Sprouting potatoes before planting: how to make them grow faster

Why do you need to sprout potatoes?

When potatoes are planted, at that moment they are already growing, regardless of whether the root crop is in the soil. Potato seedlings grow faster after the germination procedure .

Also during germination the following risks can be prevented:

The presence of rotten, moldy or rodent-gnawed roots in seed potatoes. Before the process, the tubers are inspected in advance and those unsuitable for planting are thrown out.
Planting small tubers in the soil, the weight of which does not exceed 30 g.
Use irregularly shaped root vegetables. Such tubers rarely produce a normal crop, so it is not recommended to use them for germination.

Tubers that are not prepared for the summer season sprout within 10–15 days, and sprouts appear after another 12–20 days. The whole process takes more than a month. To reduce it, you need to sprout potatoes.

Selection and calibration of potatoes

After the harvest is harvested, care must be taken to select the highest quality tubers for seed. They must be sorted by weight and size. For planting, you need to choose tubers whose size does not exceed the size of a chicken egg. Try to avoid specimens that are infested with pests, show signs of disease, or are injured during digging. Thus, it is necessary to select potatoes for planting that are free from any defects. Otherwise it will not be stored. Before planting, the tubers need another careful review. At the same time, those that have signs of frostbite, are spoiled by pests, suffocated during storage, are affected by rot, or are ugly are rejected. Only healthy tubers can ensure an increase in yield of up to thirty-six percent and reduce the time from planting to digging potatoes by ten to fourteen days.

Basic rules for germination

Planting unprepared potatoes is possible even if the soil has not warmed up to +10 degrees. In this case, experienced summer residents advise covering the plantings with non-woven material at night. Potato root crops begin to actively germinate at soil temperatures of +7 degrees. As many gardeners note, sprouts begin to appear if the temperature reaches +12 approximately 23 days after planting.

If there are not many potatoes, then before planting you need to remove all weak and frail sprouts and leave 2-3 strong ones. If the tubers are large in size, then they are cut into several parts so that each has a sprout.

The sprouts should not be too long. Even if the sprouts are healthy, if they are too long, they are very fragile and can break during planting. The sprouts should be short and thick. Then they will calmly endure transportation and break during planting.

When the tips of the sprouts begin to darken, this indicates that the room in which the seeds are being germinated is considered too cold.

Cut pieces are planted in the soil, each of which should have eyes. Oddly enough, small pieces form a stronger root system and produce more root crops. There is no need to leave more than two eyes. Stems from such root crops will grow more actively and there will be more of them, but they do not have enough nutrients and sun, so the yield of such bushes is low.

A day before planting, each part is covered with wood ash and left to dry.

Combined method of sprouting potatoes

As the name already implies, this is a combination of the two methods described above to accelerate the ripening of the future crop. The germination room should be sufficiently lit and the substrate should be moist. For the first 15-18 days, the tubers are kept in the light, as described in the first method, and then for 10-12 days they are placed in a well-moistened substrate or covered with a damp cloth and kept in this form at a temperature of about 18-20 ° C until roots form 3-5 cm long. The layer of the top substrate must be at least 5 cm and must be constantly moistened.

If the variety is good and there is little seed material, large tubers can be divided into parts. It is recommended to treat the cut areas with ash (sprinkle with powder). Advice from experienced gardeners: to prevent potatoes from degenerating, you need to cut off the “butt” of the tubers before planting.

Procurement of seed tubers

Procuring seed tubers for cultivation on a potato plot is a crucial moment on which the entire harvest depends. At this stage, the basis for productivity is laid. Root crops begin to be prepared for the season in the fall after being collected from the plot. The largest and healthiest ones are selected and placed separately from other root vegetables. In the spring, preparation continues and includes the selection of moldy, gnawed or blackened tubers. Then comes the germination of the sprouts and the planting itself.

Which tubers to choose?

Potato tubers for planting should only be healthy. Potatoes with mold, black spots or any other lesions are not recommended for planting. Also, do not choose root vegetables that are too large. It is advisable to give preference to medium-sized potatoes with thick skin and small eyes.

Selected potatoes are placed in a boric acid solution for disinfection and stored separately from the entire crop. It is useful to place fruits in manure for several days.

You should not choose fruits that are too small. Few stems grow from them, and they produce practically no harvest. The disadvantage of large root crops is the fact that the above-ground part (leaves and stems) develops more actively than the underground part (tubers and root system). As a result, it turns out that the rhizome cannot provide a sufficient amount of nutrients to the stems and as a result they begin to turn yellow and wither.

