Potato cultivation: planting and care technology in the open field

Growing potatoes is a common activity that almost all gardeners do in their summer cottages. It is quite difficult for people without practical experience to grow such a vegetable, since they are unfamiliar with all the nuances of this process. Therefore, in order to get a quality crop, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of growing potatoes in the garden.

Selection and preparation of seeds

Before you start planting potatoes, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules for selecting and processing planting material.

Seed Selection

To grow potatoes in the country, you should choose the highest quality seed.It is recommended to plant zoned vegetable varieties with resistance to parasites and common diseases. At the same time, it is necessary to change the seed material annually, since with prolonged use of tubers in crop rotation, even the most productive varieties lose their characteristics.

People living in the middle lane, medium-early or early varieties of potatoes are suitable. Residents of the southern regions should give preference to late-ripening potatoes. However, it is best to plant several varieties of vegetables with different ripening periods on the site.

Processing

Before planting and growing potatoes, tubers must be pretreated.

Fungicides such as Matador are used to protect the plant from insects. It helps to get rid of beetles, fleas, moths and the Colorado potato beetle. To prepare a working solution, 40 ml of the drug is mixed with 300 ml of warm water.During processing, all planting tubers are laid out in a row and sprayed. When they are completely dry, they are turned over and sprayed again. One treatment is enough to protect the plant from pests for the whole season.

Preparing the land

For growing potatoes in Transbaikalia and other regions of the country, it is necessary to prepare the soil.

The first processing is carried out in the autumn before the first frost. In autumn, the entire area where potatoes will be grown is dug up on a shovel bayonet. It is also recommended to completely clear the garden of all weeds that can be infected with various diseases. When the entire area is dug up, fertilizers are added to the soil. For fertilizing the site, rotted manure is perfect. When processing one square meter of a garden, 10 kg of manure mixed with 20 grams of sulfate and 40 grams of superphosphate is added to the soil.

The next stage of soil preparation is carried out in the spring, when the earth warms up to 12-13 degrees. In the spring, soil drainage is done so that air can better penetrate the soil. To do this, the top layer of the earth is slightly shifted with a pitchfork. Some in the spring re-dig the site and remove weeds. However, when digging again, the shovel goes deeper into the ground under the potato beds higher - only half a bayonet.

Date of planting

Many grow late and early potatoes in early May and do not pay attention to weather conditions. Potatoes are planted only in warm soil. If the soil is too cold, the tubers will grow slowly. Also, when determining the timing of planting, pay attention to the humidity of the earth. Waterlogged soil negatively affects the he alth of the vegetable and leads to rotting of the planted seed.

Some don't like to grow early potatoes quickly and so plant them at the end of May. However, this should not be done, since closer to summer the soil dries up and because of this, the yield of vegetables worsens. On average, dry soil reduces yields by 20-30%.

To accurately determine the timing of planting tubers, you need to figure out at what temperature potatoes grow. Potatoes are planted when the earth warms up to 10 degrees and night frosts completely disappear. Therefore, it is recommended to regularly monitor the weather and air temperature.

The main thing is to plant it correctly!

After preparing the site and seed, you need to familiarize yourself with the agricultural technology of planting potatoes. There are several common planting methods that are popular with gardeners.

Mulch planting

The basis of this potato growing technology is mulching, in which the surface of the earth is covered with covering materials. When growing vegetables under a mulch layer, the gardener does not have to constantly water the bushes and loosen the soil.

The most commonly used organic material for mulching is straw. It is recommended for use in areas with alkaline or neutral soil with a low level of acidity. They also use fresh grass, which is useful to increase the level of nitrogen in the area.

When planting resistant varieties of potatoes, potato tubers are laid out under a mulch layer on the surface of the earth. Then they are sprinkled with soil so that the seed does not turn green and germinates faster. When all the potatoes are sprinkled with soil, they are covered with a layer of straw 20-25 cm thick.

Planting in circular ridges

The technology of growing potatoes in circular ridges was first used in Holland and began to gain popularity in our country relatively recently. The main advantage of this method is the increased yield of potatoes growing in ridges.

Before using this method of planting, you need to prepare a bed. To do this, the site is dug up and fertilized with ash mixed with manure. After fertilizing the plot, beds of the required size are made - 1-2 meters is enough to plant three rows of potatoes.

When the beds are made, potato tubers are laid out in rows at a distance of at least 30 cm. The spread out potatoes are covered with a small layer of earth, from which a comb is formed with a rake.

Care and treatment

Potatoes are cared for after planting to ensure a quality crop.

Irrigation

When growing this vegetable, you need to monitor the level of moisture in the soil.

Potatoes love moisture, but that doesn't mean they need more water. It is enough to moisten the soil twice a week in normal weather and three times during drought. Each plant consumes 3-4 liters of water. Water potato bushes very carefully so that water does not get on the leaves.

Alternative hilling

The technology of growing potatoes includes regular loosening of the soil around the cultivated bushes. The first hilling is carried out after the emergence of shoots.To do this, it is recommended to use a small rake so as not to accidentally damage the bushes. Repeated hilling is carried out when the plant grows to 10-15 cm in height. Next time you will have to loosen the aisles after the rain.

Feeding

After planting, many do not know how to care for potatoes and whether it is necessary to feed them. Plants must be fed, as a lack of nutrients worsens the yield of grown bushes.

First, fertilizers are applied during the growing season when the plant's tops are firming up. To do this, add 200 grams of urea and 2 kg of rotted humus to the soil. This proportion is enough to fertilize one row with potatoes.

Re-feeding is carried out at the first signs of a lack of nutrients. Their shortage is evidenced by the gradual withering of the bushes and the yellowing of the leaves. For the second top dressing, 100 grams of potassium sulfate and 500 grams of ash are used.

Disease and pest control

To get a good harvest, when growing potatoes, you need to monitor their he alth, as pests and diseases have a negative impact on productivity.

When the first signs of disease or the presence of dangerous pests appear, plants are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, which is very effective against pests. For its preparation, 100 grams of lime is mixed with 5 liters of heated water. In parallel with this, in the second container, 50 grams of copper sulfate is mixed with 4 liters of water. Then the two created solutions are poured into one large container and stirred. It is necessary to spray the bushes with Bordeaux liquid once a week until the symptoms of the disease disappear completely.

Harvesting

After the growing season has passed, it is necessary to start harvesting the ripe crop.It is worth doing this when the tops are completely yellowed and dried up. Digging up ripe potatoes is carried out on sunny days, so that later you do not have to spend time drying the tubers. When all the potatoes are dug up, preparations are made for storage and a suitable room for the vegetable is selected. It is better to store the harvested crop in the cellar.

Conclusion

Almost all vegetable growers grow potatoes in their gardens. To properly grow this vegetable, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of planting and caring for potatoes.

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