Description and rules for growing potatoes

To get a good potato harvest, it's not enough to simply plant them and harvest them when the tops dry. To achieve satisfying results, it's necessary to consider many nuances, such as variety selection, soil preparation, planting methods, and pathogen control.

By listening to the advice of professionals and following their tips, you can significantly increase your yield and avoid spoilage during storage.

Methods of growing potatoes

Thanks to the availability of numerous technologies, growing potatoes is not particularly difficult. However, some areas lack fertile soil, making it difficult to plant this crop for a good harvest.

Growing in bags

If the plot is small, potatoes can be grown in bags. The key is to keep them shallow, otherwise the sprouts won't have enough strength to develop properly and form tubers. The bags can be dug into the ground at a shallow depth, if desired.

On the balcony

City dwellers can harvest their tubers on their balconies. To do this, they need containers with holes for moisture. The containers should be cleaned with disinfectant powder. The planting process itself is similar to growing tubers in bags.

Growing potatoes requires good drainage, so large drainage holes must be made in the bottom and walls of the container.

Actions during landing:

1. First, add a layer of loose soil and compost to a depth of about 50 cm.
2. Place several tubers, preferably sprouted in advance, on the soil, cover with compost and water generously.
3. When seedlings emerge, add another layer of soil until the stems are approximately half-covered. Repeat this process until the stems reach the top of the container.

Helpful tip: While the crop is in the ripening stage, it will need to be fed three times and watered when the soil dries out.

To collect the tubers, simply turn the container over.

In open ground

If you have enough space at your dacha, some successful methods for growing potatoes will come in handy:

1. The Mittlider method, which involves creating narrow beds.
2. The Gülich method, the essence of which is to allocate a 1x1 m square of land for each plant.
3. A Dutch technology that involves planting potatoes in ridges, allowing for harvesting up to 2 kg from a single bush.

In Transbaikalia, the most effective method is ridge planting with seed tubers planted at a depth of 10-12 cm.

A Chinese method is quite popular, allowing you to reap a bountiful harvest even from a small plot. The secret is simple: as the bush grows, soil is added to the roots, ensuring a generous fertilization. If you follow this advice, one bush can yield around 20 kg of tubers.

Before planting potatoes, loosen the soil in the hole, then add half a bucket of compost or manure. Ash (a handful) and superphosphate fertilizer are also useful.

Rules for growing potatoes in open ground

Regardless of the size of your garden, potatoes should be planted according to proven guidelines. Soil type and climate conditions must be taken into account.

Soil preparation

If possible, plant the crop in a new area each year. The best predecessors for potatoes are:

• pumpkin;
• cabbage;
• roots;
• legumes.

Before planting, the open bed should be dug over. This is done in the fall and spring. Deep digging will ensure the plant takes root well and develops properly.

It's preferable for the bed to have a level surface. However, if the potato plot is in a low-lying area with heavy soil and high humidity, raising the bed is recommended.

Peculiarities of choosing a variety

Experts advise replacing potato varieties every 4-6 years to prevent them from degenerating. When choosing seed potatoes, consider the following:

1. Varieties are zoned. There are very few universal crops, so varieties are selected based on the region. For example, late-season varieties are not recommended for use in the Moscow and Leningrad regions. As a last resort, they are planted in greenhouses.
2. Ripening periods.
3. Soil type.
4. The quality of the tubers.
5. The number of eyes. It's best if there are many, but the potatoes shouldn't be sprouted.
6. Resistance to pests and bad weather conditions.
7. Taste qualities.
8. Ability to be stored throughout the winter period.

Early varieties bred domestically have proven themselves to be successful, including Moskovsky, Lorkh, Korenevsky, and Volzhanin. A large number of potato varieties used in Russia were developed by breeders in Kazakhstan.

Preparation of planting material

The tubers intended for planting are germinated for one month in a warm place. During this time, the material should be sorted and any potatoes with thread-like shoots removed.

You'll also need to sort through the potatoes before planting them. Any rotten areas should be discarded.

