Potato shoots

It is not uncommon for vegetables such as onions and potatoes to begin to sprout when stored for a long time, and often not very correctly. Various factors can contribute to this, for example, the approaching time of planting or the onset of favorable thermal conditions.

Potato shoots do not begin to appear if the vegetable is stored at an air temperature not exceeding 2°C. Those shoots that have already appeared should be regularly broken off, otherwise the vegetable will become limp and soft, and therefore unsuitable for further consumption.

If you are going to plant potatoes in your summer cottage or garden, on the contrary, you need to germinate the vegetable. Potato shoots are very important when sowing seed tubers. To obtain them, potato tubers are distributed into special wooden boxes that provide good ventilation. The boxes are stored for 60 days in a well-lit room at an air temperature above 4°C. It is noteworthy that in order to harvest an early potato harvest, the tubers must have a minimum number of shoots.

Often, in poor lighting, sprouted potatoes have long and thin shoots. Such planting material does not tolerate transportation well - weak sprouts simply break off. In order to get strong and short shoots, during the last 15 days before planting in open ground, the tubers should be taken to an open area.

You can plant sprouted potatoes when favorable weather conditions arrive.Depending on the region, this period can vary from mid-April to mid-May.