Potatoes are a vegetable crop grown almost throughout Russia. To get a good harvest on time, seed potatoes are pre-germinated. How to choose and prepare high-quality planting material, germinating potatoes in sawdust, a description of the technology, the pros and cons of the method, is it possible to germinate seed potatoes in a greenhouse - these questions are considered within the framework of this article.

Why do potatoes sprout

The preparation of planting material is the basis for a good harvest. Germination is an agrotechnical technique that allows you to select high-quality tubers for planting. The gardener decides to plant sprouted or simple potatoes.

Sprouting in sawdust

Why do you need to germinate tubers before planting:

  • Damaged and diseased tubers can be noticed and removed. To germinate potatoes, they are carefully selected. Cut or rotten potatoes are immediately removed and discarded. In the process of germination, it is noticeable whether there are weak tubers with bad seedlings, such seed material will not give a good harvest, therefore it is laid aside;
  • The ripening period is accelerated. When planting non-germinated tubers, the first shoots appear in 14-21 days. If the potatoes were planted with good seedlings, then the germination period decreases, the development and formation of the vegetable is faster. You can harvest the finished crop 2 weeks earlier;
  • For the prevention of diseases of viral and fungal origin. Potatoes, which are exposed to light for a long time, change color, the skin turns green. This is due to the production of corned beef poisonous substance under the influence of the sun. Thanks to this poison, seed potatoes are not affected by a virus or fungus;
  • Selection by weight. Potatoes weighing 30-100 g are selected as seed material. A large tuber will produce 3-4 times more seedlings than a 30-gram potato. When planting tubers of different sizes, there will be an unequal number of shoots on the site, this affects the quality and quantity of the crop. When selecting, large potatoes can be separated from small ones. The cultivation of a certain variety of medium-sized potatoes can be solved in the following way: small tubers weighing up to 50 g are placed in one hole in 2-3 pieces.

Seed selection

Germination allows you to select good seed material, which will allow you to grow a tasty and nutritious vegetable ahead of time.

Processing potatoes before germination and planting

Germinating cucumber seeds on toilet paper

Taking potatoes out of the cellar in the spring, it is necessary to select a good planting material, this will allow you to get a decent harvest. 4-5 weeks before planting, potatoes begin to cook:

  • Take away;
  • Process;
  • Germinate.

Sprouted tubers

If soil is adhered to the tubers, then it is washed off with cool water. They must be clean to notice any mechanical damage and illness.

Next, the vegetable is treated with a special solution. This prevents diseases and fights possible pests, improves the quality of the crop.

Processing methods:

  • Chemicals;
  • Folk remedies.

Each method has its own pros and cons. Chemical processing is effective in combating pests and diseases, but the ingredients of the preparation can penetrate into the future harvest. The grown potatoes will not be an environmentally friendly product.

To get a healthy and clean harvest, there are folk methods for processing tubers. Recipe:

  • Take a teaspoon of copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, boric acid, mix all the ingredients together;
  • Add the mixture to 10 liters of cool clean water, dissolve the mixture in water;
  • Put potatoes with small sprouts in a grid, dip in a bucket with prepared solution for 15 minutes;
  • After 15 minutes, hang the net so that excess water is glass.

Additionally, the tubers are powdered with wood ash.

Processing in a folk way increases the resistance of root crops to various diseases, accelerates the germination process, and increases productivity.

How to sprout potatoes in sawdust

Before you start sprouting potatoes, it should be inspected for mechanical damage. Remove damaged tubers, they will not be suitable as planting material.

Dutch potato varieties

If the tubers began to sprout in the cellar, then small seedlings are left, and long ones are broken off.

On a note. To detect small traces of rotting of the tuber, it can be washed with water. Even small spots of rot are visible on a clean vegetable.

You can germinate in several ways:

  • Wet germination in sawdust;
  • In the light;
  • Heating method;
  • Wilting.

