Preparing the soil for planting potatoes includes two periods - autumn and spring. They are worm-like mollusks with a body covered with mucus. They have a hard tongue with sharp teeth. Naked slugs cause great harm in wet years, especially

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First feeding

The first fertilizing must be carried out during the first hilling. During this period, agronomists recommend fertilizing with a mixture of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate fertilizers. The fact is that potatoes are very demanding on the content of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil. Potassium and nitrogen are responsible for the size of the tuber, and phosphorus for their quantity. A solution is used for feeding.

The solution is prepared according to the following method, taken:

• nitrogen-potassium fertilizers 30 g;
• phosphorus fertilizers 60 g;
• water 10 l;

The solution must be handled carefully and not get it on young plants (it will simply burn them). Often in farms such a thing as nitroamophoska is used; it is often added to the holes when planting. The rate of use is one teaspoon per hole. In the fall, areas for planting potatoes in the spring are fertilized with nitroamophoska; the consumption rate in this case is 20 g of fertilizer per 1 m2. For potatoes, the use of potassium fertilizers is very important; they help increase productivity and increase the mass of tubers. Agronomists strongly advise using fertilizers with a high potassium content.

Using chicken manure as fertilizer

The first feeding of potatoes immediately after planting can be done using manure or droppings. The fertilizer must be diluted with water and left to infuse for several days before application to the ground. The proportions of water and chicken droppings are approximately 1 to 15, be careful, it is better to make a weak solution than to burn the plants. Feeding potatoes with chicken droppings made using the described method is done immediately after rain, as well as abundant watering, the ground should be well moistened. A liter of solution is poured under each plant.

Chicken manure is a very nutritious fertilizer and contains many trace elements:

• nitrogen - 2%;
• phosphorus (in the form of phosphoric acid) - 1.5-2.0%;
• potassium - 1.0%;
• calcium - 2.4%;
• magnesium - 0.8%;
• sulfur - 0.5%;

Using sawdust, wood ash and onion peels as fertilizers

What else can you feed potatoes for a better harvest? In addition to chicken manure, nitrogen-potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, you can use sawdust, wood ash and onion peels.

There are two ways to use wood ash as fertilizer. In the first method, ash is poured into a hole during planting. In the second method, the tubers are rolled in ash. If ash is poured into the pits, then it is necessary to control its consumption; it should be no more than 300 g per square meter. When ash is used at the dacha as a fertilizer to feed potatoes, the tubers come out starchy.

One of the most important food crops in domestic agriculture is potatoes. It is grown in large quantities throughout the country. Land fertility and climate in different regions noticeably different. Comfortable growing conditions are not available everywhere, but using potato fertilizers, you can achieve high yields in any area and on any soil.

During the growing season, one plant consumes up to 100 g of potassium, 20 g of phosphorus and 50 g of nitrogen. Fertilizers for potatoes must be applied in much larger volumes than they consume, since some useful substances does not reach the plant. Useful macro- and microelements are stolen by weeds, and some of them dissolve in the soil complex and are removed along with evaporating moisture.

Autumn preparation of a field for potatoes

Gardeners usually get the largest potato yields when they just start developing a plot, in the first years after its development. Virgin soil is rich in all the nutrients necessary for growing this root vegetable. But gradually the land is becoming poorer. Potatoes need fertilizing, which is applied both when preparing the soil for planting and throughout the growing season.

Most often, fertilizers for potatoes are combined, combining organic matter and agrochemicals.

General recommendations for autumn application are: per 1 sq.m. soil take 5-7 buckets of humus (or fresh manure, it will rot over the winter). At the same time, mineral fertilizers are used. , which has a long period of transfer of useful substances into the soil complex, is traditionally applied in the fall, about 30 g per sq. m. Phosphorus from this fatty acid will have time to transform into a form accessible to plants by spring. Potassium sulfate is added along with phosphorus at the rate of 15 g per 1 sq.m.

For fertilizer, you can use only agrochemicals, without organic matter. This is usually done on soils infected with pests or pathogenic microflora, for which manure is a favorable habitat. In the fall, in this case, you can use double superphosphate and potassium sulfate in a 1:2 ratio, since potatoes consume a larger volume.

After harvesting the tops, green manure can be planted in the potato field. But not all. Lupine, for example, will not even have time to ascend, and will not want to; he does not particularly like low temperatures. And cultivation is an ideal option. It will take three weeks to form a sufficient amount of vegetative mass. With the onset of cold weather, green manure will fall down on its own, and in the spring it will be possible to plow it up along with the soil.

When the area is prepared in autumn period, there is an opportunity to do a deep digging of the soil, it is still loose after harvesting the potatoes, it has not had time to compact. If the soil will be processed with a tractor, it must be plowed and cultivated. When using a walk-behind tractor, the area is walked twice if the soil is clayey, and once if it is sandy. Manual digging is carried out to the full depth of the shovel bayonet. There is no need to break up large clods - there is a greater chance that cold air will get to the roots of the weeds and they will freeze.

If the soil on the site is acidic, then in the fall you can begin to restore its normal balance. For this, dolomite flour, lime or. Application rate – 200 g per 1 sq.m. You can tell that the pH has changed by the appearance of sorrel and moss in the beds, as well as by the color of the soil, which turns blue when it sours.

Spring feeding

Potatoes cannot tolerate stagnant melt water and need good drainage, so the first task that needs to be solved in the spring, when preparing the site for planting, is to ensure the removal of excess moisture. For this purpose, drainage ditches are organized, and the site itself, if possible, is located on a hill. If the groundwater level remains high, when planting potatoes, ridges or ridges are formed, on top of which they are planted.