It is recommended to plant small, medium and large potatoes separately from each other and mark where they grow. This is due to the fact that their care will be different. An effective method for growing a rich harvest is to purchase seed material in the fall. But in this case, before purchasing the tubers, they are carefully inspected. Elite potato varieties produce a good harvest for about three years. Such varieties are practically not susceptible to the development of diseases. The purchase of a variety should be based on your own observations of potatoes during the growing season. And it is recommended to purchase only those varieties that grow best on the site.

Selection of tubers and preparation for vernalization

To get a good harvest, you need to choose the right variety, prepare the soil, and, of course, use healthy planting material prepared in advance for planting. Not all potatoes are suitable for planting. For these purposes, only seed potatoes are used. Beginners often believe that these potatoes and the ones you can buy at a grocery store are no different from each other. However, this opinion is wrong. Seed potatoes are disease-free because they are prepared in special isolated conditions. The potato crop is often affected by many diseases, in particular late blight, scab, and rhizoctonia. Spores of these diseases accumulate in tubers, which, when planted the next year, activate the development of the fungus and produce a poor, disease-affected harvest. A vicious circle is created - infected tubers transmit diseases during germination to new tubers, which will pass the baton to their offspring next year.

High-quality seed potatoes are first freed from all diseases, so in growing such potatoes there are usually no problems with the occurrence of viral or fungal infections. If tubers are purchased for the first time, then, first of all, preference should be given to those varieties that are suitable for cultivation in a particular area and are protected from diseases. It is also worth considering what ripening period the potatoes are purchased: they can be early, mid-ripening and late.

Experienced gardeners skillfully collect and store their seed material, which is removed from the most productive and strong bushes during harvest.
The tubers are dug out from them a little ahead of schedule. The best specimens are selected from the harvested potatoes. They are then sorted by grade and size. The smallest potatoes, weighing less than 30 grams, will produce poor offspring, and therefore they are discarded. Fact: the optimal size of seed potatoes is the size of a chicken egg and weighs up to 100 grams.
Before being sent for storage, the tubers are greened for three weeks at a temperature of +12-14 degrees. The seeds are stored in the cellar at a temperature no higher than +4 degrees, otherwise the potatoes will grow ahead of time.

Even if you use your own potatoes for planting, which are left over from last year’s harvest, they must be culled for weak and diseased specimens. Tubers that have been stored in unfavorable conditions, have been subjected to mechanical stress and are damaged cannot be used as planting material. The size of the tubers also matters. Seeds should be small in volume. Large tubers are cut into two or more parts, but so that each part has at least 1-2 eyes.

Tip: You can green up potatoes during germination in the spring.

Before sprouting, potatoes are pre-prepared. If there are potatoes left over from last season for vernalization, then most likely they have already become limp and sprouting. If the sprouts are long, then they need to be broken off, otherwise they will overgrow greatly and this will lead to poor germination. Tubers are also calibrated in advance, leaving identical specimens weighing up to 100 grams for sowing.

If there are only a few seeds, they can be washed with water. This will help identify affected areas on the dark skin of the fruit - such tubers are not suitable for planting.

Many people know that it would not be superfluous to treat planting tubers with fungicides, so as not to lose a valuable product due to fungal attack in the future. Potatoes can be disinfected with a solution of manganese and boric acid. This can be done both before germination and immediately before planting on the field.

Greening

A simple and popular way to sprout potatoes is pre-greening. The advantage of this method is also the fact that green tubers do not attract rodents due to their high content of corned beef (a toxic substance that can cause poisoning). Such tubers cannot be eaten, but they are excellent for planting in the ground. This method will allow you to add another 20% to the entire harvest.

Potato tubers are the underground part of the stem, which, due to the fact that it is not exposed to sunlight, could not produce corned beef. When potatoes are exposed to the sun, chlorophyll begins to be actively produced, and the peel and pulp acquire a green tint.

In addition to corned beef, green potatoes accumulate nicotine and other alkaloids dangerous to human life. But it is ideal for growing. In order for the tubers to acquire green shades in the sun, they need to be kept for 8–12 days. But to obtain the richest harvest, greening is combined with sprouting. There are a large number of methods for germinating root vegetables. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Processing sprouted potatoes before planting

To protect the future harvest from pests, chemicals are used. They are diluted with water according to the instructions, then the tubers are immediately sprayed with the prepared solution. After processing, the seed material is left to dry for 2-3 hours, then planted in prepared holes. Young tubers will not have time to absorb the chemical, since it disintegrates after 40 days.

