Characteristics, description and ripening periods of the Red Scarlet potato

If you're considering planting a particular potato variety in your garden, you should thoroughly research all the information about it. On this page, you'll find a complete description of the popular RedScarlet variety, including growing and storage guidelines, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as potential problems and how to manage them.

Description and characteristics of the Red Scarlet potato

A Dutch variety, most often grown in central and southern Russia. It thrives in humid, moderately hot climates, but requires plenty of sunlight.

The yield is high, reaching 500 centners per hectare or more. The growing season is approximately 70 days, with early and uniform ripening. It is resistant to drought, mechanical damage, rot, and secondary sprouting. It has a long shelf life, maintaining its marketable appearance.

It has excellent flavor and is rich in beneficial micronutrients. It's a table variety, so it's suitable for any dish. It doesn't fall apart or lose its attractive appearance when cooked.

Appearance

RedScarlet grows as a low, upright shrub. The flower corolla can be reddish-purple or pinkish-lilac. The leaves are dark green, with slightly wavy edges.

The fruit's skin is thin, smooth, and red. The eyes are superficial and barely noticeable; they are few in number. The light-colored shoots at the base have a reddish or purple tint. The root is oval, elongated, and usually quite regular in shape (except for larger fruits). A single tuber typically weighs 50-120 grams, rarely reaching 150 grams.

The flesh is yellowish and does not change color during cooking. It does not darken when exposed to air.

Advantages and disadvantages of RedScarlet

Pros:

• high yield;
• resistance to nematodes and some diseases;
• neat appearance;
• good taste;
• long-term storage possibility;
• abundance of vitamins and minerals;
• optimal starch content is 10-15%.

Cons:

• weak immunity to late blight;
• rots quickly in high humidity;
• quite high care requirements;
• not suitable for northern regions.

Growing Guidelines: Planting and Care in Open Ground

The variety is quite demanding in terms of care, so all the rules must be strictly followed.

Potatoes are planted outdoors in May. Before planting, ensure the seeds are not rotting or diseased. Red Scarlet can be cut into sections during planting, but make sure each section has at least one eye. The root crop is planted using a 60/35 or 75/35 spacing scheme. It's important to leave enough space between plants, otherwise the plants will die. Planting depth is average, approximately 6-8 cm. This variety doesn't require germinating; it grows well even if planted directly into the soil.

Before planting, thoroughly loosen all the beds and form ridges. Fertilize them with nitrogen, and add wood ash to the holes. Some experts also recommend adding compost and onion peels.

The first shoots should appear 14-20 days after planting. The first harvest can appear as early as 45 days later. Overall, Red Scarlet takes up to 80 days to mature.

From the moment of planting, you need to carefully care for the potatoes.

1. Monitor your bushes closely for diseases and pests. Below you'll find out which factors to pay attention to first.
2. The first time you should weed the beds is a week after the first shoots appear. Then, roll the soil up, increasing the ridges to about 20 cm. Hilling should be done 2-3 times throughout the growing season.
3. Watering is done three times: before flowering, after it begins, and 9-10 days after flowering ends.
4. Fertilizers are also applied 2-3 times during the growing season. The first time is about a month after planting, the second time is when buds appear, and the third time is after flowering. A mixture of urea (2 teaspoons), potassium sulfate (2 teaspoons), and superphosphate (4 teaspoons) is recommended.
5. The Colorado potato beetle remedy should be used 3-4 days before flowering begins.
6. 7-10 days before harvesting, the tops should be removed.

Possible diseases and pests and methods of control

The RedScarlet variety is resistant to golden nematode, tuber canker, tuber blight, and some viruses. Otherwise, it has average disease susceptibility and requires little special care. However, it exhibits low immunity to some diseases. Let's take a closer look at them.

1. Potato top blight. Brown rot often destroys potato crops. Causes: a protozoan fungus that spreads to healthy root crops from infected fruit and soil. The disease spreads especially quickly in warm, humid weather. It's easy to spot: brown spots with a barely noticeable white fluffy coating appear on the lower leaves, and then on the upper leaves. Brown streaks appear on the stem. Spraying the bushes with fungicides and other chemicals helps combat potato top blight. Folk remedies are completely ineffective in treating RedScarlet.
2. Common scab. Small, ulcer-like spots appear on the fruit. The edges are dry and brown or yellow. The disease is rarely noticeable on the leaves, stems, or roots of potatoes, affecting only the fruit. Treatment methods include poisons and pesticides. Scab is very difficult to control, so preventative measures are recommended: acidic fertilizers, crop rotation, and the use of green manure.
3. Alternaria leaf spot. Dry, brown, circular spots on leaves are the main sign of this harmful fungus. They typically appear 14-20 days before flowering. It's important to catch this disease early, otherwise it will spread to the tubers, potentially ruining most of the crop. Control should again be achieved with chemicals: Mancozeb, Thanos, Poliram, and Acrobat MC are considered the most suitable.

Remember, the best way to fight disease is through proper prevention. With proper care, the risk of illness will be minimal.

Rules for storing crops

The tubers retain their marketable appearance and flavor during long-term storage. Before storing, they should be carefully sorted and rotten or diseased fruits removed. Red Scarlet should be stored in a cool, well-ventilated area; dampness is unacceptable in storage. The fruits are virtually impervious to impacts, making them resilient to shipping. They have a long shelf life, so you'll enjoy the harvest until next summer.

Reviews

Vegetable growers, when discussing RedScarlet on forums, often speak positively about the variety. Here are some real reviews.

Elena from Tomsk writes:

"It sounds like a big deal, but I consider myself something of an expert on potatoes. I adore them; there's no better dish to be found. I grow and cook them constantly. Their taste and availability are important to me. I believe the best potatoes are starchy, crisp, large, smooth, and have yellowish flesh. I planted a kilogram of Red Scarlett as a test, and then harvested four 12-liter buckets. All the fruits were perfect: large, smooth, and deep pink. I grew them as usual, without any special care or fuss. I boiled a few potatoes right after harvesting—delicious! Just the way I like them. Now they're all I grow. And I couldn't find any flaws."

Nikolay from Stavropol writes:

"I've never been one to garden, but I decided to plant some potatoes. I dug up a small patch of poor soil with some brick and concrete debris, sprinkled it with ash, and bought 3 kg of Red Scarlet potatoes (for just 70 rubles). I didn't take much care of them, only taking some measures when Colorado potato beetles appeared. Even though the beetles caused all the tops to fall off and turn black, the harvest was still impressive. I got 21.4 kg of potatoes from 50 plants (3 kg). So, imagine how much you could harvest from, say, one hundred square meters, if I had a 4x4 meter plot. The potatoes were delicious, they turned out well."