Features of agricultural technology

Vegetable gardeners often face difficulties resulting from poor cultivation practices. To ensure a bountiful harvest, proper soil preparation is essential. Due to their underdeveloped root system, potatoes require the following soil:

• fertile;
• water-permeable;
• warms up sufficiently.

The bed must be leveled. It's best to avoid areas with a steep slope.

The tubers will actively germinate if the soil temperature at the depth where they are located reaches 6-7 degrees.

When potatoes begin to sprout, excess moisture will only harm them. Watering is necessary after buds appear.

Timing and planting depth

For almost any potato variety, the optimal planting temperature is 7°C (44°F). In other words, you can begin planting in the second half of April or early May. In the Urals, the soil warms up only in late May or early June. In Belarus, soil temperature is also a guide, with planting in April (the second and third ten-day periods) in the southern regions and in May (the first and second ten-day periods) in the northern regions.

The tubers are planted at a depth that depends on the soil type and crop variety. For example, residents of northern and central regions can plant potatoes as follows:

• on light soil the permissible depth is 10-12 cm;
• if the soil is heavy – 8-10 cm;
• in the presence of peat soils – 6-7 cm.

In the southern regions, the figure increases to 14-16 cm, since humidity in these places is often low.

Planting and growing

Before planting the tubers, they can be treated with a solution consisting of:

• copper sulfate – 0.7 g;
• boric acid – 0.5 g;
• manganese sulfate – 0.5 g;
• water – 1 l.

Thanks to such actions, the bushes will be less susceptible to diseases, and the content of starch and ascorbic acid in young tubers will increase.

If rows are being planted for early varieties, the distance between them should be half a meter. Late varieties should be planted at slightly greater distances.

Don't get stuck on traditional potato growing methods. There are many techniques that can help you achieve good results.

Rules for caring for potatoes in open ground

Once the tubers are in the ground, many prefer to wait for the harvest without any additional effort. However, potatoes will not grow properly without proper care.

Fertilizer

The soil plowed in the spring requires fertilization. This is often accomplished using peat, compost, poultry manure, manure, and potassium and phosphorus fertilizers. It's also important to fertilize the soil in the fall to ensure early varieties receive sufficient nutrition.

Caring for crops

Loosening the soil before planting the tubers will give it the necessary structure and remove excess vegetation. It's also important to maintain proper temperature conditions. If you plant the potatoes too early, the sprouts will be killed by frost. And although new ones will emerge, they will be weak.

Until seedlings emerge, the soil should be harrowed. This is done for the first time 5 days after planting the tubers, and subsequently, the intervals between harrowings should be 7 days.

Watering

To maintain plant growth, it requires a certain amount of moisture. Watering becomes necessary if tubers are forming during drought. However, excess water is detrimental to the seed.

The second half of the growing season is when watering is most important for potatoes. However, under favorable weather conditions, watering may not be necessary.

Potatoes are watered in accordance with the following rules:

• It is best to perform the procedure in the evening;
• one bush will require at least 3 liters;
• The water used is pre-settled and warmed by the sun's rays.

Inter-row cultivation

Inter-row cultivation is performed when the plants are 12 to 15 cm tall. The soil must be loosened to improve moisture exchange and aeration, as well as to trim the root system of weeds. At least three cultivations are performed, with the soil being worked to a maximum depth of 6-8 cm. Repeat cultivation is performed after 14 days.

Hilling

During the summer, the plantings are hilled 2-3 times. The stems should be covered with soil on all sides. This work should be done after watering the plant or after rain.

Top dressing

Potatoes are often fertilized three times. The first feeding is necessary when the tops are weak, the leaves are pale, and the stems are thin. A solution containing urea (1 tablespoon) and water (10 liters) is used. Liquid mullein (0.5 liters) or bird droppings can also be added. Half a liter of fertilizer per plant is sufficient.

The next feeding is carried out when buds appear. To speed up the process, potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon) and ash (3 tablespoons) are diluted in water (10 liters).

