It should be noted that favorable days for planting potatoes depend primarily not on the calendar date, but on what year it turned out to be. Sometimes spring is early, the earth warms up quickly, and even the flowering of plants is ahead of the usual time. Sometimes, on the contrary, frosts last until the end of May, dampness and lack of solar heat prevent planting from starting longer than usual. Therefore, gardeners and summer residents tie the timing of their work to the calendar very conditionally, focusing on the most different signs optimal time.
Planting time directly affects the yield of this crop. If you plant potatoes too early, you may end up with frost-damaged seedlings; if there is excessive moisture, the potatoes become sick, resulting in the seedlings dying altogether. If the most suitable time is missed and potatoes are planted too late, there is a risk of losing part of the harvest due to the soil being too dry during planting.
The planting time depends on the region. As is known, in different areas warm weather installed in different time. In the central part of Russia, potatoes are traditionally planted in mid-May, in the eastern regions - at the end of the month or even in June, depending on the depth of soil heating. To determine the optimal time, it is worth knowing that the earth should warm up to +7°C to a depth of about 10 cm. There are places where such indicators are observed only in June or July. In such regions it can be very difficult to grow potatoes.
You can also determine the readiness of the soil for planting potatoes visually, in other words, “by eye.” There are also a number of true signs that help summer residents navigate time.
In order to determine the appropriate time for planting, you should pay attention to the following signs:
As a rule, all these signs appear approximately simultaneously - at the end or second half of May. However, there is such a thing as “bird cherry cold”. This period coincides with the flowering of bird cherry and is characterized by a sharp drop in air temperature. This does not mean that frost will certainly occur; it may be cool, but the soil will retain the desired level of warmth. If frost hits, and this also happens, then some part of the planting can be lost. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and study all available sources that provide weather forecasts.
By the way, you can also do this in order to find out approximately what time rain is expected. Precipitation is quite common in May. Of course, no one will plant potatoes during the rain, but time does not stand still, and you can simply miss the best time. Therefore, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of what date is best to plant potatoes. Finding the best time is a constant balance between climate and weather conditions.
Sometimes it happens that the rain that began at the end of May continues with minor interruptions in June and July. If the circumstances are this way, then this is an extremely unfavorable situation for growing potatoes, since the tubers of this crop are prone to rotting when there is excess moisture. Nothing can be done here, you just need to understand that in such conditions bountiful harvest you can't wait.
IN in this case We are not even talking about the amount of harvest, which is influenced by the correctly determined planting date, but about other features. Some people do not engage in large-scale potato cultivation, but plant a few in order to try new potatoes in July. What is important here is not even the quantity of the harvest, but its presence in principle. Therefore, if you want to get results already in the middle of summer, you need to plant tubers in April. More or less the right time to plant the first potatoes is the second half of the month. Of course, this is possible if we are talking about the central and southern regions of the country, since in other regions it is unlikely that it will be possible to plant this crop before the end of May or even in June.
To grow potatoes for storage, they should still be planted taking into account the traditional requirements described above. First of all, because this is done for practical reasons. The harvest must be plentiful, and the tubers must reach a condition at which they can last in the cellar until spring. Therefore, it is recommended to plant potatoes en masse no earlier than the second half of May, as a last resort if the year is very cold and spring is late, in June. If the timing was chosen correctly, shoots will appear in less than a month.
Of course, it is very important to correctly determine the time when to plant potatoes, but it is equally important to choose its variety. There are many varieties of this crop, each of which has certain characteristics, requirements for conditions, ripening period, etc. You can always choose the most suitable one for cultivation in a particular region, even if the climate is not particularly warm or full of sun. There are varieties of early ripeness or late ripening, you can plant both, and harvest as the tubers ripen.
It is recommended to plant several varieties of potatoes at the same time, since each of them can ultimately produce a different number of tubers. You shouldn’t plant the same variety year after year; it’s better to try new options, exchange planting material with someone, and from time to time you can purchase varieties imported from other regions or even countries. The more choice, the better the result. For example, early ripening varieties planted at the end of April can be tried already in July, and late ones, planted in the second half of May, are perfect for storing for the winter.
Rotted manure can be sprinkled between the rows of potatoes during planting, this will greatly increase the yield.
Tubers intended for planting must meet the following main requirements:
Preparing the tubers does not require much effort, the main thing is to get the “eyes” to peck. To do this, just place the potatoes in a well-lit place for a couple of weeks. Then, when the time is right for planting, plant the tubers in the ground. The landing site should be as open as possible and well lit by the sun.
It is better to plant tubers in a checkerboard pattern; this saves space and makes it more comfortable to process the bushes. Caring for potatoes during the growth period consists of watering, hilling and spraying against pests. Potatoes also suffer from various diseases, such as late blight. There are two pretty ones here effective methods prevention. Firstly, it is necessary to carefully clean the area from which the potatoes were collected, destroying the remains of tops and tubers. On the rotting remains of both, foci of various diseases develop. Secondly, it is worth choosing a variety that is resistant to this disease, especially if the problem already exists.
Even the smallest crop rotation can increase potato yields by 2 times. If there are not so many options for choosing a place, you should at least alternate two of them, planting potatoes on one and something else on the other. Next year, switch places.