The most important element for spring plant nutrition is nitrogen. It is found in manure in huge quantities, which makes it organic compound the best fertilizer for potatoes. But the greatest increase in yield is obtained when sharing organic and mineral fertilizers. There are many methods for their combined application, some of them are presented below. The dosage is calculated for 1 sq.m. soil:

• 1 bucket of humus, 1 glass of ash, 3 tbsp. nitrophoska;
• 20 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of potassium sulfate, add this mixture after plowing along with green manure;
• Peat manure (or compost), 20-30 g of nitrophoska plus inter-row fertilizing with ammonium nitrate (20 g) and potassium sulfate (20 g).
• 7-10 kg of humus mixed with ammonium nitrate (20 g), potassium sulfate (20 g), superphosphate 30-40 g, dolomite flour - 450 g.
• If there is no organic matter, you can use fertilizers without additional components, for example, nitrophoska - 5 kg per hundred square meters, or - 3 kg per hundred square meters.

When using agrochemicals together with manure, it should be taken into account that for early potato varieties it is necessary to apply more fertilizer than for late ones. Varieties with a short growing season simply do not have time to take all the necessary substances from organic matter. Then mineral fertilizers come to the rescue, they act much faster and provide the necessary nutrition in full.

Microfertilizers, for example, molybdenum or copper, can be included in potato feeding, and boron fertilizers are used on soils containing lime. They help absorb essential nutrients and “polish” their effect on the plant’s body.

Fertilizer application during planting

It is believed that nested, targeted application of fertilizing when planting for each specific plant is much more useful and economical than scattering fertilizers across the field.

Fertilizers can be applied directly into the hole. For example, if the choice fell on organic matter, then a 700 gram jar of dry humus and 5 tbsp are added to each well. ash (a handful that fits in the hand of an adult).

And when using agrochemicals, you can adhere to the following scheme: place 1 tbsp in each well. nitrophoska and 0.5 cups of bone meal.

For local application when growing potatoes, you can use ready-made fertilizers, for example, Kemira. This mineral supplement added to the holes during planting, in the quantities specified in the instructions for use.

Root feeding

This type of fertilizing is usually done before hilling the bushes, after light loosening, so that the components of the nutrient mixtures can more easily reach the roots of the plant. After applying fertilizers, you should always water the plantings abundantly.

1. . Despite the aggressiveness of this fertilizer, it can be used even in fresh, diluting in a ratio of 1:10, and pouring this suspension into the grooves between the rows of potatoes.
2. . Dissolve a tablespoon of urea in 10 liters of water, and water the bushes at the root with this solution, after light loosening, but before the first hilling. The application rate for one plant is 0.5 l.
3. . In a bucket of water (10 l), dissolve a liter of fresh cow manure, ferment it, and pour it between the rows.
4. Herbal infusion. Prepared from any type of weed growing on the site. Soak in a barrel of water, wait for the infusion to ferment, dilute until the color of weakly brewed tea is obtained, water the potatoes in the evening, along the perimeter of the hole. It is advisable not to touch the stem. It is best to carry out this fertilizing of potatoes in June, when the plant actively consumes nitrogen.
5. Mineral fertilizers. For root feeding of potatoes, various agrochemicals are used, for example, a solution of ammonium nitrate (20 g per 10 liters of water). You can use a mixture of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in a ratio of 1:1:2, dissolving about 25 g of the mixture in 10 liters of water.

Foliar feeding

Throughout the growing season, potatoes need nutrients. Starter soil fertilization alone is not enough, since not all macro- and microelements reach the cultivated crop directly, a significant part of them is dispersed for various reasons.

A good treatment method that allows you to deliver nutrition directly to the plant itself is foliar feeding. It is best done after weeding the potatoes, in the evening, so as not to cause burns to the leaves. With this method of applying fertilizers, they enter the plant body much faster and activate metabolic processes in it, significantly stimulating its growth, development of the root system and, accordingly, significantly improving the quality and quantity of the crop. There are many types of potato feeding that have worked well. Below are some of them:

Urea

The following doses are recommended: water - 5 l, urea - 100 g, potassium monophosphate - 150 g, boric acid 5 g. Microelements can be included in the fertilizer - boron, copper, manganese, zinc and cobalt in minimal dosages, no more than 1 g per 10 l.

The first fertilizing based on urea is carried out two weeks after the emergence of full shoots throughout the field. The working solution for it is diluted 2 times. The following fertilizing is carried out with the same composition, but undiluted. Between them it is necessary to maintain an interval of two weeks. Treatment should be continued until the potatoes begin to flower.

Phosphorus

At the end of potato flowering, about a month before harvest, good results provides foliar feeding (especially for mid-season and late varieties) infusion of superphosphate (100 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of water - for spraying 10 sq. m.). Phosphorus applied as foliar feeding increases yield and at the same time increases the starchiness of potato tubers.

Humates

Plantings can begin to be treated from the appearance of the 4th leaf on the plant, with periods between treatments of 2 weeks. You can use, for example, Gumat+7, application rate - 3 liters per hundred square meters, working solution 2 g per 10 liters.

Nettle infusion

Potatoes need nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and iron, which are contained in this fertilizer. Preparing the infusion is very simple - add water along with the tops and keep warm until completely fermented. After this, the working solution is filtered, diluted and treated with the potato field at intervals of 10 days.

