Features Of Growing Potatoes: Preparation And Planting. How To Plant Potatoes? Photo

The main mistake of novice gardeners when growing potatoes is that everything that is not eaten must be planted and harvested. Most do so. And in the fall they shrug their shoulders sadly if the harvest is absent or so scanty that there is no point in digging. The second mistake is planting with a varietal mixture. Some bushes are still green, others have so dry tops that it is impossible to determine where the bush was. But the most offensive thing is that mashed potatoes alone turn out to be lush, and in the salad, instead of cubes, shapeless crumbs. Other tubers, on the contrary, in the soup resemble cloudy bluish glass, and the broth is odorless with a strange aftertaste.

Content:

• Don't expect a good tribe from a bad seed
• Characteristics of potatoes
• Self-preparation of seed material
• Purchase of planting material
• Preparing potato tubers for planting
• Dates of planting potato tubers
• Methods and schemes for planting potatoes

Don't expect a good tribe from a bad seed

This old saying succinctly and succinctly answers all the questions of novice gardeners and at the same time relieves them of the main mistakes in potato gardening.

Getting a high yield of excellent quality depends on the purpose of the potatoes: for salads, vinaigrettes, mashed potatoes, soups and borscht. For each type of finished product, its own varieties are bred, which are subdivided into groups with different duration of the growing season during the warm season.

Characteristics of potatoes

Potatoes are divided by the length of the growing season:

• for early, forming a harvest in 80-90 days;
• medium early, tubers are harvested in 100-115 days;
• medium, the harvest of which takes a period of 115-125 days;
• medium-late, with a growing season of 125-140 days;
• late, the formation of the crop of tubers of which takes more than 140 days.

The length of the warm season determines the group of potato varieties that are preferred in the region. It is pointless to grow late potatoes in areas where the warm season lasts 2-4 months. But the division into groups does not solve the issues of the quality of the crop and its use for preparing various dishes.

Within each group, priority is given to varieties that differ in economic (taste, starch content, pulp color) and biological characteristics (yield, keeping quality, shape of tubers, resistance to pests and diseases, etc.). Each variety corresponds to botanical characteristics (stems, leaves, flowers, etc.), according to which, in the field, it is possible to clearly separate varieties and remove the variety.

In the Russian Federation and the CIS, more than 2000 varieties of potatoes have been bred, but about 200 zoned varieties and hybrids are actively used in planting. Until now, there is no universal variety that would not depend on climatic and soil conditions. In order to be with your fresh potatoes throughout the warm season, 2-4 varieties are planted in the garden with the desired economic characteristics of different ripening periods (early middle ones, etc.).

Self-preparation of seed material

Experienced gardeners often run their own seed production. Having acquired certain skills and experience, the owners allocate seed material when harvesting potatoes. To avoid raznosoritsy always carry out a variety cleaning.

If, for various reasons, they were not carried out, then the most typical bushes (seed) are marked on the garden bed, the tubers of which are left next to the hole. Harvesting begins with these bushes. Seed tubers are immediately selected from the nest (homogeneous, no more than a chicken egg, absolutely healthy without external lesions by diseases, pests, without wounds received during care and harvesting).

Selected testes are immediately laid out separately for drying and final selection for storage until spring. You can calculate in advance the amount of required planting material. Usually 1 sq. m of area are planted with 5-7 potato tubers with an average weight of 50 to 70, sometimes 90-100 g.

After harvesting the seed, they proceed to the continuous harvesting. In order not to litter the field and not feed the pests, they remove all potatoes from the field bed, including small and diseased ones, as well as tops. The healthy one is put on composting, and the sick one is burned, returning the ash to the field. When clearing the beds intended for potatoes, they begin the autumn soil preparation.

Purchase of planting material

For the first few years, beginners in the gardening business usually buy planting tuber material. When purchasing, you must adhere to several rules.

• Do not purchase material from random vendors.
• Purchase only zoned planting material for seed farms.
• Each purchase is accompanied by a brief description of the variety (ask the seller for it).

The annotation must indicate the group and name of the potato variety, the area (region) of cultivation. Approximate date of planting in open ground, duration of the growing season, yield. Characterization of the properties of the pulp during heat treatment. Disease and pest resistance. Keeping quality. If there is no annotation, do not risk buying seed. You can be easily deceived.

In the presence of the seller, analyze the quality of the purchased material and its compliance with the written annotation. Check the uniformity of the purchased material, the size of the potato tubers (with a chicken egg). External color of the peel, tuber shape. The characteristic arrangement of the eyes, their size, shape (round, oblong, deepened, single, in groups). Otherwise, you will buy a assortment.

Sorting and inspection of seed material

At home, purchased potato tubers are thoroughly inspected after preliminary washing from dirt (if necessary). On examination, patients are immediately discarded, damaged and differing in appearance (elongated, round), the color of the pulp (white, pink, yellow, intense blue, red, etc.).