In any case, it’s worth trying and experimenting. Growing potatoes is such a common practice that you can always turn to someone for advice or planting material. A product grown on your own plot is always a great joy. It is both healthier and tastier than the purchased one. And with large planting volumes, it also allows you to significantly save money, since you will have to go to the cellar rather than to the store to buy potatoes. If you follow all the advice, choose the right potato variety and planting date, the result will definitely please the gardener.
Potatoes are one of the staple foods of many nations. Its importance is so great that potatoes are grown not only in agriculture, but also in private gardens and summer cottages - after all, there are potatoes grown with my own hands both more pleasant and tastier. The yield of a crop depends on climatic and weather conditions, the quality of the soil and the method of its cultivation, the quality planting material, the timeliness of preventive treatment of tubers and soil, the amount of fertilizer applied to the soil, as well as many other factors. We decided to devote our article to growing potatoes in the conditions of a summer cottage and intend to cover the following issues in it:
Potatoes are planted in the spring, when all frosts have passed and the soil at a depth of 10-12 cm has warmed up to 7-8 ºC. At this time, the leaves of the birch tree begin to bloom, and soon the bird cherry tree begins to bloom. Most often this happens in May: in Siberia - at the end of the month, and in middle lane, for example, in the Moscow region, potatoes can sometimes be planted as early as mid-May, or even at the end of April. In the Leningrad region, planting begins a week later than in the Moscow region. But in Ukraine and Krasnodar region Potatoes are planted in mid- and early April, and early potatoes can sometimes be planted even in March.
What dates for planting potatoes this spring does the astrological calendar offer us? Favorable days for planting potatoes in March, provided that the soil has warmed up and no more frosts are expected, occur from the 27th to the 29th.
Favorable days for planting potatoes in April are the 9th, 11th, 22nd, 27th and 28th of the month. It is better, of course, to start planting after Easter, that is, April 22, 27 or 28. Potato tops do not tolerate frost and die at temperatures of -1-3 ºC. The optimal temperature for potato growth is considered to be from 16 to 22 ºC.
In the last spring month, potatoes can be planted on the following days: 4th, 7th, 9th, 19th, 24th and 31st. Ural gardeners should take into account that the further north their city is on the map, the later the earth will warm up and the night frosts will end. And Siberia is so large that in different parts of it the conditions necessary for planting potatoes occur at different times, and in some places potatoes can only be sown in early June.
If you want to get a good potato harvest, you need to take the preparation of planting material responsibly. The tubers are sorted out, unproductive and diseased ones are discarded - those affected by rot, forming weak shoots or not forming them at all. Then the tubers need to be treated against diseases and pests. Our website already has an article about what means are used to treat potatoes against diseases, and what means against pests, and which of these means are the least toxic. Let us only recall that to repel the Colorado potato beetle, wireworms, aphids and others harmful insects the drugs used are Maxim, Matador Grand, Cruiser, Tabu, Imidor, Picus, Prestige, Commander and Celeste Top. Treating them with a solution of one teaspoon will help you protect tubers from fungal diseases. copper sulfate in 3 liters of water or fungicides Fitosporin-M, Quadris, Maxim and Kolfug in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
For pest protection purposes, adjacent plantings of potato bushes with dill, basil, calendula, coriander or beans are used. A handful of wood ash thrown into the hole when planting also repels pests and pathogens of fungal diseases from potato tubers. Soaking the tubers for half an hour before planting in this composition protects potatoes well from diseases: dissolve 1 g of potassium permanganate in 10 liters of water, 20 g boric acid and 10 g of copper sulfate. After processing, the tubers need to be dried. There is another way to protect potatoes from fungal infections: dissolve 1 kg of wood ash in a bucket of water and dip the potatoes into the solution directly in the net. This method, moreover, allows the tubers to obtain a supply of potassium.
In order to prepare the tubers for spring planting, you will need from 3 to 30 days - it all depends on which method you choose. However, it is worth remembering that express methods are not always reliable, and it is advisable to use them in parallel with proven methods of preparing, planting and growing potatoes.
Before planting, the tubers need to be germinated - to stimulate the formation of strong, healthy sprouts from the awakened buds on the tubers. Germination can be dry or wet. For dry germination you will need from 20 to 40 days, a certain temperature regime, as well as good lighting for the formation of solanine in the tubers, which gives the potato resistance to diseases, rodents and exposure to favorable conditions. It is most convenient to germinate tubers on the floor or in boxes, laying them in one or two layers. For the first two weeks, in order to awaken sleeping eyes, the temperature is maintained within 18-20 ºC, but then it is gradually lowered to 10-14 ºC - in such conditions the sprouts will not stretch.
If you prefer to germinate the tubers using a wet method, sprinkle them with moistened peat, humus or sawdust and keep them at a temperature of 12 to 15 ºC, without allowing the substrate to dry out. During the germination process, not only sprouts are formed in the tubers, but also roots, thanks to which, after planting, seedlings appear much faster. Potatoes are germinated using the wet method for no more than 2-3 weeks. However, if for some reason the planting of tubers is postponed, you need to lower the temperature to slow down the development of the seedlings.
