2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
In a previous article, I talked about why potatoes still need to be germinated. And in this I want to share information about the methods of germinating seed potatoes
There are several ways to germinate potatoes, among them the following can be distinguished: germination in the light, germination in bags (this also includes germination in bags), germination in a humid environment, as well as combined germination. Let's start by germinating in the light.
Germination in the light
This is perhaps the simplest germination. All that is needed for him is a fairly bright room, the temperature in which does not rise above 18 degrees Celsius. If the room is dark (for example, a basement or a pantry without windows and artificial lighting), then the sprouts of our seed will be thin, long, brittle. It is not recommended to plant potatoes with such sprouts, since the sprouts, despite the fact that they are long, very weak, take root hard, break easily when planting and filling with soil. Therefore, in order not to get low-quality planting material, lighting should be mandatory. But keep in mind that the seeds should not be exposed to direct sunlight. The light should be diffused. If you do not have a room that is not exposed to direct sunlight, you can simply cover the potatoes with white paper or a thin non-woven fabric. Direct sunlight is dangerous because it leads to lignification of potato sprouts, which in the future negatively affects the yield.
So, we take out the seed potatoes cooked in the fall (or, if necessary, purchase the planting material of the desired variety), sort through, immediately removing the spoiled or diseased tubers. The rest are laid out in boxes in one or two (maximum - three) layers (you can simply on the floor covered with paper or cloth, but I prefer plastic boxes with lattice sides, since then it will be more convenient to transport the seeds to the planting site without the risk of breaking the sprouts), put it in one layer and leave it indoors. If there is not enough light, then you will have to turn on artificial lighting. Periodically look through the boxes in order to remove the tubers that will start to deteriorate in time, and monitor the development of the sprouts, if they begin to stretch in length, then increase the brightness of the backlight. Once every 2 weeks, gently spray the tubers with a spray bottle with warm water.
About 5-6 days before the expected day of planting, cover the potatoes with a dark, dense cloth (you can cover with straw) so that they lie in the dark for this time.
The period of such germination is 30-40 days, take this into account in order to get the potatoes on time. As a result of this germination, you will get cute plump sprouts of dark green color.
Germination in bags
For such germination, you will need dense plastic transparent bags. About one and a half meters high (minimum height 130 cm) and about 30 centimeters wide. Along the entire length of the bag, at a distance of 10 centimeters from each other, it is necessary to make holes so that the potatoes "breathe". Hole diameters from 0.5 to 1.5 centimeters.
Now we fill the bag with seeds about two-thirds, tie it. Lay the potatoes on their side and distribute them evenly. We intercept it in the middle with a rope and hang it by the middle of the bag in a bright room with an air temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius. Occasionally, about once a week, slightly moisten the tubers.
Germination in packages is carried out according to the same principle.
Germination in a humid environment
This method outperforms the previous ones in that when using it, the harvest will be obtained earlier and faster than when using the two methods described above. This is extremely important in regions where summers are short.
To implement this method, we will need a substrate, which can be used as: chaff, sawdust, peat, humus and other fillers suitable in structure. At the bottom of the box we pour a layer of wet filler (do not use too wet filler) a couple of centimeters thick, spread the tubers on it at a distance of 1-1.5 centimeters from each other, fill them with a layer of substrate, the layer should not be more than 3 centimeters, on put the potatoes in the same order and so on until the container is full, the top layer is a substrate, the layer thickness is 3 cm. During germination, carefully monitor the moisture content of the filler, it should not be wet or dry, only wet.
Keep in mind that the germination period in this case is from two to three weeks at an air temperature of 18-20 degrees Celsius.
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