Healthy potato tubers are sorted into small (30-50 g), medium (50-80 g) and large (over 80 g). In the future, each weight category will have more uniform seedlings, its own speed of development, and will facilitate the care of plantings and their treatments. In addition, large tubers can be divided into several fragments before planting.

Preparing potato tubers for planting

Depending on the state of potato tubers (deep, dormant eyes or vice versa, the eyes are germinated, but etiolated, etc.), the planting material is subjected to additional preparation for planting in open ground. Sleeping eyes on tubers are stimulated or awakened in different ways. Sprouted eyes green. The preparation of planting material allows you to shorten the period of seedling during planting, and, therefore, to get an earlier harvest.

Light vernalization

With etiolated sprouted eyes, the tubers are subjected to gardening, which is also called light vernalization. Prepared potato tubers are laid out on window sills, in transparent containers, in grape boxes in 1 layer under moderate lighting 20-30 days before planting.

Systematically the tubers are moistened and turned over. The temperature in the room is maintained within the range of +12.. + 17 ° С. Prepared tubers should have uniform greening. They cannot be used for food.

Tuber processing

If necessary, light vernalization of potatoes is combined with the treatment of tubers with nutrient and disinfectant solutions to stimulate the growth of eyes and protect against disease. On depleted soils, it is more advisable to plant tubers additionally treated with nutrients.

The treatment is carried out in different solutions. Each gardener has his own proven methods of preparing material for planting and usually uses them. The article provides two types of solutions for novice gardeners and they are not a dogma for mandatory use.

1 way. About 4-6 weeks before planting, potato tubers are soaked for 20-30 minutes in a solution of room temperature. In order not to bother with calculations, when preparing solutions from several components, it is advisable to use ready-made complex fertilizers crystallin, vuksal, which contain, in addition to the main nutrients, 8 microelements. 20-25 g of fertilizer and 1-2 teaspoons of bioglobin eye growth stimulator are dissolved in 10 liters of water.

Processed potato tubers are placed in boxes in 1 or 2 layers. The boxes are taken out in a dark room for 2 weeks, with a temperature of +12.. + 17 ° С. After the dark phase of germination, boxes or other containers with tubers are put up for greening.

Method 2. If diseased tubers are found in the purchased seed material, then all sorted groups (small, medium, large tubers) are treated in a solution containing drugs that contribute to the accelerated germination of eyes, the laying of root tubercles and simultaneous protection against fungal and bacterial diseases. In 10 liters of water, 20-25 g of complex fertilizer are diluted, 50-100 g of wood ash, 5 g of copper sulfate and a pinch of potassium permanganate (1-2 g) are added.

Bioglobin, root and trichodermin (antifungal biofungicide) are added to the solution. The mixture is thoroughly mixed. Tubers are sprayed or boxes with potatoes are dipped into the prepared solution for 2-4 minutes. In the next 10-20 days, the tubers are sprayed with the prepared solution after 1-3 days. Then, with sufficient development and gardening of the eyes on the tubers, they are planted in the ground.

Dark sprouting of roots on sprouts

Some gardeners prefer to plant tubers in open ground with a formed root system on the shoots. This method increases the speed, power and number of future tubers on potato stolons. The tubers are prepared in containers with a moist filler without access to light. A layer of coniferous shavings, sawdust, peat with a layer of 2-3 cm is poured onto the bottom of plastic or wooden containers lined with film. It is sufficiently moistened with a nutrient solution prepared according to the above method.

You can prepare solutions using 10 liters of water, 3 teaspoons of nitrophosphate, urea or effecton fertilizer. You cannot overestimate the concentration. To protect against damage to tubers by fungal diseases, planriz, trichodermin, and other biofungicides that are harmless to the soil, human health and domestic animals are added to the nutrient solution. Potato tubers are tightly placed on the treated bedding. Subsequent rows are interleaved, like the first.

The top row should be covered with filler. Moisten the filler after 4-6 days. To preserve moisture, containers are covered with foil and installed in rooms without access to light. With this method of preparation, potato tubers are laid for germination immediately before planting in open ground, the temperature of which in a layer of 10-15 cm is close to the temperature of the filler (within +8.. + 12 ° C). Roots are formed on the sprouts in 7-10 days.

When the length of the roots reaches 1-2 cm, the tubers are immediately planted. Tubers with rooted eyes are ready for planting in 1.5-2.0 weeks.

Dates of planting potato tubers

It is irrational to tie the planting of potatoes in open ground to a certain date. The weather depends on many factors and over the years the difference in the onset of warm frost-free weather can vary widely (10-30 days).

Therefore, in different regions, potato planting begins:

• at the onset of the spring frost-free period, typical for the region. It is usually indicated in calendars, reported on synoptic television channels, etc.
• In a frost-free period, sprouted tubers are planted when the soil warms up in a layer of 10-12 cm to +5.. + 7 ° С, and for non-germinated +8.. + 10 ° С, the air temperature is not lower than +10 ° С. Planting with germinated planting material speeds up harvesting by 1.5-2.0 weeks.

