Is it possible to grow potatoes from seeds: advantages and disadvantages

You can grow anything from seeds, even potatoes. But for some reason, gardeners do not practice this method. Perhaps it has some disadvantages.

In fact, the potato harvest from seeds, not tubers, is significantly different, and only has better qualities.

Anastasia Kovrizhnykh, an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", an agronomist and landscape designer, told how to grow potatoes from seeds.

Advantages

Over time, the variety degenerates and requires renewal. For this purpose, summer residents buy seed tubers.

But in this case, you can get infected material and infect the soil. Seeds are protected from such trouble thanks to strong immunity.

They also adapt more easily to climatic conditions, are cheaper, and are easier to transport and store.

Flaws

If tubers can be stuck into the ground, covered with soil and watered, then this trick won't work with seeds. You won't be able to plant them under a shovel or a plough. You'll have to worry about seedlings.

And in the first year you won’t be able to collect a rich harvest, like from tubers.

How to grow

You can grow seedlings, or you can do without seedlings if the climate allows.

1. In both cases, the seeds are pre-hardened for three days, then soaked for 5-7 days on a damp cloth.

2. Seeds for seedlings are sown at the end of March or beginning of April in a container with a depth of 10 cm. A mixture of garden soil, peat, sand and humus is used.

3. The seeds are planted at a depth of 1-1.5 cm, at a distance of 5 cm in moist soil. Then you need to cover the container with film and put it on the windowsill.

4. Remember that seedlings can get black leg disease and are generally prone to rotting, so you need to be careful with watering.

5. Feed the seedlings with urea (10 g per 10 l of water at a temperature of 25 degrees).

6. Transplant the seedlings in the second half of May into holes up to 10 cm deep. Add about 300 g of humus to each.

With the seedless method, sowing is carried out in the first half of May. The seeds are sown in prepared and moist soil to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. The seeds are distributed at a distance of 5 cm from each other, and after the appearance of 2-3 leaves, they are planted at an interval of 20-30 cm.

However, the seedless method does not produce a good harvest in the first year.

But in both the first and second cases, it is possible to obtain seeds that are resistant to diseases and unfavorable conditions.

• Related news:
• potatoes
• growing potatoes
• home seedlings
• seeds seedlings
• advice for summer residents
• 6 December 2023

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