By germinating potatoes in sawdust, the gardener shortens the germination time of potatoes by 2 weeks. The method is not labor-intensive, there is no need for special lighting and turning the tubers.

To germinate seed, you will need:

  • Sawdust (wood shavings), peat mixture;
  • Wooden boxes, boxes, pots, containers (optional);
  • Water;
  • Nitrogen, phosphoric, potassium fertilizers.

The potato experiment of sprouting tubers in sawdust provides an opportunity for gardeners to grow a rich harvest.

Instructions on how best to sprout potatoes in sawdust:

  • The selected seed is pretreated with fertilizers or EM-preparation. This will help activate the growth and development of the sprouts;
  • Put sawdust on the bottom of the box, lay the potatoes on top in rows, the upper part of the tubers should be on top. The distance between them is 1-2 cm;
  • Moisten the remaining sawdust with water, squeeze lightly;
  • Cover with a layer of sawdust (2-3 cm). Seed material can be laid out in several levels (preferably no more than 2 floors), cover each layer of potatoes with a layer of sawdust;
  • The moisture content of the substrate must be monitored. The substrate should be 80% wet. As soon as it begins to dry out, it is moistened with cool, settled water;
  • You can add phosphorus, potash or nitrogen fertilizers to the water. This will additionally nourish the tubers, the sprouts will turn out stronger. For 10 liters of water, take 30 g of potash feeding and 60 g of superphosphate;
  • The optimum temperature is 15 degrees, maximum 20 degrees;
  • The boxes can be stacked on top of each other;
  • The tubers should germinate quickly. Time for germination is 2-3 weeks, the sprouts should not be overgrown. Next, the tubers are planted in the ground.

Growing processed potatoes with sprouts is much faster and easier.

Ready planting material

On a note. The germination container must not be airtight. The water that moistens the sawdust should leave. Plus, it is important that there is constant air circulation, in a natural way.

If there are no boxes for germination, you can equip everything in an open area. Manure with a thickness of 30-50 cm is laid on the ground, then sprinkled with a layer of sawdust and potatoes are laid out, according to the instructions described above. Ready-made seed material with good seedlings can be planted in the ground.

Benefits of sprouting potatoes before planting in sawdust:

  • Wet germination in sawdust is carried out to obtain strong roots;
  • Selection of high-quality planting material. After sprouting, you can see which potatoes are suitable for planting in the garden;
  • The ability to dig up ripe potatoes early;
  • The method is simple, it is enough to monitor the humidity and temperature, there is no need to turn and shift the potatoes.

The disadvantages include:

  • The substrate should always be moist;
  • When the substrate dries, the sprouts become weak, the planting material can be ruined;

A yielding variety can be preserved by germinating before planting on the site.

Sprouting potatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse

When choosing a method for preparing seed material, many questions arise, one of them: is it possible to germinate potatoes in a greenhouse in spring.

Germination in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Seedling potatoes

If there is a greenhouse on the site (polycarbonate material), then you can easily prepare the vegetable for planting in open ground by germinating it in advance.

The easiest way to grow potatoes in a greenhouse is in the light. The potatoes are selected, spread on a flat surface in one layer.

It is important to ensure:

  • Uniform light distribution;
  • Optimum temperature;
  • Humidity in the greenhouse.

Potato germination begins in a few days. The first strong shoots will be visible in 1-1.5 weeks. As soon as the eyes on one side germinate, the vegetable is turned over and the mechanism is repeated again. Sprouted potatoes as planting material are ready. The cultivation is carried out in the usual way. Germination will be better when planting tubers with seedlings.

The advantage of preparing potatoes for planting in a greenhouse is that you can get sprouts over the entire surface of the potatoes from the eyes. The greenhouse method in a short time allows you to germinate powerful seedlings, which will give the first shoots faster when planting seed potatoes in open ground.

Harvesting sprouted tubers

Any of the germination methods requires the gardener to follow simple but important rules. A large harvest depends on an integrated approach to agrotechnical measures. The sawdust method is effective to get an early harvest of potatoes.