You can use dry and wet germination in combination: germinate the tubers in the light for three weeks, and when sprouts appear, transfer the potatoes to moist peat for 10 days to stimulate the regrowth of roots at the base of the sprouts.
To awaken the eyes, you can use the drying procedure. To do this, the tubers are kept for a week or two at a temperature of 16 ºC and above, spread out in one or two layers. During this time, the tubers lose moisture, but at the same time accumulate enzymes that awaken the eyes and accelerate the growth of shoots.
In cases where time is pressing, they resort to a preparatory procedure such as warming up. A week before planting, the planting material removed from the cellar is placed for 2-3 days at a temperature of 10-15 ºC, and then for 3-4 days the temperature is raised to 20-22 ºC.
There are cases when potatoes suddenly begin to grow ahead of time, but large sprouts should not be allowed to appear, because they easily break off and take too much strength and nutrition from the tuber. What to do in this case? You can carefully, trying not to damage the eyes, break off the sprouts as early as possible - this way you will delay the germination of the potatoes. However, you can resort to this procedure no more than twice - the third sprout will have to be left. You can also use the sprouts as seedlings: when they reach a length of 4-6 cm, and the beginnings of roots appear, the sprouts are carefully separated from the tuber and planted in a moist substrate - for example, a mixture of seedling soil, peat and sawdust. The planting pattern for the sprouts is 6x4 cm, and they need to be buried 2/3.
Potatoes, unlike other garden crops, do not need to be fed during growth, since during the growing season the nutrients are almost not absorbed by the tubers. It is much more important to add fertilizer to the soil when preparing the site or to fertilize the potatoes when planting them in a hole to ensure high quality and a large volume of future harvest. What fertilizers do potatoes prefer? He likes complex compositions, for example, Nitroammofoska, Azofoska or Kemira Potato, in which the elements necessary for the crop are optimally balanced. Potatoes need potassium more than nitrogen, and wood ash, potassium chloride or potassium salt can completely provide tubers with potassium. Of the nitrogen fertilizers, carbamide or urea is preferred, which increases yield, but ammonium sulfate or ammonium sulfate can also be used to fertilize potatoes. ammonium nitrate. And among phosphate fertilizers, ammophos, as well as ammoniated or double superphosphate are more suitable for potatoes.
When growing potatoes over large areas mineral fertilizers will cost you a lot, so it is better to use organic matter, which contains all the substances necessary for potatoes - nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, calcium and sulfur. In addition, organic fertilizers are a source of easily digestible compounds that allow the accumulation of humus in the soil and improve it physical properties, and in saline soils, organic matter weakens the inhibitory effect of toxic compounds on plant development. It is also important that the decomposition of organic matter contributes to a significant increase in carbon dioxide in the ground layer of air, which allows new tubers to grow healthy and large. From organic fertilizers Bone meal, bird droppings, slurry, humus and compost have proven themselves well. Bird droppings must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:15 before application. But the best way to enrich a potato bed is nutrients green manure.
For each type of soil there is its own norm of mineral and organic fertilizers per one hundred square meters of potato bed:
However, it should be remembered that it is much more dangerous to overfeed potatoes with fertilizers than to underfeed them: on soil overloaded with nutrition, the tubers will grow frail, tasteless, indigestible, and only the tops will be powerful and thick. You need to be especially careful in this regard with potash fertilizers. As for manure, let us remind you once again that it can only be used in its rotted form, otherwise the potatoes will simply burn out. And as humus, manure can provoke potato scab disease.
When planting potatoes, mineral fertilizers are placed directly into the hole, because the roots of the plant develop only in the surface layer, but Nitrophoska and Nitroammofoska are applied during the spring digging of the site, and compost and manure - during the autumn. Green manures - vetch, clover, annual lupine or peas - are sown in a potato field before winter. When planting potatoes, you can add potassium sulfate, double superphosphate, ammonium nitrate, ash, humus and complex fertilizers. After planting, you can water the holes with a solution chicken manure at the rate of 1 liter of solution per 1 well.
The most common among amateurs the folk way is planting potatoes “under a shovel”. Less known is the trench planting method. They also use the Dutch technology (planting potatoes in ridges), the Mittlider method (growing tubers in ridges), the Gülich method (forming a multi-tiered bush), planting potatoes in a barrel, in a bag, in a hole, in a hill, under a black film, under straw and others in original and sometimes witty ways.
Plowing, planting, weeding, hilling and other garden tasks can be made easier if you use a walk-behind tractor for these works. And for planting potatoes, a walk-behind tractor with a hiller is used. A hiller and lug wheels are mounted on the unit to cut even furrows in the soil into which the tubers are manually placed. Then the lug wheels are replaced with rubber ones corresponding to the track width, the tubers are covered with soil and compacted.
If you need to plant potatoes large area, then use a walk-behind tractor with a potato planter. The lug wheels and potato planter are mounted on the unit, after which the parameters are adjusted for further work. First, prepare the soil: plowing, harrowing and moistening the area. Then the correct ridges are cut. A potato planter, equipped with furrow makers, a device for feeding tubers and a hiller for embedding them, simultaneously makes furrows in the soil, places tubers in them and covers them with soil.
Novice gardeners and vegetable gardeners often come to us with the same question: how to plant potatoes? There are many planting methods, and we will try to introduce you to the most productive of them.