Video: mineral nutrition of potatoes

Disease and pest control

When growing potatoes, many gardeners traditionally limit themselves to fighting the Colorado potato beetle, and when they find spots, ulcers, or rot on root crops, they say that the potato is sick. Many people do not delve into the reasons for what is happening, believing that this is the influence of weather factors. In fact, this is far from the case. This plant has many diseases and pests. Potatoes need protection measures from various negative factors throughout the growing season.

Preventive measures

It is always better to prevent a problem than to heroically deal with its consequences later. Therefore, in the spring it is necessary Special attention pay attention to protecting potatoes from common diseases and insect pests. The measures taken will greatly help preserve the harvest and improve its quality indicators.

Protection during the growing season

You can also mulch potatoes using sawdust. Under them a favorable environment will be created for the breeding of insects that destroy Colorado potato beetles, for example, ladybugs.

Dealing with the consequences

• Before harvesting potatoes, it is necessary to remove diseased bushes from the field and cut off the tops of healthy ones, otherwise fungal spores can get from the stems to the tubers, infecting them.
• Diseased potatoes can be eaten by removing the affected areas.
• Seed material must be prepared before harvesting for storage. For a safe winter, potatoes need good drying in the sun and forced greening.

Video: growing potatoes - seminar “Good harvest at minimal cost”