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Conclusion:

As you can see, there are many ways to sprout potatoes and, most importantly, choose the one that is most suitable for you. And it is important to remember that the measures taken will improve the yield of this crop.

There are varieties in which the broken shoots do not renew themselves. That is, the eyes wake up only once, they need to be germinated immediately. Usually these are elite potatoes that cannot be grown on your own - planting material must be purchased each time in specialized stores. They also give recommendations for storage and germination. They must be strictly observed, otherwise money (and a lot of it) will be thrown away.

When to take out potatoes for germination and how long to germinate?

One of the important aspects of cultivating an agricultural crop is determining the timing of germination. You need to know exactly when to take out the potatoes so that they are already prepared for the planting season. This mainly depends on the timing of the emergence of sprouts and the ripening of the crop.

30–35 days before planting in the ground, potato seed tubers are taken out of the basement and germination begins. Early potatoes are obtained in early March. For the main plantings, the optimal time is considered to be the beginning of April.

Some gardeners are of the opinion that you need to get seeds 1.5–2 months before planting. After the sprouts reach a length of 4–6 cm, they are carefully cut off at the very base and planted in a box or greenhouse with good soil.

How to quickly germinate potatoes?

Faster germination of potatoes involves using special solutions and increasing the number of sprouts. Combining the methods will help you quickly (within 1-2 weeks) obtain the desired number of seedlings.

Stimulating incisions

This procedure is done to increase the number of sprouts. To do this, you need to make cuts across the potatoes 1 centimeter deep. For a more uniform appearance of sprouts, a circular cut is made to a depth of 1.5 centimeters. Next, the seeds are germinated in any way, but it is better to choose the method in the light.

Use of solutions and fertilizers

In solutions and fertilizers, potatoes germinate 2-3 weeks faster. Using any method in combination with the use of special means, you can get a harvest ahead of schedule.

Fertilizers to speed up germination:

humus;
sawdust;
peat;
moss.

Fertilizers are placed on the potatoes in layers, the width of which should not exceed 5 centimeters, otherwise the crops will rot.

Before sprouting potatoes, you can soak them for 40–60 minutes in a mineral solution. This accelerates the appearance of sprouts and saturates them with useful substances.

Solution recipe:

water - 10 liters;
superphosphate - 60 grams;
ammonium nitrate - 30 grams;
potassium chloride - 20 grams.

Processing sprouted potatoes before planting

To prevent diseases, potatoes must be treated with boron solution or copper sulfate solution. They kill fungal and viral infections.

Solution for tubers that have sprouted:

water - 10 liters;
ammonium nitrate - 20 grams;
potassium salt - 20 grams;
superphosphate - 60 grams.

Ammonium nitrate - 45 rubles

Potassium salt - 70 rubles

Superphosphate - 100 rubles

Potassium chloride - 101 rubles

How to prepare potatoes for sprouting?

Preparing potato seed for planting is not difficult if you follow some rules. For example, you can prepare an infusion of tansy, which accelerates the appearance of sprouts. 60 g of dry tansy herb is poured into 500 ml of boiling water. The infusion is left until it cools completely, then poured into a solution for soaking potatoes. Up to a hundredweight of seed is passed through one bucket of this solution.

Moisture and elevated temperatures stimulate the appearance of eyes.

To prevent the sprouts from stretching too much, after 14 days they are placed in a cool place at a temperature of 8–10 degrees. The main thing is to ensure that the boxes are exposed to open sunlight.

Sprouting potatoes in polyethylene

A greenhouse effect is created, like in a greenhouse, thanks to which sprouts appear relatively quickly. You need translucent small plastic bags called “T-shirts.”

Technology:

Use scissors to make small holes in the bags every 15-20 cm for ventilation.
Place 8-10 potatoes in each bag, tie and hang in a bright room (direct sunlight should not fall on the potatoes) at room temperature.
Turn the bags over once a day to ensure even illumination.
After 10-15 days, sprouts of normal length (2-4 cm) will appear. Move packages into rigid containers, such as boxes. Deliver to the drop-off point.

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Germination methods

Potatoes can be germinated quickly using various methods. There are a large number of ways to germinate potato eyes.