This is the most common planting method: dig holes 8-10 cm deep with a shovel, place potatoes in the holes, add humus/compost, ash or complex mineral fertilizers, after which the holes are sealed. When planting is completed, the surface of the area is leveled with a rake to prevent moisture loss. The disadvantage of this method is that caring for the bushes will not be very convenient.
This method of growing potatoes is more labor-intensive, but it allows you to grow a crop twice as large as when planting “under a shovel.” They prepare the area for the trench method in the fall: dig a trench along the length of the bed and up to half a meter deep, fill the trench with a mixture of humus, manure, peat and straw and leave it until spring. After the snow melts, the trench is covered with black film so that the soil warms up faster. As soon as they are formed optimal conditions To plant potatoes, prepared tubers are planted in a trench, covered with a mixture of humus/compost and turf soil in equal parts and again covered with film. Shoots usually appear after two weeks - they also need to be covered with a mixture of turf and humus and covered again with black film. As soon as the shoots appear again, the procedure is repeated, and only when the shoots grow through the soil for the third time, holes are made in the film for them. This technique allows you to retain moisture in the soil longer, inhibits weeds and frees you from hilling potatoes.
The essence of this method is that the tubers are planted in ridges located at a distance of 75 cm from each other, and the distance between the tubers in the row is kept about 30 cm. This planting is carried out using a walk-behind tractor with a cultivator and a plow. During the growing season, potatoes are watered three times, and hilling is replaced by filling the ridges with soil from the inter-row spaces. Dutch technology allows you to get up to 2 kg of tubers from one potato bush, characterized by excellent taste and good keeping quality.
The American vegetable grower Mittlider has developed a method in which potatoes are planted in beds about half a meter wide with row spacing of 75-100 cm. With such row spacing, it is very convenient to care for growing potatoes. In order to control weeds and to save water when watering, a shaft of earth is made around the perimeter of the beds. In areas with a slope, potatoes are planted in long boxes filled with fertile soil. During the growing season, potatoes are fed three times and watered regularly, but there is no need to hill up the bushes. Using the Mittlider method, you can reduce the sown area by three times, while increasing the yield - you can get up to 550 kg of potatoes from one hundred square meters.
A special feature of the method is that an area of 1 m² is allocated for each bush. The plot for potatoes is divided into squares of 1x1 m, in each square a circular shaft of quail manure is formed, in the center of which loose soil is poured, into which a large tuber is planted, top down. As soon as shoots begin to grow around the tuber, soil is poured into the center of the ring they form. This is done so that the soil rejects the shoots, and they begin to grow to the sides of the tuber, like rays. When leaves appear on the shoots, you need to add soil again to the center - this procedure is repeated several times until a potato bush with several tiers is formed around the tuber. With regular watering and feeding, one plant can produce up to 16 kg of tubers.
Using this method, you can get up to one and a half tons of potatoes from one hundred square meters of land. It was developed by Prokopchik, a potato grower from Belarus. In the fall, mineral fertilizers and rotted manure are applied to the site for digging at the rate of 2-3 buckets per m². In spring, circles with a diameter of 1.5-2 m are marked on the surface and potato tubers are laid out along their perimeter at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other. As sprouts appear on the tubers, use a hoe to rake a mound of soil 30-40 cm high, and make a funnel at its top so that when watering, the water does not flow down the walls of the mound, but gets inside the cone. With this method of cultivation, plants develop a powerful root layer with many tubers.
This method is suitable for those who have small plot and there is no way to allocate a bed for potatoes. For growing use metal or plastic barrel without a bottom, making a circle in the vessel for different heights small holes for drainage excess water and soil aeration. A 10 cm thick layer of compost mixed in half with soil is placed at the bottom of the barrel, on which potato tubers are laid in a checkerboard pattern. The potatoes are covered with the same layer of compost soil. As soon as the shoots appear, they are sprinkled with soil and compost - and so on until the barrel is filled to a height of 1 m. The potatoes are watered from time to time and fed with complex fertilizer. At proper care from one barrel you can get a bag of potatoes.
This method is similar to the previous one: drainage is poured into sugar bags, on which the tubers are laid. As soon as they sprout, they are sprinkled with compost mixed with soil - this is done several times. Potatoes in bags require watering and fertilizing. This method significantly saves space on the site and does not require significant physical effort. Using the same principle, you can grow potatoes in a hole measuring 90x90 cm, about half a meter deep.
There is a great way to grow potatoes that is almost a hundred years old. The authorship belongs to the Russian vegetable grower Rytov. The potato bed is compacted and the tubers are placed on its surface, lightly pressing them into the soil. The potatoes are covered with a 15-20 cm thick layer of damp crushed straw. There is no need to hill up the bushes with this method. And if you make a layer of straw 25 cm thick and cover the area with black film, you can rid the potatoes of weeds and pests. When the shoots grow and begin to come into contact with the film, you need to make slits in it for them.
On clay soils, potatoes are also planted under straw: shallow (10-15 cm) and narrow (the width of a shovel bayonet) holes are made at a distance of 1 m from each other, sprouted potatoes are placed in them and the entire area is covered with a layer of straw. As soon as the potatoes sprout, the field is covered with straw again. The third time, only the potato bushes are sprinkled with straw - instead of hilling. In such a field, the weeds die, and the potatoes grow well.