At an air temperature of +10.. + 12 ° C, potatoes emerge in 20-25 days. When the temperature rises to +18 ° C - on the 12-13th day. Young plants can withstand a short-term drop in air temperature to -1.5 ° C. A decrease in soil temperature to -1.0 ° C causes the death of tubers. Hence the conclusion: planting too early is not effective. They delay the emergence of seedlings up to 30 days.

The formation of the aboveground mass begins at + 11 ° С. During the growing season, the optimum soil temperature for intensive growth of potato tubers is +16.. + 19 ° С. A higher one retards their development. Lower soil temperature with evening watering and mulching.

Methods and schemes for planting potatoes

Depending on the type of soil, climatic conditions, planting potato tubers is carried out in different ways.

There are 3 most common ways:

• smooth in wells and tape (single and double),
• ridge with increased soil moisture,
• trenching in dry areas.

Before you start planting prepared potatoes of standard sizes, read the general recommendations for planting agrotechnics (table).

• With a deviation of the size of potato tubers from the standard distance, they can change, but not more than 3-5 cm. All types of plantings must be mulched until the soil is completely covered with overgrown tops.
• Landings for uniformity of illumination are always located from north to south.
• With any planting method, it is necessary to maintain the distances between rows and tubers in a row, recommended for different groups of potatoes.
• Always maintain planting depth, which depends on the type of soil,
• Thickening is acceptable only with a specific planting method and when planting with small planting material.

Agrotechnical requirements for planting standard potato tubers

Early maturing potato varieties:

• Distance between rows, ridges 45-50 cm
• Distance between tubers in a row 25-30 cm

• Planting depth of tubers:

  • light soils, 10-12 cm
  • heavy loamy, 8-10 cm
  • heavy clay 4-5 cm

Mid-season potato varieties:

• Distance between rows, ridges 50-60 cm
• Distance between tubers in a row 30-35 cm

• Planting depth of tubers:

  • light soils 10-12 cm
  • heavy loamy 08-10 cm
  • heavy clay 04-05 cm

Late-ripening potato varieties:

• Distance between rows, ridges 60-70 cm
• Distance between tubers in a row 35-40 cm

• Planting depth of tubers:

  • light soils 10-12 cm
  • heavy loamy 08-10 cm
  • heavy clay 04-05 cm

Planting potatoes in a smooth field

On cultivated soils that are sufficiently water-absorbing and air-permeable, potatoes can be planted directly in holes or furrows. The holes are dug with a depth of 8-12 cm with a distance between rows of 50-70 cm. With this method of planting, several schemes can be used.

Row method with equal row spacing throughout the site.

Twin ribbons from two rows. The distance between the rows in the tape is 40 cm, and between the tapes is 80-90 cm. In a row, tubers are planted every 30-40 cm, using a checkerboard distribution of tubers in the tape rows. An interesting scheme is that watering is carried out in the tape between the rows, and the soil from the rows is used for hilling. Hilling is carried out every 8-10 days and the weeds do not have time to grow. Weeds and other waste are dumped into wide aisles, fertilizers are added in the fall. The soil is not dug up, but loosened to a depth of 10-15 cm. The next year, this aisle serves as the main two-row tape. In place of last year's tape, a wide aisle is formed.

On a flat surface, it is convenient to use a square-nested landing pattern. It is especially useful when planting late and bushy potato varieties.

Ridge planting of potatoes

On a leveled area, ridges of 15-20 cm are made with a hoe. The distance between the ridges is 50-70 cm. For large-bushy, the distance is increased to the permissible size. Too rarely planted potatoes will actively overgrow with weeds. Along the top of the ridges, holes are made in which tubers are planted.

This planting method is advisable in regions with sufficient natural moisture and in areas with high groundwater occurrence. In addition, it is advisable on heavy soils, since they float and compact more slowly in the ridges. In the ridges, porosity remains longer, which improves soil air exchange, which contributes to better tuber formation.

By the way! In the old days and now, in many villages and villages during the formation of tubers, air exchange is improved by piercing the soil with a pitchfork or a knife. The tools are stuck vertically near the bushes in several places, shaking slightly so as not to damage the stolons.

Trench planting of potatoes

In arid regions and on light soils, it is better to plant potatoes in trenches. With this method, less moisture is lost in the plantings, you can reduce the amount of watering. Trenches are dug 2-3 cm deeper than recommended for planting tubers. Cover from above with a layer of soil, not higher than the edge of the trench. With this method of cultivation, it is imperative to mulch the soil until the soil is completely covered with tops.

Alternative methods of growing potatoes

In addition to the generally accepted ones, today gardeners offer a large number of original cultivation methods that help to harvest a sufficient crop of potatoes from a small area: under a black film, under straw, hay, in boxes, barrels, bags, buckets, in mounds, etc.