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Preparing Potatoes for Planting: 3 Ways to Get a Bountiful Harvest
17.03.2023 03:00
Updated: 14.04.2023 17:01
The potato harvest depends on how the gardener prepares the tubers for the season.
The process of sprouting is very important, because without it you can be left without a fresh harvest at all.
There are 3 types of germination, each of which has its own characteristics.
Potato tubers and why they need preparation
Using any of the existing methods of preparing tubers, you can start the process of sprout formation, which in turn will lead to the correct setting of the fruit.
With good sprouts, potato bushes will receive all the necessary nutrients from the soil, which is not to be expected from specimens that have not undergone the preparatory stage.
In addition, when sorting tubers for planting, the gardener can once again examine their quality and weed out diseased, damaged or unproductive specimens.
Types of potato preparation for planting
Dry germination
This type of sprouting on planting material takes an average of a month. In this case, the tubers are taken out in boxes to a well-ventilated place with good lighting.
Otherwise, the sprouts will simply stretch out, be weak and useless. Light forms a substance called solanine in the tubers, which gives them a green hue. With it, potatoes are unfit for food, but are suitable for seedlings.
The planting material becomes more resistant to external influences and does not attract rodents. The tubers must be turned over to the light several times during germination, trying not to damage the sprouts. The room temperature should be about +20 degrees.
Wet germination
In this case, the potatoes must be placed in a container, sprinkled with a thick layer of wet sawdust or humus and left to germinate in a dark room at a temperature of +15 degrees. In such conditions, not only sprouts will germinate on the potatoes, but also the beginnings of roots will form.
The procedure takes about 18 days. Experts advise combining it with the dry method. First, you need to take the tubers out into the sun, keeping them for about 3 weeks, and then put them in a moist substrate with sprouts for 10 days.
On the first day, the substrate can be sprayed with water mixed with a growth activator or potassium.
Hot germination method
The method involves heating the tubers for 4 days before planting. To use the method in practice, you need to take the planting material from its storage place to a room with a temperature of up to +12 degrees.
In this way, the gardener saves the tubers from great stress due to a sharp temperature change. Otherwise, they may become woody. After a day, the potato tubers should be moved to a place where the temperature is stable at +20 degrees. Such a temperature activates the processes of awakening the sprouts and their active growth. Additionally, they can be sprinkled with a growth stimulator.
Preparing seed potatoes is an important stage, ignoring which can leave the gardener without a fresh harvest.
The presented germination methods are suitable for all regions, accessible and easy to use.