The area, filled with fertilizers in the fall, is loosened, watered and covered with black film, sprinkling it around the edges with earth or securing it with pegs. Cross-shaped slits are made in the film with a knife, through which sprouted tubers are planted into the soil to a depth of 5-7 cm, and they are covered with a mound of earth 6-8 cm high on top. Water and feed the plants by pouring water or nutrient solution in the film slot. When harvesting potatoes, the tops are cut off, the film is removed, and then the tubers are collected almost from the surface of the plot.
Some gardeners prefer to grow potatoes from seeds. Why are they attracted to the seed method of propagation? Firstly, seeds are much cheaper than elite tubers, especially since when purchasing it is almost impossible to distinguish ordinary seed tubers from elite ones, and by paying for the elite, you can get the third, fifth or tenth reproduction. Secondly, the seeds do not require keeping in a cold cellar, take up little space and remain viable for 6 to 10 years. Thirdly, bushes and tubers grown from seeds are not susceptible to bacterial and viral diseases. Fourthly, the yield of potatoes grown from seeds is much higher. Well, in the end, tubers grown from seeds produce good yields for 5-7 years: in the first year, the seeds produce mini-tubers, in the second and third years - super-elite, in the fourth year - elite, in the fifth - the first reproduction and etc.
When propagating potatoes by seed, they usually use seedling method. You will need soil, containers and a place on the windowsill. The soil should be loose and fertile: to one part of the soil you need to add four parts of peat and the biological product Trichodermin (5 grams per 5 liters of soil mixture). Potato seeds are sown for seedlings in late February or early March. Before sowing, seeds are germinated by wrapping them in a damp cloth and placing them in Plastic container. On the fifth to seventh day they will sprout small sprouts, but before that you need to ventilate them daily and make sure that the fabric does not dry out. The sprouted seeds are carefully placed on a compacted wet soil, cover them with a layer of sand 1 cm thick, spray them with a spray bottle, cover them with film and place them on a well-lit windowsill. Some gardeners prefer to grow seedlings not in the ground, but in wet sawdust.
Potato seedlings are much more capricious than tomato and eggplant seedlings - they need a lot of light, nutrients and very loose soil, in addition, it is easily affected by blackleg, so the seedlings are watered moderately. From time to time, seedlings are treated with Epin's solution, fed with complex mineral fertilizer once a month and, if possible, provided with additional lighting. After three to four weeks, the seedlings are planted in separate large pots, deepening them along the cotyledon, and by the end of April, when it gets warmer, the seedlings can be moved to the balcony.
In general, it is better to plant seedlings in a greenhouse or greenhouse, and only in the second year will the tubers be ready for planting in open ground, but since not everyone has the opportunity to grow potatoes in a greenhouse, in mid-May potato seedlings are planted in the garden bed, choosing a cloudy day for this. The holes are placed at a distance of 40 cm from each other, filled with humus and ash and watered. The seedlings are placed so that the stems are horizontal and covered with soil so that only the tops of the plants remain above the surface. After planting, the bed is mulched with last year’s leaves or straw, metal arches are installed and covering material is pulled over them, which can only be removed in June, when summer finally arrives.
In areas with a southern climate, you can grow potatoes from seeds using the seedless method: in a bed with loose soil, or even better in warm bed make holes 10-12 cm deep at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, place 2-3 sprouted seeds in them and sprinkle with a layer of coconut substrate, sand or loose soil half a centimeter thick. As the seedlings grow, soil is poured into the holes, then the plants are hilled up twice. Otherwise, caring for potatoes from seeds is the same as caring for those growing from tubers.
How to care for potatoes in open ground? Care begins even before germination. Since the tubers need access to air, it is provided by loosening the soil, while simultaneously removing emerging weeds. It is advisable to loosen the soil on the site after each watering and rain, so that a crust does not form on the surface. Potatoes are earthed up when the seedlings reach a height of 15-18 cm.
The potatoes are fed with mineral complex fertilizers, ash or organic matter - slurry or fermented bird droppings. As soon as the nutrient solution goes into the soil, it is necessary to loosen the area and hill up the bushes. From the beginning of the formation of buds, you need to constantly monitor the soil moisture and water it when it dries 6-8 cm deep. Moisten the soil in the evening, water consumption - 2-3 liters of water for each bush. In dry summers, it will be necessary to carry out 3 to 5 waterings, mainly during the formation of buds and tubers. The day after watering, the soil on the site is loosened. And, of course, if necessary, you need to treat potatoes against diseases and pests.
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Almost every person has a dacha. And it doesn’t matter whose it is – grandparents, parents or your own. And every year at the same time everyone rushes to grow vegetables and berries. One of these crops is potatoes, the peculiarities of growing which should be known to everyone. We'll tell you how to plant potatoes correctly below.
The optimal time for planting potatoes in the ground is end of April or beginning of May. It is impossible to do such an action before this time, because the crop may simply disappear in the cold earth. If the climate in your area is cool, then you should wait until the ground warms up at least up to 10 degrees.