It sprouts at a temperature of 7-8°C. If the temperature then drops, the tops stop growing. The most favorable temperature for the growth of potato plants and the formation of tubers is 17-18°C. At lower and higher temperatures, the formation of tubers slows down, and at 30°C it stops completely.
Young potato plants do not tolerate frost and die at temperatures 2-3° below zero. After the death of the seedlings, new stems appear from the germinating dormant eyes, but the yield is reduced.
Moisture helps increase the number and weight of tubers. Especially a lot of it is required during the period of buds and flowering, when the strongest growth of tops occurs and tubers are formed. By this time, it is very important to retain moisture in the soil by properly cultivating the soil and loosening the row spacing. If the weather is dry during tuberization, the plants must be watered. But with an excess of soil moisture, a significant part of the tubers rot and the yield decreases. Potatoes require a lot of light, especially in the first half of their life. Therefore, it must be planted in an open, unshaded place.
A high potato yield can only be obtained on well-fertilized soils. It is necessary to apply large doses of organic and mineral fertilizers, apply additional fertilizing, and also properly cultivate the soil. In a home garden, it is better to place potatoes after cabbage or cucumbers, planting them in the second year after adding organic fertilizers to the soil.
The best potato varieties for Moscow and adjacent regions are the following: early-ripening table potatoes - Early Rose, Epicurus, Epron and Early Priekulsky; from the middle-late ones - Lorch, Berlichingen, Oktyabrenok and Peredovik; from late ripening - Voltman.
Early rose is an early variety, table variety, very tasty. Productivity is average. Keeping quality is poor.
Epicurus is an early variety, table variety, tasty. Productivity and keeping quality are average.
Epron is an early, table, high-yielding variety. Keeping quality is good.
Priekulskiy early is a cancer-resistant, early-ripening, productive variety. The taste and keeping quality are good.
Lorch is a medium-late, high-yielding, tasty variety. Keeping quality is good.
Berlichingen is a cancer-resistant variety, medium late, table variety, tasty. Keeping quality is good.
Oktyabrenok is a cancer-resistant, mid-late, high-yielding variety. The taste is average.
Before about in and to - the variety is cancer-resistant, medium-late, table, productive, very tasty. Keeping quality is good.
Voltman is a drought-resistant, late, productive variety. Keeping quality is good.
The best planting material is medium and large tubers, weighing from 60 to 100 grams. When planting small tubers (weighing less than 30 grams), the yield is reduced.
In addition to whole tubers, their parts, tops, eyes, as well as sprouts and stems of strong bushes are used for planting.
Large tubers (up to 100 grams) can be cut into two parts before planting, and very large ones (above 100 grams) into three or four parts. Moreover, each part of the tuber must have two or three eyes and weigh at least 30 grams. The tuber must be cut into two parts in the longitudinal direction.
The tops of tubers are also used for planting. They are cut from unpeeled and unwashed, large, healthy and unfrozen ware potato tubers weighing from 80 to 100 grams or more. The larger the tuber, the more valuable the top cut from it.
Vernalization of seed tubers is the most important factor allowing the potato plant to more fully utilize the short growing season. Vernalization accelerates the emergence of potato seedlings by 15-20 days, increases yield by 20-30%, and also increases its starchiness. Vernalization has a particularly positive effect on well-fertilized areas.
For vernalization, potatoes are laid out in a layer of two or three tubers in a bright room and kept there at room temperature (preferably at 12-15°C) for 30-40 days. If there is less time left before planting, this should not be a problem: the quality of the tubers improves even if they lie in the light and warmth for at least 10-20 days or even less before planting.
Properly vernalized tubers grow thick short sprouts of green or purple color, 1-2 centimeters long.
For vernalization, healthy tubers are selected, without any damage. White sprouts formed during winter storage should be broken off before planting for vernalization. Every five to seven days, vernalized tubers are turned over, removing diseased and rotten ones.
Vernalized tubers must be handled carefully so as not to break off the sprouts. Tubers with broken sprouts sprout with great delay.
Experiments have established that on loamy soils, deep plowing of the soil for potatoes at 28-30 centimeters gives much better results than conventional plowing at 20-22 centimeters. At the same time, the potato yield increases by 20%, and starchiness by 1%.
Fertilizers are applied during the spring digging of the site, distributing them evenly over the entire area. At 100 square meters give 500-600 kilograms of manure, humus, peat or composts, 15-20 kilograms of bird droppings, 15-20 kilograms of ash, and mineral fertilizers - 2-3 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 3-5 kilograms of superphosphate and 1.5-2.5 kilogram of potassium salt. This amount of mineral fertilizers can be replaced with 8-10 kilograms of a ready-made mixture (“vegetable mixture”).
When organic and mineral fertilizers are applied together, the greatest increase in yield is obtained. In this case, the doses of both are reduced by half.
A great effect is achieved by adding 50 kilograms of manure, 2 kilograms of superphosphate and 5 kilograms of lime per 100 square meters. Manure is mixed with lime in advance, and superphosphate is added to them the day before using this fertilizer mixture.
As recent experiments show, a 1.5-fold increase in the dose of phosphorus fertilizers in the total mass of fertilizers applied to potatoes significantly increases the yield of tubers and their starchiness.
If there is a lack of fertilizer, you can apply it to holes or furrows. In this case, 2 times less fertilizer is spent, and the yield increase is the same as with continuous filling of the soil. A potato bush requires 150-200 grams of humus. They place it at the bottom of the hole, and plant the tubers in its side. A vegetable mixture of mineral fertilizers needs 3-5 grams per hole. It is mixed with soil or used in the form of an aqueous solution. Wood ash added when planting potatoes improves their taste and increases the starchiness of the tubers. Place one or two handfuls of wood ash in each hole and mix it with the ground.
Peat ash is a valuable fertilizer for potatoes. Experiences and practices of advanced farms have established that peat ash is not inferior to wood ash in its effect on potato yield, and is superior to it in its effect on starchiness. Flaw peat ash The only difference is that it should be applied at 3040 kilograms per 100 square meters instead of 7-10 kilograms of wood ash. With the local method of application, that is, in a furrow or nest, the dose of peat ash can be reduced by 4 times. Mineral fertilizers or ash are rolled into the hole with a 2-3 centimeter layer of soil, then the tuber is planted, covered with soil and the area is leveled with a rake.
Potatoes should be planted at a time when the soil at a depth of 10-12 centimeters warms up to 7-8°C.
In Moscow and adjacent regions this usually happens in the first half of May. The best time for planting potatoes coincides, as a rule, with the period of blossoming of birch leaves and flowering of bird cherry.
If planted too early in unheated soil, potato tubers do not germinate for a long time and easily rot. But you should also not be late with planting, as this leads to a decrease in yield.
If planting potatoes is 10-15 days late, especially on light sandy loam soils, the yield drops sharply, and starchiness decreases by 1.5-2%. In high places and southern slopes, which warm up faster, as well as on light soils (sandy and sandy loam), planting begins earlier. In low and damp places, as well as on heavy soils (clayey and loamy), which warm up slowly, planting is carried out later.
On light soils, potatoes are planted to a depth of 10-12 centimeters, on heavy soils - 8-10 and on peaty soils - 10-12 centimeters. Parts and tops of tubers are planted 2-3 centimeters smaller than whole ones.
Planting density depends on the potato variety, tuber size, soil fertility and other conditions. Early-ripening varieties are planted more densely, mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties - less often. Large tubers are placed less often, small tubers and tops - more densely. On well-fertilized soils, dense planting is used; on poorly fertilized soils, sparser planting is used.
The distance between rows of potatoes should reach 50-60 centimeters, and between bushes in a row when planting whole tubers - 30-35 centimeters, tops - 25, seedlings or sprouts - 20 centimeters. On 100 square meters you can place 400-500 bushes when planting whole tubers, 550-600 bushes, seedlings or sprouts - 650-700 bushes.
Experiences in recent years have shown that when potato planting is thickened to 500-600 tubers per 100 square meters, the yield sharply increases and starchiness increases.
For planting on 100 square meters, medium-sized tubers require 20-25 kilograms, large ones - 30-35 kilograms, tops - 10-12 kilograms. On heavy, damp, low-lying and cold soils, it is better to plant on ridges, which dry out and warm up faster.
Planting rows are marked with a hand marker or along a stretched cord. For better moisture retention of nutrients in the soil, the rows are placed not along, but across the slope.