Germination in the light

Contrary to popular belief, little light is required for seedlings to appear. But he must be. If all factors are observed, but in the absence of light, nothing will work. If it is not possible to use natural sunlight, artificial lighting in the form of lamps is suitable.

Potatoes are spread in a thin layer in wooden or plastic boxes. They can be stacked on top of each other. The walls of the boxes should not be solid, but with large holes. The top drawer is covered with gauze or any other thin material.

The optimal room temperature is 12–17 degrees. The light should not be direct, but diffused. You can tell that root vegetables will get enough light by their appearance. Under normal light conditions, the sprouts are thick and small. If there is a lack of light, they stretch out and become thin.

In the dark

When it is not possible for planting material to germinate indoors in the light, it should not be germinated in the dark. This method is less effective because the sprouts require sunlight for normal development. But if you strictly observe the necessary conditions, you will be able to get seedlings in the dark.

You need to monitor the temperature especially carefully, otherwise the sprouts will begin to stretch. If this has already happened, then the temperature at night is lowered to 4-6 degrees. If necessary, this is done during the day. At this temperature the stems will not stop growing. Growing in the dark takes 15–29 days at a humidity of 95%.

With feeding in boxes

Stages of sprouting potatoes with fertilizing in a box:

Line the bottom of the box with a plastic bag. Lay out the potatoes in 2 layers and cover it with humus, peat or sawdust. Several layers are needed.
Water the potatoes with water. After a few weeks, sprouts should appear. They are watered with a mineral mixture for growth. Or wood ash diluted in a glass of water.
After a few days, water again with the nutrient mixture.
A week later, the root crops are planted in open ground.

The germination of potatoes and the formation of tubers after planting after this method increases significantly.

In polyethylene film

You can germinate tubers at home using plastic bags. Several holes are made in the bag for air circulation. Then they put potatoes in them and hang them in the sun. Regularly turn the bags over and mix the planting material in them. The main thing is that the sun's rays are not intense.

In a moist substrate

Germinating potatoes in sawdust with the addition of peat is as follows:

Sawdust is poured into the bottom of the box.
Spread the seed potatoes in 1 layer.
Cover it with sawdust with added peat and water it.
The layer of sawdust and peat should be at least 3 cm.
The boxes are watered regularly and the air temperature is monitored; it should be between 15–17 degrees.

Combining germination with root germination

The combined method is considered one of the most effective. 40–45 days before the expected planting of potatoes, they sort them out and throw out spoiled tubers. Then they are placed in boxes and left indoors.

After 25–30, they take the root vegetables out of the boxes, pour a 5 cm layer of peat crumbs on the bottom and then lay out the potatoes again in 1–2 layers. Add another layer of peat chips on top, about 5 cm. As the moisture evaporates, the peat crust is sprayed with water.

On open air

Germination in the open air begins when the snow melts and the air temperature warms up to +12 degrees. The soil is covered with straw or sawdust, then potatoes are laid out. Cover it with plastic wrap. The whole process takes from 7 days to a month. If you put manure under the straw, the germination period will be shortened.

In pots

The tubers are first placed in boxes with wet sawdust for 7 days. Then they are transplanted into clay pots with a special soil mixture. At night, the pots are taken out to the balcony so that the seeds get used to temperature changes.

Method of heating and drying

If you did not have time to germinate the potatoes on time, and the planting time is running out, the method of heating and drying is effective. The potatoes are laid out in 1 layer and left at a temperature of +25–30 degrees. The germination rate of buds ranges from 7 to 14 days.

In the substrate

Need to quickly prepare seeds for planting? A mixture of sawdust and peat will become a nutrient medium in which tubers will develop. The accelerated method is less energy-consuming than the light method, but all preparatory procedures must be carefully carried out.

For wet germination of potatoes, take hard boxes or boxes, the bottom of which is covered with film. To prevent the liquid from stagnating, you do not need to perfectly seal all the holes. The substrate should not turn into a swamp, and excess water should drain away.

Potato seeds are laid out in two layers, sprinkling each tier with the mixture, and the containers are protected with polyethylene. Once the top is completely covered with soil, sprouts begin to form within twenty days. The main condition for activation is maintaining constant heat (from 12 to 20), an influx of fresh air and a moist room.

