How to prepare potatoes before planting

Preparing the soil

Preparing the soil Before planting potatoes, all experienced gardeners are engaged. Presowing work is carried out in the fall and begins with the selection of the site. It should be sunny, protected from drafts. The following activities are carried out:

1. The soil is dug up to the depth of the fertile layer, the podzol is not affected.
2. For each m² up to 8 kg of organic matter is added, up to 45 g of superphosphate and up to

20 g of potassium sulfate. These fertilizers are well absorbed by the soil and practically are not washed out of it. In spring, the plot is loosened with a harrow or rake.When the soil is sufficiently dry, it is worth digging or plowing, but not as deep as in the fall. At the same time, 20 g of ammonium nitrate is applied per 1 m² of beds. Author Kharevich Yuri Antonovich in his works says that it is possible to prepare the soil for planting crops in the spring, but then from each hundredth the yield will be 20-35 kg less. If winter was not snowy and the soil didn’t settle down, then there is no need to dig the site in the spring. It will be enough to soil the soil and make fertilizers. Planting seeds is done when the soil warms up to 7-9 ° C.

Preparation of sandy areas

Sandy and sandy areas are dug up in the spring with the simultaneous application of such fertilizers on 1 m² :

• up to 10 kg of humus;
• about 30 g of ammonium nitrate;
• 40-45 g of superphosphate in granules;
• 20-25 g of potassium sulfate.

The author Alexander Ustyuzhanin recommends that the area suffering from excess moisture be drained using deep channels along its perimeter. If the groundwater is too close, the channels are arranged in the middle of the plot.

Cultivation of peat bogs

Peat-bog soils should be cultivated: drain ground water using drainage or drainage ditches into the sump. After this, peat needs to be pecked: for each m², add 10 kg of sand, mineral fertilizers (20 g of ammonium nitrate, 40 g of superphosphate and up to 30 g of potassium sulfate) and a bucket of humus. Gardeners recommend abandoning the cultivation of crops on peat-bog soils. Potatoes grown on peat have the worst palatability and are low in starch.

Selection and preparation of seed material

The preparation of selected potatoes for planting should be taken seriously. The future harvest largely depends on this. The preparation of potato tubers for planting begins with the selection of high-quality planting material. Experienced gardeners buy new varieties or choose pure-grade seeds from those available. The mass of potatoes should be from 50 to 100 g, then the seedlings will be friendly and healthy. You can take smaller tubers, but then they are put into the hole in two.

Greening the tubers

Preparation of potatoes for planting begins in the fall. At this time, immediately after harvesting, the tubers are greened. Planting material is scattered in several layers in a well-lit, but protected from direct sunlight. After 10-14 days, solanine is formed in the tubers - a green substance that protects against diseases, rodents and pests and increases the potency of potatoes. If for some reason it was not possible to do this in the fall, it is strongly recommended to start with this event in the spring.

Sorting planting material

are suitable for planting. Preparing potato seeds for planting involves sorting them. The rotten and diseased tubers are discarded, only quality ones are left for storage.

For this purpose, all seeds are placed in a urea solution (1.5 kg of fertilizer in a bucket of water). Healthy tubers immediately sink to the bottom of the solution, and those who are sick and unripe will swim. After that, healthy planting material is dried and sorted into three groups:

• large (80-100 g);
• medium (50 to 80 g);
• small (25-50 g).

Sorted potatoes are planted in separate beds. Seeds of the same size will produce the same seedlings and it will be easier to care for such areas. They can be harrowed at the same time, and after the formation of rows, they can be hilled.

Disinfection with fungicides

Preparing potatoes for planting in the spring also includes disinfection of seed with fungicides. Pathogens of various painful conditions can live on potato peels: phomosis, nematodes, late blight, etc. Therefore, potatoes are treated with bio-fungicides. Methods for disinfecting planting stock:

1. 7 days before planting seeds in open ground, Planriz is used.
2. On the day of planting, it is best to use Fitosporin or Baxis.
3. Agat-25K or Binoram should be sprayed with seeds twice (several days before planting and on the day of planting).
4. The drug "Albit" is used 24 hours before planting tubers.