Nest planting of potatoes contributes to increasing the yield. With this method, two tubers or two halves of a tuber are placed in each hole with an interval of 8-10 centimeters.
Caring for potatoes is critical to obtaining a high yield. When planting with non-vernalized tubers, seedlings appear on days 18-22, and with vernalized tubers - on days 8-10.
Before the potato shoots begin to emerge, it is necessary to harrow the area at least 2-3 times with a rake or harrow to preserve moisture in the soil (by destroying the soil crust) and destroy weeds while they are not yet strong.
The first harrowing is carried out 5-6 days after planting the potatoes, without waiting for the weed seeds to fully germinate. Subsequent harrowing alternates approximately every 6-7 days. Such harrowing is especially necessary on heavy soils, and after rainfall on any soil.
From the moment of emergence of seedlings until the beginning of flowering (closing of the tops), three or four loosening and weedings are carried out between the rows and in the rows with hand hoes. The soil is loosened to a depth of 6-8 centimeters, while simultaneously destroying weeds. When loosening, do not cover potato plants with soil.
Under conditions of sufficient moisture, deeper loosening can be allowed, since it significantly increases the yield of tubers and their starchiness than shallow loosening.
The first hilling of potatoes is carried out at a time when the height of the tops reaches 12-15 centimeters, and the second - 12-15 days after the first. Hill up potatoes using a hoe or hiller only with damp soil, after rain or watering. During the first hilling, the soil is sprinkled onto the plants to a height of 10-12 centimeters, during the second - to a height of 15-20 centimeters. The rolled up moist soil should be in contact with the stem on all sides. In dry weather, you should avoid hilling potatoes, especially on light soils, limiting yourself to loosening only.
Feeding plants with organic or mineral fertilizers is one of the most important techniques for caring for potatoes. It is carried out before loosening and hilling. Dry and liquid fertilizers are used. The first time, fertilizing is applied when the height of potato plants is 10-15 centimeters, the second time - 15-20 days after the first fertilizing.
When dry feeding, one or two handfuls of wood ash, pre-mixed with soil, or 15 grams of well-crushed bird droppings are used for each potato bush. One tablespoon of vegetable mixture of mineral fertilizers per bush is enough. If nitrogen fertilizer, superphosphate and potassium salt are used separately for feeding, then take one teaspoon of each.
Under each potato bush, apply 1-1.5 liters of fertilizer solution.
Dry fertilizing is applied between rows at a distance of 8-10 centimeters from the plants, and with liquid fertilizing, shallow grooves are made with a hoe around each bush or along the rows on both sides of the bushes, into which the fertilizer solution is poured. As soon as the liquid is absorbed into the soil, the furrow is sprinkled with humus, peat, earth, or loosening and hilling are carried out.
Both dry and liquid fertilizers should be applied to moist soil after rain or watering. Fed plants also need to be watered.
On soils overly fertilized with nitrogenous fertilizers and lacking phosphorus and potassium, potato tops grow wildly but only a small number of small tubers are formed. In these cases, it is necessary to carry out two or three additional feedings of the plants. wood ash or superphosphate-potassium salt, which enhance the formation and growth of tubers. To speed up the effect of this fertilizing, it must be applied deeply, closer to the root system, using a shovel to make narrow holes (slots) near the bush. In addition, to stop the vigorous growth of tops, you should pinch the tops of the bushes by 1-2 centimeters.
In dry weather, it is necessary to systematically water the potatoes. This increases its productivity two to three times. Watering is especially important with highly developed tops, as well as during the period of flowering and tuber formation. First, 2-3 liters of water are spent on each bush, and then the amount is increased to 4-5 liters.
During flowering and tuberization of potatoes, approximately a month before harvesting, foliar feeding is carried out once with superphosphate and boric acid. Per 100 square meters of potatoes, 1 kilogram of superphosphate and 6.5 grams of boric acid, dissolved in 10 liters of water. Such foliar feeding (even in well-fertilized areas) promotes the outflow of starch from the tops into the tubers, increases yield by 10-15% and increases the starch content in tubers by 1.5-2%. Simultaneously with foliar feeding, it is advisable to spray the potatoes with Bordeaux mixture against late blight disease.
It is also very important to carry out pre-harvest rolling of the tops. This enhances its drying, increases the outflow of starch from the tops into the tubers and accelerates the ripening of the tubers. Rolling is carried out approximately 15-20 days before harvesting, while avoiding severe damage or tearing of the tops.
Some gardeners, wanting to increase the flow of nutrients to the tubers, pick off potato flowers. This technique should be abandoned as it does not have a noticeable effect on the yield.
Potato diseases and pests, if not adequately controlled, cause great damage to the crop.
Late blight is a fungal disease. It spreads in July and August, presenting a particular danger in years with heavy rainfall. Late blight affects the leaves, stems and tubers of potatoes, quickly spreads to neighboring bushes and can cover the entire area in a few days. The leaves of potatoes infected with late blight become covered with brownish-brown spots, and white fluff appears on their underside in the morning. From the tops, the disease spreads to the tubers, which also become stained. Within 8-10 days, the tops die off, and the tubers stop growing and rot.
At the first signs of late blight disease (in the first ten days of July), it is necessary to spray the potatoes two or three times with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture or pollinate them once or twice with AB powder (150 grams per 100 square meters). It is better to spray in the morning in dry and windless weather. The sprayed liquid should settle on the plants in the form of mist.
Potatoes infected with late blight must be additionally hilled up to prevent the disease from spreading from the tops to the tubers. 3-5 days before harvesting, all infected tops are mowed and removed from the area.
After harvesting, the potatoes are dried in the area for 3-4 hours, removing the infected tubers.
The Moscow and Phytophthora-resistant potato varieties are not susceptible to this disease, and Epicurus, Lorch and Voltman are relatively weakly affected by it.
Ringworm is a bacterial disease. It severely affects potatoes during growth, as well as during storage, especially in rainy years. The disease is transmitted with planting material. In plants suffering from ring rot, at the end of flowering, the leaves turn yellow and droop, blackening of the vascular bundles is found at the site where the stems are cut, the tubers rot, and a significant part of the crop dies.
To combat this disease, it is necessary to carefully examine the planting material before planting and remove all diseased tubers from it. When cutting seed tubers, the knife should be disinfected with a 3 percent Lysol solution. Diseased plants must be immediately removed from the site, and the stems collected from the plant develop especially strongly on rainy days and in low-lying areas.
Measures to combat blackleg are the same e^tseva gtytsSh" 1 No. §!
Of the pests, wireworms cause great damage to the crop. This is a hard, shiny, yellowish-brown larva - the Beetle ^^y^*bDvet|^Poison centimeter. n^SSiiB^mKX"-W^^V^i^&^^^^^№( 5 to 20 centimeters;" where the roots7 and root collar of plants are damaged, causing damage to UDI and fruits They multiply especially rapidly in areas clogged with wheatgrass.
To combat wireworms, the site is deep-digged in the fall, the rows are loosened in July, weeds are systematically collected throughout the summer, and potassium fertilizers are applied to the soil. feed potato plants. In small areas heavily infested with wireworms, it can be caught using food bait. To do this, pieces of potatoes, beets, crushed cake or bran dough are buried shallowly in the soil, after a day or two they are dug up, the wireworms that have gathered towards them are destroyed and the baits are put back into the ground. Wireworms can be easily destroyed by adding 100-150 grams of hexachlorane per 100 square meters of area into the soil. But the potato tubers will smell of hexachlorane.
The Colorado potato beetle is the most dangerous potato pest. It has an ovoid shape. Its length is from 0.7 to 1.6 centimeters. The elytra are convex, yellowish in color, with ten black stripes. The lower wings are bright red. There is a black triangular spot on the forehead, and dark spots on the front back. The beetles overwinter in the ground and under plant debris. In the spring they fly out and severely damage potato seedlings, tomato seedlings, eggplants and other nightshade crops. Damaged potato plants do not form tubers. The female Colorado potato beetle lays orange-yellow eggs in clusters, mainly on the undersides of leaves. After 5-17 days, larvae emerge from the testicles and immediately begin to destroy the potato leaves.
It is necessary to systematically monitor potatoes and other nightshade crops and, if the Colorado potato beetle is detected, take immediate action.