By the way, if there is no suitable room for sprouting potatoes, then the method allows you to create manure heating. A layer of warm manure is placed on the ground and sprinkled with a mixture of earth. The nodules are placed on this pile in two layers, which are covered with peat and straw (at least 10 cm). In such conditions, the material is formed up to 15 days, after which planting can begin.

Potato seedlings

Potato seedlings begin to be grown several weeks before planting in the ground. Pre-prepared root crops are planted in pots or boxes with soil. Then they are placed in a greenhouse or greenhouse. Seedlings should be planted after the soil and air have completely warmed up. The seedling method will allow you to dig up early young potatoes.

What to treat before planting?

Treating potatoes before planting reduces the risk of diseases and insects during the growth and formation of potato tubers.

Chemicals

There may be a large number of fungi and bacteria on the surface of the peel. The processing time for potatoes depends on the preparations:

Planriz is used for spraying 1 week before planting seeds in the ground.
Albit immediately one day before planting.
Fitosporin is treated just before planting.

Among the drugs that have proven themselves well are:

Commander (used to protect plantings from insects, such as the Colorado potato beetle. The chemical is toxic, so it must be used with extreme caution).
The drug Cruiser is another chemical that can be used to prevent the appearance of insects and rotting of potatoes. Used as a spray.
The Maxim substance is aimed at preventing the development of many diseases of agricultural crops (scab, phimosis, rhizoctonia). It is sprayed on seeded root crops before planting in the ground.

The treatment solution can be prepared independently using potassium permanganate. 1 g of potassium permanganate is diluted in 1 liter of water and poured over the germinated tubers for 20–30 minutes. After this, the wet seeds are covered with wood ash.

Disinfection with copper sulfate helps prevent the appearance of fungal diseases on plantings. To prepare the solution you will need 10 liters of water, 1 matchbox of vitriol and 2 g of potassium permanganate. All ingredients are mixed in a non-metallic container and the planting material is soaked for 1-3 minutes. It is dried before planting.

Folk remedies

Folk remedies are less effective than chemicals, but they are safer for humans. Under their influence, there is no accumulation of substances hazardous to human health. And when using folk recipes, additional protection is not required.

Potatoes are treated with wood ash diluted in water. To do this, you need to take 1 kg of ash and dilute it in 10 warm water. Before planting, the seed is dipped into the solution. And ash is poured into the bottom of the holes. Only after this they begin planting.

Where to get seeds: buy or collect them yourself

Potato seeds can be purchased in one of the following ways:

buy (at a garden center, at a garden-themed store);
collect from the plant with your own hands.

Rules for collecting seeds with your own hands from a potato bush:

In August you need to collect the green berries that are at the top of the bush. You should choose large berries.
Now the seeds need to be removed for ripening: hang the berries in a gauze bag or lay them out in one layer on a sheet of paper. Place in a warm and bright room.
Wait until the potato berries soften and become a little limp.
Crush them carefully and remove the seeds from the inner pulp.

Now rinse them carefully in warm water (for example, in a cloth bag so that they do not get lost under the pressure of the water).

By the way! A convenient way to collect and wash them: crush the berries into a glass of clean water, rinse them with your hands right in the glass, and then pour the liquid into another glass with a filter (put a piece of cloth on the glass as a filter), and then spread the seeds on paper to dry .

After washing, you need to dry them and pour them into a paper bag, and then store them until planting. Seeds should be stored in a warm and dry place at room temperature.

Note! Seeds collected by yourself have poor germination. Therefore, it is advisable to collect a lot of seeds in order to obtain guaranteed seedlings when sowing.

Tips from summer residents

To improve the harvest, you need to follow some tips from experienced gardeners:

Root vegetables are soaked in a mineral solution for several hours. The procedure is carried out several hours before landing.
A day before planting, planting material is treated with growth stimulants. They allow you to increase productivity and speed up the germination of sprouts.
The tubers must be cut into several parts so that each of them has eyes. In this case, growth hormone is produced and root formation occurs more actively.
To retain moisture in the soil, plantings are covered with mulch.
It is not recommended to plant small potatoes to obtain a harvest. Small potatoes have few eyes, and accordingly there will be fewer shoots.
Only healthy planting material is used for cultivation. Spoiled and moldy root vegetables should be thrown away immediately.
After any treatment with liquid substances, the potatoes must be dried, otherwise they will begin to rot.

You should not assume that you will be able to grow a good harvest without preliminary preparation. Pre-germination and dressing of tubers will help increase yield.