Instead of bio-fungicides, some gardeners use the following solution for the prophylactic treatment of planting material: 1 tsp copper sulfate is bred in 3 liters of water. Seeds are immersed in such a solution, and then dried.

Heating and withering

Two weeks before planting, the tubers are taken out of the place where they were stored in the winter in a warm room with a temperature air from 18 to 20 ° C. They will be able to warm up well here and be a little faded. This will help protect the seeds from damage during planting, and also stimulate the formation of sprouts.

Germination of potatoes before planting

Preparation of young potato seeds before planting by germination, according to experts, helps to increase the yield of any variety .

Germination is especially important for gardeners whose soil is heavy loamy, peat or floodplain. To form sprouts, planting material a month before planting is placed in a warm room with high humidity.The best place would be a greenhouse. The potatoes are lined in one bowl, carefully turned over every 5 days so as not to damage the sprouts. The temperature in the greenhouse should be 6-12 ° C higher during the day than at night. It is best to keep the seeds at a temperature of about 20 ° C for the first 7 days, and lower the temperature to 7-8 ° C for the next 3 weeks. . Such a change in temperature stimulates the formation of sprouts, but also prevents them from overgrowing.

Humidity

Germination is a prerequisite for high air humidity - at least 80%. There will be no problems with this condition in the greenhouse. If the potato is not germinated in greenhouse conditions, it is sprayed with water every day. You can accelerate the germination of seed by spraying it alternately with the following solutions:

1. 1 tsp. nitrofoski diluted in 3 liters of water.
2. 1 tbsp. l the drug "Effekton" in 3 liters of water.
3. 1 tsp. urea is dissolved in 3 l of liquid.
4. A solution of the growth stimulator "Potassium guatemate" or "sodium guatemate" is used for spraying 4, 5 and 6.

The tubers are considered ready for planting, if the sprouts reach 1 cm. Germinated planting material sprouts 10-14 days earlier than usual and takes root faster.

Tubers vernalization

Preparing potatoes for planting by vernalization includes the selection of high-quality seeds and heating them at high temperature (23-25 ​​° C) for several days.The tubers are spread with a thin ball near the light source (windows, transoms) so that the lighting is uniform. Gardeners distinguish two ways of vernalization:

1. Experienced gardeners correctly use the dry method of vernalization. For this, it is necessary to bring planting material into a room with an air temperature of about 15 ° C and keep it there for a month with sufficient light. Seeds are flipped every 6 days so that all sprouts see sunlight. After 30-35 days, the potato will be ready for planting, it can be collected in boxes. Large seeds are cut in half so that each part has at least 2-4 healthy sprouts and is laid on the bottom of the box. Some gardeners recommend cutting tubers in the fall when they are being prepared for storage, in October or November. After that, withstand them at a temperature of 14 - 20 ° C and high humidity for two weeks. Under such conditions, a cork layer forms on the slice, which protects against moisture loss and the introduction of microorganisms. Sometimes, instead of cutting, they cut the tubers, leaving a small jumper, which they break when planting.
2. When wet, the potatoes are placed in a wooden or plastic container in several rows with their eyes up. The bottom of the box and the layers are sprinkled with wet peat or sawdust, and after 2-3 weeks the tubers let out not only sprouts, but also the roots.The wet method of vernalization is used by those who will plant the seed material by hand: the mechanized method will damage the formed roots.

Only in good light conditions do thick and strong dark green shoots form on the tubers with a purple tint. If there is not enough light, the shoots will be thin, weak and pale. They will break and be damaged when planting, a healthy plant will not grow out of them.

Ash treatment

Ash treatment is another way to prepare tubers before planting. Ash contributes to the accumulation of starch in potatoes, so many gardeners and gardeners fertilize it with the site. Some of them moisturize the seeds and pump them in this fertilizer. With this method, you can get good seedlings and increase the yield.

Using all of the above methods of preparing potato seeds for planting is impossible and not necessary, in most cases a few of them are enough. Pre-planting work must meet the specific conditions of a particular site. How to prepare potatoes for planting, the gardener must decide and try himself. Only then the homestead will please the owner with a good harvest of potatoes.