To properly plant potatoes, you should follow the step-by-step instructions:
Potatoes should be planted according to the lunar calendar. In May, these dates can be selected 9th, 11th and 13th.
When determining this date, it is worth considering that the growing season for this root crop is 90 days.
That is, if you planned to plant on July 1, then at the end of September you can fully harvest.
Folk omens say that potatoes cannot be planted in the ground on the following days:
If these rules are neglected, the tubers will deteriorate and will not produce further growth.
Potatoes cannot be planted in cold soil, because they can simply freeze in such weather and you will lose the entire harvest, it’s worth taking some time.
If you hurry up and still take such a step, then you need devote Special attention warming up and provision good conditions its vital activity in order to obtain a harvest.
Small tubers are usually called samples weighing up to 30 grams, average – 30-80 gr, and large ones - more than 80 g.
Very often, many gardeners use medium-sized potatoes, believing that this can become optimal choice. But it is precisely such specimens that usually grow from weakened plants.
Most the best way There are only 2 landings:
If anyone thinks that this method is unacceptable, then he is very mistaken. Using fresh potatoes when replanting allows you to improve the yield several times and relieve owners from problems with storing seed material until spring.
This method is best used for those countries in which the frost-free period is 180 days. This is observed in Odessa, Kherson, Poltava and other cities. This method will not work for Irkutsk.
A distinctive feature of this type of landing is that the new crop will sprout slowly.
Potatoes should be planted only when the frosts have passed and the air temperature has risen. up to 14-16 degrees. The earth should warm up at this time up to 10 degrees.
There is a folk sign according to which the root crop should be planted after the leaves on the birch tree become the size of a coin.
Potatoes can be planted several times a year, taking into account that the full growing period is 90 days.
Granular feed finds its application when digging up areas before winter comes. It is then that it is introduced into the soil to improve the characteristics of the soil used.
If you want to significantly increase your yield, it is better to use manure for fertilizer.
It can be applied in 2 methods:
Potatoes can be planted using 2 methods:
Green manures are plants that are grown to improve the fertility of the soil.
What does this technique give?
To grow potatoes, you should germinate the tubers 2 weeks, while removing the white sprouts. The planting material should be laid out in a thin layer on the floor in a bright place. Readiness can be determined by the presence of green sprouts on the potatoes, but without additional spots.
If we talk about detailed preparation of the soil, then it is worth starting with its fertilization before the onset of winter. When it's time to plant, you should ensure necessary moisture and loosening of the soil. Digging should be replaced by bayoneting using a fork. This allows the earth to be enriched with oxygen.
If you have your own dacha, then when growing potatoes, first choose its variety.
After all, some people prefer root vegetables with yellow, crumbly pulp, while others prefer white ones. After this you need decide on a growing method, of which there are now a large number. But don’t forget about fertilizing the soil.
Hilling up potatoes should be done after the plant rises 10 cm above the ground. This will allow the root crop to be protected from frost using bedding. And after the potatoes grow to 40 cm, you need to fully earth up the beds, filling the row spaces well with soil.
Very often, leaves, branches or hay - organic materials - can be added to the bedding mixture. This will keep moisture in the ground longer and also prevent weeds from germinating for a long time.
After the potatoes have begun to bloom, the main condition for good harvest is high-quality watering.
It should be 2-3 times if the summer is very hot, but if on the contrary, then 1 time is enough. But weeds need to be removed much more often, and you also need to watch out for Colorado potato beetles.
First you need to harvest in 60 days after planting the potatoes, but the main part should be waited until the tops are completely dry.
You only need to remove the finished crop with a pitchfork so as not to damage the mounds. You can only grow crops in one place for 4 years, after which you need to give the soil a rest and move the plant to another place.
In many southern countries gardeners use any methods to grow as much as possible more harvest Every year. And therefore, today a method of growing potatoes has already been developed Twice a year, taking into account that only early ripening varieties are used.
The features of the method are:
Growing potatoes is a simple process if you follow a few basic rules:
If you follow all the given rules, you can achieve good result even with minimal effort.
Taking into account the recommendations of experts, regardless of what the Lunar calendar 2019 advises gardeners, in any case it is necessary to focus on weather, take into account the time period for planting potatoes in a certain region. Despite the fact that in March and April there are many favorable days for such an activity, it is clear to everyone that, for example, in Siberia no one will be able to plant anything at this time. The soil in March and April remains frozen, and in many places there is even snow. Therefore, for natural reasons, this activity falls only in May, or even June.
Many people think that planting potatoes is easy. However, it is safe to say that after reading this material you will definitely find nuances that you did not know before.
Well, then an amateur guide to planting potatoes will be presented to your attention, in particular, the main issues regarding planting depth and the distance between tubers, as well as the rules for preparing and processing planting material, including the beds themselves (what fertilizers should be applied for digging or immediately upon landing).
Important! There's no need to rush with planting potatoes. Potatoes can be planted only when the return spring frosts have passed.
In many regions, the climate is very variable: if today it is warm and the air temperature is suitable, then next week it may drop or, even worse, fall below zero. But the slightest frost will simply destroy all the tops.
By the way! In addition to the air temperature, there should also be sufficient the soil is warmed up, after all, potato seedlings in cold soil are severely damaged by rhizoctonia (at temperatures below +8 degrees).
