Seed potatoes, how to grow, where and what to buy

You need to plant quality seed potatoes. Every gardener knows this. Any tubers will not work. Therefore, the main questions of gardeners-potato growers - where and what to buy or how to grow it, get your own. Seed potatoes are not a cheap treat. Grow it is not as simple as it seems, but it will still make the cost of planting material much cheaper. And then it is very important to properly prepare it for storage, planting. A good seed material is the guarantee of a crop of any culture. For potatoes - this is also the most important question.

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What kind of potato is called seed

The term "seed potatoes" can mislead somebody. Usually the seed material we call plant seeds, obtained from the testes after flowering. But with potatoes, everything is different.

It has a complex life cycle. Like most plants, it produces seeds and from them it is possible to grow a future crop. After flowering on the peduncles testes are formed - small green "tomatoes" - after all, potatoes, like tomatoes, belong to the Solanaceae family. After ripening, drying out of the testes, small seeds are extracted. These are seeds.

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But unlike most plants, it also produces tubers, which we usually use to produce a future crop.

You can, of course, grow potatoes from seeds, but usually it is specially selected, or even specially grown for planting a tuber.

The seed material can be obtained by each gardener for cultivation in two ways: to buy or grow.

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Where to buy, what to choose

Based on his experience growing potatoes in recent years has concluded that it is best to plant it should be bought in specialized for the sale of seed stores. In the store in which I have been buying seed potatoes for several years, the seller has a folder with certificates of quality in a conspicuous place. On what data of this document should I pay attention?

First, the reproduction of potatoes - what it is - the elite, superelite, the first, second and other reproductions. Elite or super elite potatoes can be used for planting for 3-5 years. And after that it is recommended to buy a new planting material.

Secondly, pay attention to where it was grown and for which regions experts recommend its cultivation.

The use of certified seed tubers for planting reduces the risk of infection of plants with viral diseases, such as, for example, dry rot, rizoctonia, and other diseases.

I did not meet in certificates such a potato grower as I do not have an agronomical education, as, for example, the preferred way of cooking this or that type of potato is how much it is tasty in cooked, fried, mashed potatoes or chips. It's a pity!

And further. Carefully inspect the tubers that you are going to buy, as seed.

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They should not be wrinkled - this indicates a poor storage in a place that is too dry.

They should not be sprouted. You can not save him from breaking off sprouts. And some varieties, for example, Nevsky, do not tolerate breaking off - the yield at that sharply decreases.

They should not have any damage (cracks, slices), stains, rot. Otherwise, you can bring the disease to your site. In addition, there is a great chance not to get a good, healthy harvest.

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Seed potatoes, how to grow

Many truck farmers leave on the seeds of small tubers, selecting them from a common heap of excavated crops. This is mistake. By planting such tubers, you practically select the seed material in the opposite direction.

If you decide to leave seed tubers from your crop, the following rules should be adhered to.

It is necessary to pass through the site, select the most healthy, powerful shrubs, with an average or above average number of stems, leaves should be healthy, not twisted, not twisted, without yellow or rusty stains. Selecting shrubs for the subsequent selection of seed tubers is best when it blooms.

In order not to forget which bushes you have chosen, it is best to note these bushes. You can stick a peg next to the chosen bush or tie a bush with any noticeable ribbon-rope.

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10-12 days after that, dig one of the selected bushes, if 70% of the excavated tubers will be the size of not less than a hen's egg, it is necessary to cut off the tops and after two weeks dig out all the marked bushes. Let you lose a little in the weight of tubers, but the quality will gain.

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You should not wait for the tops of selected bushes to turn yellow. If you select potatoes for seeds when cleaning for storage, it is very likely that you will lay off tubers that are infected with diseases, viruses or aphids, a carrier of viruses. The longer he lies in the ground, the more he accumulates all kinds of sores. That is, dig out the potatoes intended for planting, it is necessary 2-3 weeks before harvesting. If in the hole you notice at least one sick, diseased tuber, then you can not leave on the seeds of any of this bush.

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Preparation of seed for storage

How to prepare tubers for storage, for a future planting? They must lie in a furrow for one or two hours on the field. The holding time on the field depends on the weather on the day of the digging. Do not keep the tubers in the open for a long time in hot sunny weather, as they can get sunburn, therefore, will not be stored safely.

Then the potatoes, selected for seeds, are recommended to be planted, having held it for several days (5-10 days) under a canopy in the shade. Green tubers contain many antibiotics, active immune substances, they are almost not affected by rot. In addition, green tubers are not damaged by mice and rats.

After this, one or two weeks should be kept warm. I spread it for this purpose in a shed, where my temperature is the same as on the street, but there the dark-sun rays do not penetrate there. Then I lower it into the basement, where the temperature does not rise above 5-7 degrees Celsius.

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Cultivation of seed potatoes is my experience of getting tubers for planting

In advance, I mark with a colored ribbon those bushes that I chose as seed ones. I choose bushes most powerful, with several shoots.

Approximately three weeks after the beginning of flowering I dig them out.

Well washed all the tubers. It is necessary to do this not only to wash away the adhering earth, but also diseases.

I spread the tubers for drying.

And then sort it out to reject too small, deformed, damaged potatoes at the dump. Suitable tubers of any size, except for "peas".

Practice shows that the size of tubers for planting does not affect the yield. The quantity and quality of sprouts on the tuber is important. Even if the skin is peeled off somewhere, but there are no other defects - they should not be rejected. The rind will dry up and refresh.

The only thing you need to pay attention to is that direct sunlight does not fall on the seed tubers. I leave them under a canopy, in the shade in plastic boxes until the cold. Left in the light, they will start to turn green. This is exactly what I need.

I periodically turn over the tubers, so that the greenery is more even, from all sides. During this time, they will not only turn green well, but become dark green, almost black. By the way, the seed quality does not suffer from this.

When green in the tubers formed solanine. It's poison. Rats, mice, such potatoes are not touched. But for us, of course, it is not good for food, either. One year I was too lazy to plant trees and, as luck would say, rats got into the cellar - all the potatoes turned out to be snack, because of this, then a lot of rotted. I did not risk putting them - I had to buy potatoes in the store for planting.

What do we give such a way of harvesting potatoes for seeds with greenery?

First, this method will protect it from degeneration.

And, secondly, sprouts in his future spring with germination will be strong, thick, that is, on such tubers threadlike sprouts will not be.

But the Kuban climate, as I have said more than once in other articles, is not very suitable for growing potatoes. Roast, dry summer does not promote good harvests.

Yes, I still leave seed potatoes from my field, especially if the variety is good, tasty, tested. But still I do not focus on it. I definitely buy seed potatoes. And what if the heating of the earth to + 40 ° C (and even higher) during the ripening of potatoes, deprives the tubers of the ability to give full sprouts. Here is the answer to a frequent question,why the seed potatoes do not germinate. Harvest from these tubers do not get. Potatoes with filament sprouts are not suitable for planting.

Watch the video - an expert agronomist focuses on the subtleties of seed potato selection.