How many days after planting do potatoes sprout and what if they do not sprout?
Planting a basic vegetable crop is half the battle. But it is difficult to achieve high yields of tubers, uniform shoots. Although it is known how many days potatoes emerge after planting, 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 observe the terms and rules for planting a plant, caring for it.
Potato germination time
The planting of a vegetable crop 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. Planting dates for later types of culture come when the dandelions are blooming.
Depending on the climate of the region, weather conditions determine the day for planting the field. They 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 introduced into the ground.
Sprouted tubers germinate better. For vernalization, planting material is placed in boxes, taking them out to a warm and bright room. To accelerate 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 for 10-12 days. If the weather is cool, and there are still light frosts at night, the waiting period will last up to twenty days.
Why don't potatoes come up?
Potatoes sprout for a long time, unevenly for various reasons:
- With sharp changes in daytime temperatures compared to nighttime, the tubers of the vegetable will lie in the ground without sprouting. As soon as it gets warmer, green sprouts of potatoes 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. Then, instead of sprouts, the potatoes whelp, forming miniature nodules.
- For the growing season of the crop, soil moisture is important. Excessively dry soil does not provide enough moisture and nutrition for the nodules. They dry up without ever rising. 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 in heavy clay soils by 8-10 centimeters, and in light sandy loam - 12-15 centimeters. Then the potatoes sprout more amicably and on time.
- Potatoes grow poorly in poor lands. Therefore, during the digging of the site, humus, superphosphate and potassium salt... You can put fertilizers in each hole during planting.
- It is imperative to harrow a plot for a vegetable crop. The procedure is especially important for virgin lands. Unbroken lumps of soil will not give grow potatoes.
- One of the pests of the potato field - bears do not allow shoots to appear. Gnawed tubers without eyes will lie in the ground and rot.
The quality of the seed must be high, otherwise the sprouts will not sprout.
What potatoes do you need for planting?
Speaking about the quality of planting material, pay attention to:
- lack of damage by pests;
- vegetable variety;
- the presence of powerful shoots on the tubers.
If the seed potatoes grown on the site are sick, then they cannot be planted. It will sprout slowly or rot in the ground. Tubers can be saved by treatment with potassium permanganate. A solution of boric acid, copper sulfate is used for disinfection. After processing, the seed is dried.
Without sprouting tubers, you cannot get a vegetable harvest. Before that, spoiled and diseased nodules are sorted out. Healthy tubers weighing 50–70 grams are ideal for planting. Larger ones are cut in half 2–3 weeks before planting. Sprouted potatoes are planted.
Why do potatoes rise unevenly?
The bald spots on the potato field are due to the fact that some of the planted tubers did not germinate. This happens because:
- poorly selected planting material;
- some of the tubers lacked sprouts before planting;
- plant seeds are damaged by pests;
- potatoes lack nutrients;
- there are many large clods of earth on the field.
In order for the seedlings of the vegetable to be uniform, it is necessary to carefully select the tubers for planting. They should be medium in size with thick, sturdy shoots. Long threads on the seeds speak of diseases of the culture, its inability to grow.
But the green tubers will be more useful on the site, they are able to give a healthy harvest. They accumulate solanine, which will help the plant resist diseases and pests.
What to do, how to accelerate the germination of potatoes?
When the potatoes have not risen on the field in twenty days, you need to dig holes and see the condition of the tubers. If they do not even have sprouts or the seeds have rotted, then there will be no sense from such plantings of a vegetable. For potatoes to bear fruit, you must:
- cook tubers before planting, rejecting beaten, cut, damaged;
- germinate seed;
- put tubers in boxes with peat, humus, moistened with a solution of mineral salts: 30 grams of superphosphate, 20 - potassium salt per bucket of water;
- choose a vegetable variety appropriate for the area;
- choose a day for landing, taking into account the weather and climate.
It is important to prepare the site for culture on time. Prepare the field in the fall after harvest. They dig up or plow the soil, introducing humus. Harrowing the site will break up the dense layers of the earth.
Taking into account the rules of "three dozen" - a planting depth of 10 centimeters, a soil temperature of 10 degrees - the first sprouts of potatoes are obtained in 10 days.
Rules for caring for potato plantings
Before the seedlings of the vegetable appear, they harrow the site, loosening the soil to a depth of 4–5 centimeters. A sunny, dry day is chosen for the procedure so that the weeds that have appeared will die.
Harrowing is also necessary when the shoots hatch, the second time, when the stems reach ten centimeters in height. The aisles are loosened perpendicularly to a depth of seven centimeters.
Planting 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... In ten liters of water, dissolve 30-50 grams of superphosphate, 10-15 grams of ammonium nitrate and 15-20 grams of potassium salt. From organic matter, take mullein in a ratio of 1: 5 or bird droppings - 1:12. Mineral fertilizers alternate with organic ones.
Havethe course for potatoes after germination consists of:
- watering during the period of tuber formation;
- hilling twice a 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 the second layer of tubers will be tied.
With a weak formation of ovaries and a powerful stem, the vegetable rows are fertilized with ash or fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium.
Potatoes grow quickly if preparation for planting, crop care is organized correctly.