Reports about feeding plants with bread caused heated discussions among gardeners and gardeners. Disputants are concerned about both the moral and practical sides of the issue.

On the one hand, it is believed that it is not ethical to throw away even dried bread. People gave their lives for a piece of bread. There can be no objections to this, and no one has canceled respect for the work of the farmer, as well as frugality. But life changes. And what should you do if, for example, the bread you bought the day before became moldy in the morning? Or not so radically: there are crusts left that no one wants to eat anymore. I can’t believe that there are families in which such a situation never happens! Throw it away - the hand does not rise. There are, of course, recipes using crackers. And if you don’t have time to do kitchen delights? What's wrong with feeding plants with bread? They feed animals with bread. What if there are no animals? What's worse about plants? They are also alive and they also want to “eat”! Organic matter is the favorite “dish” of plants. And bread is the same organic matter. Nikolai Kurdyumov in his books very clearly explains the law of fertility: “Return to the soil more organic matter than it gave, and then it will give you even more.” It depends on everyone, but personally, after this, all awkwardness when using bread supplements disappears.

When discussing the usefulness of bread as a nutritional supplement, for some reason the first thing that comes to mind is yeast, living organisms capable of producing carbon dioxide. Well, yes, yeast is an indispensable attribute of bread baking. Only dead yeast no longer produces anything, and that’s exactly what it is in bread. At a temperature of +75 even their spores die. But as food for saprophytic microbes, which make dead organic matter available for consumption by plants, bread is no worse than dry grass. With all its proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, micro- and macroelements. Over the winter you can accumulate a decent amount of it.

Having weighed all the pros and cons, Galina Donova (Nazarovo, Krasnoyarsk region) conducted a preliminary experiment in 2013. When planting seedlings of cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, strawberry stalks, cloves of garlic, potato tubers, she added soaked bread, which had accumulated over the course of time, to the holes. winter period, or used it for feeding during the growing season. Contrary to expectations, not all crops liked the grain additive - attacks were noted on cabbage, which was not observed during normal planting. The tomatoes began to grow, they became fat, and we had to use special techniques to get them to start bearing fruit. Onions on turnips planted with seedlings reduced the yield by half, spring garlic - by one and a half times, leeks seemed to not notice the feeding. Cucumbers and zucchini, as well as potatoes and strawberries, responded well to the new fertilizing. For example, in the experiment with bread, the yield of potatoes of the Agria variety was twice as high as in the control. Did this happen by chance, and only on this variety, or is this a pattern inherent in other varieties and conditions, it was necessary to check, and Galina repeated the experiment in 2014. There were several options. Let's look at them in order.

First experience. Reaction of varieties.
When planting three varieties (mid-early Gala and Zekura, mid-late Agria), a handful of soaked bread was placed in half of the nests in the hole along with the tuber. What are the results? First of all, we are interested in Agria. Will she repeat her reaction to bread feeding? Yes, I repeated it! And this time the addition of bread doubled the yield - 12 kg versus 5.4 kg (calculated for 10 nests). Gala gave an increase of 32%, and Zekura - 22%. In general, we can say that all tested varieties, to varying degrees, responded positively to feeding with bread. The reliability of the increase was confirmed by mathematical analysis.



Second experience. The question arises - is it necessary to soak bread for feeding? Maybe it’s enough to bury a cracker in the ground, and then the rains will do their job. And the soil is rarely dry during planting. Galina tried this option too. When planting Agria, she left a third of the nests without bread additive, planted the other third with soaked bread, and put dry crusts in the remaining nests. Last summer cannot be called particularly dry; there was enough precipitation (especially in the second half of summer), and approximately equal increases could be expected. But in reality, the option with breadcrumbs showed an insignificant increase - only 10%, while soaked bread doubled the yield.






