How to pre-sprout your potatoes
Why pre-germinate?
By pre-sprouting, you ensure that light sprouts form on the tuber. If you plant the potato in the ground together with the sprouts, it has an enormous growth advantage and can start to form roots more quickly. This means that the potato is better protected from rot and decay and you can harvest earlier.
This is how you proceed:
Place the seed potatoes in a shallow box, preferably lined with some potting compost. Egg cartons with some seed soil in the indentations are also suitable for pre-growing the potatoes. Spray the potatoes and soil with a little water. Then place your seed potatoes in a bright and slightly cool place (e.g. under a cellar window). Temperatures between 10 and 16 ° C/50 and 61 ° F are ideal. You can spray them with water from time to time. However, make sure that they do not become too damp, as this encourages rot and mold. This creates green light sprouts, which allow the plant to reach the light more quickly and produce energy. After four to six weeks, you can plant the pre-sprouted potatoes.
Foto: DieAri on Pixabay
