Many grow potatoes, but it is not always possible to acquire a sufficient amount of seed material. The reasons can be very different. How to grow potatoes from eyes? Planting potatoes with their eyes will reduce planting material by 2-3, even more times, without prejudice to the crop. Usually, one hundred acres when planting under a shovel requires from 15 to 20 kg of tubers, and at current prices this is expressed in thousands of rubles. This technology allows, by reducing the consumption of seed material by 3-5 times, to get a good harvest. On average, when planting eyes on one hundred parts, only 8 kg of tubers are consumed.
Once I used potato eyes for planting. But this is not the main thing, but the fact that I combined this technique with the technology of growing potatoes on the ridges. This allowed not only to reduce the consumption of seeds, but also significantly increase the yield.
I will only say about the soil that it should be prepared in a timely manner and with high quality. On my personal plot, I dig the soil manually in the fall, and in the spring, when ripe, I level it with a rake or a light cultivator harrow.
Selection, germination of tubers with good eyes
Particular attention should be paid to the preparation of seed potatoes. I must say that not every tuber's eyes will be suitable for planting. It is impossible, for example, to use sick, frosty tubers for this purpose. I select healthy, medium-sized (50-70 g) tubers. Significantly less productive are eyes from small potatoes.
Harvested parts of tubers should be tried to be maintained until the time of planting. If immediately after cutting they are poured with a thick layer into the basement, then they will quickly decay, and from long storage in a dry and warm room will dry out.
To avoid this, it is recommended to hold the cut parts of the potato with eyes for two to three days at room temperature, sprinkled with a thin layer in one or two rows. If this is not possible, then you can directly transfer them to the basement, but first sprinkle with a layer of 5-7 cm, hold for 8-10 days until the slices are roughened (cork).
During storage of potato slices with eyes, they are carefully monitored. If rotten appear, it is necessary to organize a bulkhead with the removal of patients, suspicious specimens. In the case of severe wilting (drying), it is useful to spray lightly with water from time to time.
In order to increase yields and obtain more equal tubers in size, before planting, slices of potatoes must be subjected to light vernalization. Its essence is to make the eyes grow in diffused light at room temperature (15-20 ° C). Such shoots are called light. At the same time, they turn out to be short, thick, green with buds of leaves, even there are roots. Spring vernalization reduces by almost half the period from the moment of planting to the appearance of seedlings.
A month and a half before planting, seed potatoes need to be removed from the store and warm well at a temperature of 18-22 degrees for 4-6 days. As soon as the eyes hatch, I lay the tubers in 2-3 layers in boxes and expose to the light, while lowering the temperature to +8 degrees.
To do this, I take out the boxes outside, adjusting the temperature with a transparent plastic film. Seed tubers continue to germinate, and they form healthy greenish-violet sprouts 2-3 cm high. It takes 28-35 days. One day before or on the day of planting, I cut potatoes into slices: how many eyes are on the tuber, so many slices - each one.
Dividing the tuber into parts with eyes
There may be ambiguities with the top of the seed tuber, where there are many eyes, they cannot be separated, so to speak, “individually”. I cut the top of the tuber into 2-3 slices vertically, but when planting, I try to prevent them from planting next to each other.
It is often written in the literature that when separating a seed tuber, it is necessary that the lobule with an eye weigh 5-10 g. In practice, I was convinced that the 2–3 g wedges also give full-fledged seedlings and form a good crop. But I put 2-3 small pieces into the hole.
Planting potatoes with eyes, seedling care
Having prepared 2-3 buckets of potato wedges with eyes, I proceed to plant them. Using a cord, I beat off the direction of the first row (preferably from south to north), with a chopper I cut a groove 6 cm deep. If the opened furrow is dry, then moisten it from a watering can. I spread the pieces of seed potatoes sprouts upward, slightly pressing them into moist soil. The distance in the row is 10-15 cm. Large potato wedges are displayed less often, small ones more often. I cover the decomposed pieces with soil, so that a solid roller 8-10 cm high and about 35 cm wide at the base is formed on top.
After 2.5-3 weeks, when the potato seedlings are “under the top”, that is, there will remain 2-3 days before reaching the surface, forming a more powerful roller on top of the first one, 25-27 cm high, 65-70 cm wide at the base. B this ridge will then form a crop.
After 5-8 days, seedling seedlings will appear above the surface of the ridge and begin to grow rapidly. Evenly spaced plants quickly gain strength, close above the aisles, jam the weeds.
If dry weather develops during the potato growing season, watering is highly desirable. This year, when there was no rain in May, I poured potatoes once at the rate of 15 liters of water per 1 sq. Km. m, pouring water into the aisles, which after the formation of ridges have the form of a deep furrow.