Third experience. Testing grain fertilizer on poor soils.
What if you plant potatoes instead of soil in bare sand and cover them with unrotted sawdust. Can a bread supplement at least partially compensate for nutritional deficiencies? After all, the addition of sawdust usually causes harvest depression in the first year, and sand, to put it mildly, is not the most nutritious medium for plants. The Zekura variety was taken for the experiment. The choice was random; at that time we did not yet know that it was Zekura that would use grain feeding less than other varieties. However, the experience cannot be called useless. The results were even somewhat surprising. If 10 kg of potatoes were collected on ordinary soil, then from the same number of nests on sand with sawdust - 8.6 kg. Not so little! Apparently, the roots, not finding food nearby, stretched further, deeper into the ground, on which lay a pile of sand. Now let's see if the bread gave anything: the increase from it on the ground is 22% to the control (without bread), on the sand - 17%. The difference between the options of 5% is too small, and it’s too early to talk about the increase itself, since mathematical analysis showed that the differences in the yield are not reliable. Maybe there was more soil stuck to the tubers, or during harvesting they looked through and missed a couple of tubers, or maybe soil differences and microrelief played a role - some received more, some received less food and water.



At the same time (in the summer of 2014) near Krasnoyarsk, on a site with depleted heavy loamy soils, Alexander Fedorovich Linev experimented with bread. Its potato yield level, compared to Galina’s plot, is an order of magnitude lower. This is exactly the option that Galina tried to create by planting potatoes in the sand. In the Krasnoyarsk experiment, two varieties were used: mid-early Adretta and mid-ripening Panda. The bread was not soaked. Contrary to expectations, in both varieties no increase was obtained from grain feeding; moreover, a decrease in yield was noted. Moreover, the differences between the experimental and control variants are significant when high level accuracy of experience.
But why on the rich soils of Galina all varieties gave an increase, but on the poor soils it is either not significant, or the fertilizing does not work at all. To what extent should fertility decrease in order to receive an increase from organic fertilizing? Or maybe in poor soils there is simply no one to decompose organic matter, there are not enough microorganisms?

Perhaps the answer will, to some extent, be suggested by another experiment conducted by Linev with the Adretta variety. Wanting to improve fertility and get rid of weeds, two years ago Alexander Fedorovich left one part of the plot under pure fallow (he did not sow anything, but only trimmed the growing weeds), and sowed rye on the other. During fallowing, the soil rested and accumulated moisture, nutrients, and increased soil microflora. The area with rye was cleared of weeds and pests; it is not for nothing that rye is considered an excellent soil health worker. At the same time, the land was losing reserves of nutrition and moisture, which rye intensively used for its growth and development. On next year Potatoes were planted in both areas.

The potato yield in the fallow plot, as expected, was higher than after rye, and the difference was 40%. Did the grain supplement do anything? On the steam predecessor, the variant with bread showed a yield that was 14% lower than the control. The addition of bread in the area where rye was the predecessor of potatoes gave an increase of 23 percent.
What's the matter? Why, with a general low nitrogen content in the soil (agrochemical analysis showed this), on a more fertile fallow plot there is no effect from fertilizing, while on very poor soils (after rye), however, as well as on rich soils (Galina’s) there is an increase noted? Or are all these decreases and increases not significant at all, and there is no trend?
Thus, the number of questions has only increased, and in order to understand their essence, it is necessary to repeat the experiment more widely. That's what we'll do next year. Join us!

All kinds of organic fertilizers have been used since time immemorial, however, as the experiments described above have shown, they may not always be effective. Our experiments were carried out with bread. Where is the guarantee that other organic fertilizers of this type are just as controversial? The nuances of the antagonistic relationships between plants and soil microbes and their dependence on weather conditions and soil fertility remain to be clarified. Here, the microscope of Alexei Popov from Kazan (“Life in all its manifestations,” Gardens of Siberia, No. 11, 2013), and agrochemical analysis of the soil, and the simple ability to observe and analyze would be useful. This is the practical significance of our experiments, even if they were carried out on small summer cottages.

A course that will lead you to a very high potato yield

I just bought this course, which cost me 1,500 rubles, but I want to give it to everyone who wants to read it and apply these tips on their site.

Practical tips will help you not only significantly increase your yields, but also reduce the physical effort of growing potatoes to a minimum. The mistake gardeners make is that they take a rather utilitarian approach to growing potatoes. It would seem that it couldn’t be simpler: I bought a bucket of potatoes in the spring, dug up the bed, planted it, fertilized it a couple of times and sit and wait for the harvest.

Is it any wonder that in the fall, year after year, you wastefully dig up the garden bed - trying to make sure that the neighbors do not see your gardening shame.

If you prepare everything correctly, if you approach the process wisely, then in the fall you will get a wonderful harvest of delicious crumbly potatoes. Moreover, there will be so much of it that you can safely sell the surplus and still make good money.

Delicious potatoes are always at a premium in our country! So what's the secret? - you ask. - Is it really enough to know a few tricks to easily earn your own potatoes and butter? I propose to systematize your knowledge and hone the process of growing potatoes to the smallest detail. Figuratively speaking, you should have a whole conveyor belt running on your site. And you yourself will manage this conveyor.

It's all about a systematic approach. If you don’t have much time and energy, then choose an alternative method of growing potatoes - on straw or in a barrel. You may reap less harvest, but you won’t have to strain yourself too much. But if you want to set a harvest record, you will have to work. To begin with, learn a couple simple truths. So here's the most important question for you:

Why are generally accepted methods not effective? and why does this happen?