Thus, ideal conditions when you can plant potatoes in the ground, at stable daytime air temperatures at +15..+20 degrees, with this the soil needs to warm up up to +8..+10 degrees.
Advice! If you want to plant an early harvest, then, as an option, you can plant potatoes under arches (film), where comfortable conditions can be created 1-2 weeks earlier. And the ridges themselves can be made smaller so that the earth warms up faster.
In addition, you can focus on proven natural phenomena, one might say, folk signs for planting potatoes.
Natural phenomena indicating that it is time to plant potatoes:
Note! It is also wrong to postpone planting until later; in this case, you will simply not receive enough harvest, because... the warm summer period will end.
Thus, for successful landing It is required to observe the timing of planting potatoes in accordance with the climatic characteristics of each region.
Select a specific auspicious date for planting potato tubers l can help you uni calendar.
Happy days, By lunar calendar, for planting potatoes in 2019 are:
Important! You should also take into account the periods of new moon and full moon, since when sowing at this time the seedlings turn out weak and elongated.
Thus, unfavorable days , according to the lunar calendar, in 2019, when to plant potatoes absolutely not possible:
Finally, we note neutral days, When acceptable carry out any work, but only if it is not possible to do it on favorable dates:
So, to plant potatoes you need:
Important! Do not neglect buying a good and expensive variety if you want to get a rich harvest of large and tasty tubers.
« From bad seed Not wait good tribe".
Simply put, by planting only initially high-quality potato tubers, you can expect bountiful harvest(of course, subject to further proper landing and compliance with basic growing rules).
After you decide on the best variety and purchase tubers, you will need to properly prepare for landing, namely germinate and process from diseases and pests (and, if desired, you can dip it in one of the growth stimulants).
Also, in case you have very large tubers or there are few of them and these are expensive (elite) potato varieties, then they can divide into parts.
Another important step on the path to planting potatoes is the direct preparation of the site for planting, namely: choosing a location (in accordance with the lighting preferences of the crop, as well as according to the predecessors - crop rotation rules) and improving its fertility, digging and fertilizing.
Correct crop rotation is the key to annual good and healthy harvests.
So, it is advisable to grow potatoes every year in a new place or thoroughly disinfect and fertilize the soil. This is done in order to prevent its depletion, and also not to contribute to the accumulation of pests and diseases in the soil.
As for predecessors, it is recommended to plant potatoes after the following crops:
In other words, the best predecessors for potatoes are green manure(especially mustard, oilseed radish).
Potatoes love loose and fertile soil.
If your soil heavy (clayey), then it is necessary to prepare a bed for planting potatoes in advance, because it takes longer to warm up, in other words, furrows should be made at least a week before planting the tubers. It’s even better to dig up the area with a spade in the fall, and in the spring make only grooves or holes.
It's another matter if you have light soil(sandy). In this case, you don’t even have to make ridges, but plant them right out of the blue, as they also say, "under the shovel".
But on peat soils It is better to plant potatoes on high beds (again, you can make ridges) to avoid excessive waterlogging of the soil (so that the moisture leaves quickly).
Now, as for how improve soil fertility, in other words, how Can fertilize the bed for planting potatoes.
Actually, you can do this in 2 ways:
Back in the fall or in early spring for digging, it is advisable to add 20-30 grams per 1 square meter of bed superphosphate and 25-30 grams potassium sulfate(potassium sulfate), as well as more humus or compost or urea(urea) 30-40 grams. Or 20-30 grams of nitroammophoska per 1 sq.m (complex mineral fertilizer, which contains an equal content of macroelements, 16% each).
If you stick to organic farming , in other words, do not use mineral fertilizers, in under digging or even better in a hole, or a row can be poured wood ash (calculated at 50 grams per 1 tuber) and compost (humus), as well as eggshells And onion skins(from wireworm)
Or you can add 4-5 grams of nitroammophoska, or 3-4 grams of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, into each hole immediately before planting potatoes.
In this case, you do not need to place the tuber directly on the fertilizer (otherwise there is a risk of getting a burn to the skin of the tubers), the granules need to be sprinkled with fertile soil or, better yet, put in a hole humus or compost(about 2 handfuls - about 50 grams).
There are also special complex fertilizers for potatoes, for example, Fertika "Spring" for potatoes or Fasco "Potato".
Important! Naturally, in addition to the main macroelements, potatoes should be fully provided and microelements, which are also necessary for plant nutrition, especially boron, molybdenum, zinc, honey, calcium and manganese (they can already be added during foliar feeding during the growing season).
Next, we will look at the basic rules for planting, namely at what depth the tubers should be planted, as well as at what distance to place them. At the end, step-by-step mini-instructions for directly planting potato tubers will be presented.
“How deep should I plant potatoes?” is perhaps one of the main questions (along with distance) that novice gardeners often ask.
As a rule, potatoes are planted at a depth of 8 to 12 cm (maximum 15 cm).
First of all, the depth of planting potatoes depends on soil type, its composition and structure (in fact, as well as the timing of its preparation and the method of planting).
So, if the soil loose(for example, sandy), then you need to plant deeper, and, conversely, if heavy(clayey), then strongly should not be buried.
