Planting the main vegetable crop is half the battle. But it is difficult to achieve high yields of tubers and uniform germination. Although it is known how many days it takes for potatoes to sprout after planting, the days go by and there are only a few stalks in the field. The reasons for the uneven emergence of seedlings are different. To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to follow the timing and rules of planting and caring for it.
Potato germination time
Vegetable planting begins when the air temperature warms up to 8–10 degrees Celsius.Earthworms appear in warm soil. This is a signal to plant early potato varieties. The time for planting late types of crops comes when dandelions bloom.
Depending on the climate of the region and weather conditions, the day for planting the field is determined. Take into account the advice of gardeners who are guided by the lunar calendar.
Planted tubers will germinate faster in a humid environment. But the dug up area for potatoes should not be salted. Nutrient substrates and humus are added to the soil.
Pre-sprouted tubers germinate better. For vernalization, planting material is placed in boxes, taking them to a warm and bright room. To speed up germination, wet sawdust, peat or humus are poured between the tubers. Seed material kept at a temperature of 14–18 degrees Celsius for 10–15 days will increase the potato yield by half.
Vegetable sprouts appear after planting on days 10–12. If the weather is cool and there are still slight frosts at night, then the waiting period will last up to twenty days.
Why don't potatoes sprout?
Potatoes take a long time to sprout unevenly for various reasons:
- If there are sharp changes in temperature during the day compared to night, the vegetable tubers will lie in the ground without germinating. As soon as it gets warmer, green potato sprouts will begin to appear. The plant is able to withstand minor drops. But weather disasters in the form of severe frosts will destroy the seed material. Then, instead of sprouts, the potatoes sprout, forming miniature nodules.
- Soil moisture is important for crop growth. Excessively dry soil does not provide enough moisture and nutrition to the nodules. They dry up without ever emerging. There is a lot of moisture, its stagnation in the area will lead to rotting of the nodules.
- The depth at which the seeds are planted depends on the composition of the soil.Tubers are buried 8–10 centimeters in heavy clay soils, and 12–15 centimeters in light sandy soils. Then the potatoes germinate faster and on time.
- Potatoes grow poorly on poor lands. Therefore, when digging the site, humus, superphosphate and potassium salt. You can put fertilizers in each hole during planting.
- It is necessary to harrow the area for vegetable crops. The procedure is especially important for virgin lands. Unbroken lumps of soil will not give grow potatoes.
- One of the potato field pests, mole crickets, prevent seedlings from appearing. The gnawed tubers without eyes will lie in the ground and rot.
The quality of the seed material must be high, otherwise the sprouts will not sprout.
What kind of potatoes are needed for planting?
Speaking about the quality of planting material, pay attention to:
- absence of pest damage;
- vegetable variety;
- the presence of powerful sprouts on tubers.
If seed potatoes grown on the plot are sick, they cannot be planted. It will sprout slowly or rot in the ground. Tubers can be saved by treating them with potassium permanganate. A solution of boric acid and copper sulfate is used for disinfection. After processing, the seed material is dried.
Without germinating tubers, you cannot get a vegetable harvest. Before this, spoiled and diseased nodules are sorted. Ideal for planting would be healthy tubers weighing 50–70 grams. Larger ones are cut in half 2-3 weeks before planting. Sprouted potatoes are planted.
Why do potatoes rise unevenly?
Bald spots in a potato field are due to the fact that some of the planted tubers did not germinate. This happens because:
- poorly selected planting material;
- Some tubers had no sprouts before planting;
- plant seeds are damaged by pests;
- potatoes lack nutrients;
- there are many large lumps of earth on the field.
To ensure uniform seedlings of the vegetable, you must carefully select the tubers for planting. They should be medium in size with thick, strong shoots. Long threads on the seeds indicate diseases of the crop and its inability to grow.
But greened tubers will be more useful on the site; they can produce a healthy harvest. They accumulate solanine, which will help the plant resist diseases and pests.
What to do, how to speed up the germination of potatoes?
When the potatoes have not sprouted in the field after twenty days, you need to dig holes and look at the condition of the tubers. If there are not even sprouts on them or the seeds have rotted, then such vegetable plantings will be of no use. For potatoes to bear fruit, you must:
- prepare tubers before planting, discarding beaten, cut, damaged ones;
- carry out germination of seed material;
- place the tubers in boxes with peat, humus, moistened solution of mineral salts: 30 grams of superphosphate, 20 grams of potassium salt per bucket of water;
- choose a vegetable variety that suits the area;
- choose a day for planting taking into account the weather and climate.
It is important to prepare the area for cultivation in a timely manner. The field is prepared in the fall after harvesting. Dig or plow the soil, adding humus. Harrowing the area will break up the dense layers of soil.
Taking into account the “three tens” rules - planting depth of 10 centimeters, soil temperature of 10 degrees - the first potato sprouts are obtained in 10 days.
Rules for caring for potato plantings
Before the vegetable shoots appear, the area is harrowed, loosening the soil to a depth of 4–5 centimeters.For the procedure, choose a sunny, dry day so that the emerging weeds die.
Harrowing is also necessary when the sprouts hatch, the second time when the stems reach ten centimeters in height. The rows are loosened perpendicularly to a depth of seven centimeters.
Vegetable crops are fed depending on the composition of the soil. A solution of wood ash or superphosphate with potassium salt is added to the moist, rich soil. Poor soils need superphosphate with ammonium nitrate and potassium salts. 30–50 grams of superphosphate, 10–15 grams of ammonium nitrate and 15–20 grams of potassium salt are dissolved in ten liters of water. From organic matter, mullein is taken in a ratio of 1:5 or bird droppings - 1:12. Mineral fertilizers alternate with organic ones.
UThe process for growing potatoes after germination consists of:
- watering during the formation of tubers;
- hilling twice per season;
- loosening the field;
- vegetable pest control.
All types of care are aimed at providing the plant with moisture and nutrition. Hilling will cause the formation of underground stems on which a second tier of tubers will form.
If the formation of ovaries is weak and the stem is strong, fertilize the rows of the vegetable with ash or fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium.
Potatoes grow quickly if preparation for planting and care of the crop are properly organized.