Once the potatoes have flowered, it's time for the third feeding. This will stimulate tuber formation. For this procedure, prepare a solution: superphosphate (2 tablespoons) and chicken manure (1 cup) diluted in a bucket of water.

If you take proper care of your potatoes, you will be rewarded with an excellent, large harvest.

Potential potato diseases and pests

This crop can be affected by late blight, silver scab, ring rot, rhizoctonia, and other fungal diseases. If the product is improperly stored, bacterial rot may be detected. To prevent the development of diseases, preventative measures should be taken.

Pest control and disease prevention rules

To ensure healthy tubers, here are some helpful tips:

1. For cultivation, it is worth choosing only those varieties that are suitable for a given region and have high resistance to diseases.
2. If potatoes grow in the same place for many years, the soil must be disinfected every year.
3. If diseased bushes are discovered, they should be removed immediately. Fungal-infected tops should not be used for composting.
4. It is not advisable to cut the tubers before planting.
5. Manure is not the best fertilizer for potatoes. It should be replaced with compost, mature humus, or vermicompost.

Before planting, tubers and bushes should be treated with special biological preparations. For example, during the growing season, a copper sulfate solution can be used. Before hilling, the soil and bushes should be sprinkled with wood ash.

Potatoes are most susceptible to pests such as mole crickets, wireworms, Colorado potato beetles, and nematodes. There are biological products against these pests that are considered harmless to humans. These include Nemabact, Bicol, Bitoxybacillin, Actofit, and others, which are actively used, particularly by residents of the Moscow region.

How to plant potatoes in bags?

The essence of the method includes the following:

1. Fertile soil is poured into the bags. The layer's depth depends on the container's depth and should be between 10 and 35 cm.
2. Then the tuber is laid out (whole or cut into pieces) and covered with soil to a depth of 15 cm.
3. The first shoots will appear in a week or two. They need to be covered with soil again to encourage new roots to form. The sprouts are covered again several times until the top of the bag reaches 1/3 of its height.

A makeshift vegetable garden requires adequate lighting and timely watering. With the right approach, gardeners can harvest about 5 kg of potatoes from 4-5 tubers.

Growing crops vertically saves space and eliminates the need for regular weeding. It also reduces the risk of pest infestations.

Harvesting and storage

When is the best time to start harvesting potatoes? Here are some guidelines to follow:

• mid-season and late varieties are harvested when the tops turn yellow and dry out;
• Harvesting early varieties can sometimes begin when the tops are still green.

Dry weather is ideal for harvesting, but if there is prolonged rain, the potatoes should be dug up and laid out in a prepared area to dry. If the harvest is not timely, approximately 80% of the tubers will perish.

Potatoes must be dug up carefully to avoid damaging the tubers. If this happens, the potatoes should be discarded. They are not suitable for long-term storage.

When digging up tubers, it's best to immediately select potatoes for planting. They should be taken from the most productive nests, free of diseased tubers.

Harvested vegetables should be stored in a pre-prepared room:

• 15-20 days before, disinfection is carried out (400 g of bleach is taken per 10 liters of water);
• To whitewash the walls, prepare a solution of 1.5-2 kg of lime, 100 g of copper sulfate and 10 liters of water;
• The optimal temperature for storage is from 0 to 2 degrees Celsius.

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Reviews

It's not always possible to achieve a bountiful harvest using traditional methods, so many gardeners are looking for alternative ways to plant potatoes that will help them achieve the desired results.

You can find reviews on various forums about the effectiveness of various techniques. Some people succeed in growing potatoes in barrels, others under plastic, and still others actively resort to the Chinese method. In other words, there is no universal method, as the normal development of the crop depends on many factors.

For example, to obtain a harvest in northern regions, potatoes are often grown in greenhouses, since the short summer period simply does not allow the tubers to ripen.

The wide variety of methods for growing one of the most important agricultural crops is due to the diversity of climate conditions and soil composition. The key is to choose the right method and adhere to the appropriate guidelines.