Thus, if you have a very mild and loose soil(sandy loam), then the optimal depth is about 10-12 centimeters, if more clayey (loam) - 8-10 cm.
Also important what matters is the fraction (tuber size) potatoes. The dependence here is direct: the more, the deeper and vice versa - the less, the less depth.
The note! Why do you need to plant at this particular depth?
The fact is that when new tubers begin to form, it is very important that they do not end up outside (come out of the ridge), but are constantly in the soil. Otherwise, they will simply turn green and lose all their presentation.
But also You can’t go too deep, especially on clay soils, the same medium loams.
Most optimal distance between rows (furrows, ridges)- 70-80 centimeters. This will be quite enough to make it convenient to hill up growing potatoes in the future.
Concerning distances between tubers in a row (furrow), then it primarily depends depending on the size of the planting material. Thus, small tubers (30-40 grams) should be planted at a distance of 20-22 cm, medium ones (60-90 grams) - 25-27 cm, large ones (90 grams or more) - 30-33 cm.
By the way! Large elite tubers, as you know, can be divided into parts.
Note!
- Some “especially cunning” gardeners mistakenly believe that if potatoes are planted often and thickly, then in the end you can get a good harvest.
- However, under such conditions, competition for food will definitely begin between plants, and as a result you will simply get a large number of small tubers.
Step-by-step instructions for planting potatoes in open ground in spring:
We repeat! The planting depth depends on the type of soil, and the distance depends on the size of the tubers (their fraction).
Advice! First, spread and fill the tubers (make ridges) in the first furrow, moving along the bottom of the adjacent, not yet planted furrow. Next, plant the second, third and all subsequent ones in turn.
Important! Do not walk on the ridges to avoid compacting or shedding them! But there is no need to be afraid of trampling the furrows, since the tubers lying on compacted soil receive better moisture from the lower layers of the soil.
It is not necessary to plant 1 small tuber in one hole; 2 are possible, but no more.
This article is primarily devoted to planting techniques; the features of care and agricultural cultivation techniques (watering, fertilizing) are described in other materials.
Read more:
Thus, if you follow all the basic requirements and recommendations for planting potatoes, and also take proper care in the future, you will definitely get a decent harvest.
The optimal time for planting potatoes is determined according to the principles of the technology used when planting tubers in the soil. Particular attention must be paid to this stage of the process. The timing of planting depends on the method of planting, and directly on them, the usefulness of the resulting harvest. Before the tuber is planted in the ground, it must be germinated. To do this, 14 days before the expected planting date, the potatoes are laid out in one layer in a well-ventilated and lit place. Whitish shoots are removed from the tubers in advance.
Potatoes that are ready to plant have thick, green sprouts that are not too long and not too thin.
In our usual understanding, the planting process consists of the following manipulations:
This approach provides savings labor resources Moreover, this is an excellent option for most potato plots.
In order to determine best time planting, you need to know that not only very early, but also late planting of root crops can reduce productivity. Optimal temperature for planting tubers - 5 degrees Celsius at a depth of 13-15 cm. This promotes rapid germination of potatoes, and the green mass of the bush grows faster. When planting potatoes in June, a definite dependence of yield on soil temperature is no longer observed. Because, as relevant observations have shown, planting in cool soil brings more results than in soil heated to 12 C. And in June, the soil at the required depth has exactly this temperature.
The parost reaches its peak of vital activity at the moment when the earth is warmed up from 3 to 7 C. At our latitude last deadlines Potato planting - mid to late May. The earth is already quite warm, but at this time the tubers can be planted at a shallower depth. Heat is not in short supply, and the surface of the garden is heated as well as possible.
The earlier potatoes are planted on a plot, the shallower the planting depth should be.
If at a certain summer cottage Rich black earth soils are rare, so it is necessary to plant potatoes at the end of April. In the Southern region, this date shifts to the beginning of April. Here you cannot be late with planting, since even a week’s delay threatens a 30% reduction in yield.
When for some reason it is too late to plant a garden, you need to know a few important points, and also take into account favorable days suitable for planting potatoes in June. Nothing is impossible, but such landing times in our country are usually practiced in the south. If nothing else remains, you should purchase tubers early ripening variety, which is guaranteed to ripen before the onset of the cold season. With a warm autumn, potatoes have time to produce good fruit. And yet, this type of landing is quite problematic:
So is it possible to plant potatoes in June? Naturally, but in this case the summer resident will have to tinker a lot to get a good harvest.
But if planting is needed in order to obtain planting material, then June is the most favorable time. In specialized literature, this term is called “summer planting.” Planting is possible until the end of the month, and the grown tubers are harvested in mid-October. Agrotechnical difficulties are the same as with timely planting in the spring. Tuberization lasts from late summer until autumn, but only if the temperature environment does not fall below +9C.
Potatoes planted in June must be well watered; this is best done by root irrigation, preferably in the evening. You can organize it using a hose; just make high row spacing and move the hose to the high edge of each high row. To prevent water from being wasted beyond measure, it is recommended to make a kind of dam from scrap materials on the lower edge of the bed. If the potatoes were not sprouted, then there is no need to waste precious time, high humidity and the heat will do their job and the potatoes will certainly grow. This will give a chance not only to get a harvest, but also to avoid a massive raid.
