing less.

Next, you need to prepare the tubers for germination. If you are not sure that the planting material has no diseases and is not infected, then you can carry out the etching procedure. Etching is carried out only with seeds that have not taken root.

Preparation of planting material in Siberia

In Siberia, the best time to disembark: late spring - early summer... The soil should already be warming up. Harvesting should be at the very beginning of autumn. Before planting, the soil must be mulched.

Tubers should be prepared in autumn. To do this, the tubers must be selected, washed in a solution of potassium permanganate, dried and stored. It is recommended to get planting material 30 days in advance, and germinate in any way in a cool room until green shoots appear.

Seed potatoes

To prepare seed potatoes, you need to go through the following steps:

• warming up;
• germination in the light;
• packaging of low-quality seeds.

Otherwise, they will slowly develop in the ground and give a poor harvest. If mother seeds are stored in the soil for a long time, they are exposed to disease and pest attacks.

Unsprouted tubers

Potatoes should be kept in the basement in plastic containers. Before planting, a couple of days before planting, you should get and sort out the fruits. Choose medium-sized non-sprouted potatoes, then it will be easier for them to germinate in the soil.

Selection

It doesn't matter where the seeds were purchased, before planting you need double-check their quality... There should be no rotten or cracked tubers. The surface of the fruit must be clean, free from infection with diseases, dents, growths, cracks.

Any flaw in the potato can indicate its infection with a pest. For example, the presence of a crack in the tubers may indicate a disease - dry rot.

Why is the procedure needed

The yield depends on the quality of the tubers and storage conditions during the winter. If there is a breakage of tuber sprouts, this will lead to a decrease in yield. by 20%.

Weakened tubers also significantly reduce yields.Unselected planting material can lead to disease infection of the entire crop.

How to start preparation

Very important comply with storage conditions planting material. Tubers should be stored in a basement at temperatures up to 2 degrees Celsius.

For planting early potatoes, it is better to use large tubers. If the potato has an uneven shape, this is the first sign of degeneration of the vegetable. It is better not to use such instances. The best planting material is selection, purchased in specialized stores.

Before you start planting, you need disinfect tubers for half an hour in a solution of potassium permanganate and vitriol in a proportion of 5 liters of water, 5 g of potassium permanganate and 1 g of copper sulphate.

The ways

There are many ways to prepare potatoes for planting. These methods include.

Germination

Germination can be done in several ways:

1. In the light... Carried out in a bright room at t 5-10 degrees. It is necessary to select medium-sized tubers up to 90 grams, spread in one layer next to each other and leave for a month until sprouts 1 cm long are formed. The potatoes must be carefully turned over every seven days.
2. In polyethylene... You need to put the tubers in bags of 10 pieces and make many small holes for the passage of oxygen. It is recommended to hang the bags in a lighted room, but not in direct sunlight. Keep until the first shoots appear.
3. In pots... You can take large ceramic dishes or plastic bottles, having previously cut off the top of the container. Potatoes of early maturing varieties are germinated in pots. Germination begins one month before planting. Previously, potatoes should be kept in wet sawdust or humus for about a week. Then transfer to pots, putting humus mixed with soil on the bottom in advance.
4. In boxes with top dressing... Heat the seeds in an oven or oven to keep them safe from pests. Fertilize with minerals and organics, placing it on the bottom of the boxes. Lay the tubers in several layers and slightly moisten with water. Leave until sprouts appear indoors at a temperature of +15 degrees.

Wilting

It is recommended to dry the potatoes. Necessary spread it out on dry floor in a suitable room (in one layer). The procedure lasts ten days. With the help of wilting, you can ventilate root crops and calculate low-quality ones.

Warming up

Seeds must be transferred four weeks before planting. into a warm room with temperature up to 20 degrees and leave them there for about a week. Then you should transfer them again. into a lighted roomwhere the temperature is no more than 10 degrees.

Etching

To avoid contamination of tubers with diseases, it must be pickled. To do this, you can use solutions that are sold in specialized stores.

You can also carry out the procedure at home using potassium permanganate. To do this, you need to dilute a solution of potassium permanganate with water, add copper sulfate and dip the potatoes in the solution for 1 minute. After the procedure, the seeds should be allowed to air.

Seedling

Before planting potatoes, you need to carry out a number of procedures:

• in advance dig up the soil to a depth of 15-20 cmto destroy pests;
• treat the soil with special solutions for prevention from late blight;
• enrich the soil with minerals and organics;
• a year before the planned planting of potatoes, plant on the site siderates.

The preparation of tubers for planting should be carried out strictly according to the instructions. Planting potatoes is not an easy and painstaking business, but the main thing is to get a reward in the form of a rich and healthy harvest. I wish you success!