Where to begin? You looked around your garden in search of a suitable bed for potatoes, grabbed a shovel... How effective is it? I dug up the bed, fertilized it...

Stop, stop! The shovel will wait for now. I’ll tell you the first trick: before you start growing any crop, you need to understand the laws by which nature lives. Main principle smart gardener: observe nature and learn from it. Law one: stop pointlessly digging up your garden! Look at the forest: no one is digging anything, but mushrooms, berries, trees, you know, are growing quietly. Why? Because no fertilizer can replace foliage, twigs fallen from trees, and grass. Your task is not to destroy the fertility of the soil, but to increase it. Soil fertility creates "living matter" consisting of myriads of soil bacteria, microscopic fungi, worms and other living creatures. The rate of reproduction of bacteria in a nutrient medium is very high. About every 20 minutes, the bacterium divides, producing two daughter cells. Consequently, 1,000,000,000 descendants can be formed from one cell in 10 hours. Can you imagine?

Microscopic fungi are lower plants descended from algae. These fungi feed on decaying organic matter of plant or animal origin. Like bacteria, they destroy organic matter, contributing to the formation of humus in the soil. Bacteria and fungi process root remains of plants, applied manure, composts, etc., as well as dying organisms, converting their protein mass, digestible by green plants, into organic “broths”.

If you cannot boast of large harvests, then most likely your soil is poor and infertile. In addition, you probably dig up your garden every spring and every fall, thereby depriving it of carbon dioxide, which is vital for plants. As hard as it may be to guess, plants take carbon dioxide from the soil. The most important layer in your garden is the 5-15 cm layer.

The upper layer of 8-10 cm provides the life of aerobic bacteria, which need air to live, and the lower layer - anaerobic bacteria, for which air is destructive. When you dig up a garden bed, you, figuratively speaking, pull up the anaerobic bacteria, which are accustomed to living without air, and throw the aaerobic bacteria, which simply cannot live without air, down. Both bacteria die, and as a result, the soil on your site becomes infertile.

Few gardeners know that during the Russian winter, soil bacteria freeze out so much that their normal mass is restored only by the end of June. But we dig in April-May... That is, by June we get dead furrows that are not capable of giving us a good harvest. To correct the situation, it is necessary to nourish the earth with organic matter: leaves, sawdust, straw and weeds in the form of cuttings, peat, manure...

In the development of a potato plant there are 5 periods

The first is from tuber germination to emergence of seedlings. Usually on the 20-30th day (some varieties have more), after planting the tubers, sprouts appear on the surface of the soil.

The second is from the appearance of the first leaves to the development of stems. As the stems and leaves grow, roots develop.

The third is from the appearance of buds to the beginning of flowering of plants. During this period, the formation of tubers ends (in early-ripening varieties, tuberization begins 15 days after emergence, in late-ripening varieties - after a month).

The fourth - covers flowering and continues until the tops stop growing. About two weeks after flowering, tubers rapidly grow and starch is deposited in them. After the growth of tops stops, tuber growth and starch deposition slow down.

Fifth - from the beginning of the tops dying off until they completely dry out. At this time, the tubers acquire a color characteristic of the variety, and the thickness of the peel increases.

The dormant period is a period during which the intensity of physiological and biochemical processes in plants and their seeds greatly decreases. After harvesting, the tubers remain dormant for some time (2-2.5 months at cold temperatures), and their buds do not form sprouts.

In order to create good conditions for potatoes, it is important to understand that the requirements of potatoes for air and soil temperatures vary depending on the phase of plant development. Intensive germination of tubers begins when the soil temperature at the depth of their planting (6-12 cm) is 7-8 degrees.

The higher the soil temperature, the faster the seedlings appear. If the tubers are planted in moderately moist soil at a temperature of 11-12 degrees, seedlings appear on the 23rd day, at 14-15 degrees. on the 17-18th and at 18-25 degrees. on the 12-13th day. The most favorable daytime temperature for tuber formation is about 18 degrees. they are 12-14 degrees at night.

The awakening of the tuber eye buds begins at a temperature of about 5 degrees. But keep in mind that in this case the potatoes are susceptible to more diseases.

When planting potatoes in unheated soil, the tubers partially die and rot. And shoots appear only on the 50th day. The moisture requirement of potatoes also depends on what phase of development the plant is in. In the germination phase and at the beginning of tops formation, when the evaporative capacity of the leaves is minimized, the need for moisture is minimal. With the onset of budding and flowering, it increases sharply and increases by the time tubers form.

For early varieties, this period occurs in June-July, for later varieties, in July-August. It is very important to remember: you should not over-moisten the soil by the time the tops wither. That's the whole theory. For a good harvest, it is important to follow several rules: we have just learned two of them.

The first rule is not to dry out or deplete the soil with stupid digging, but rather to nourish it with organic matter.

Rule two: remember all phases of potato development. Once this information settles in your head, things will become easier and more interesting. Just in case, we will repeat some things. Repetition is the mother of learning! On the path to the harvest we have 11 steps. Shall we start with the first one?

STEP ONE - CORRECT SOIL PREPARATION

Potatoes can grow in any soil, but they feel best in light, loose soil of average warmth and moisture, containing a sufficient supply of humus and ash substances; Such conditions are usually satisfied by sandy loams, sandy alluvial soils and, to a lesser extent, clayey sandy loams and marl loams. Clay soil is deprived of air and is excessively moistened; sandy soil, on the contrary, is deprived required quantity moisture. However, timely application of humus and necessary nutrients helps solve the situation even on very problematic soils.

How to determine the mechanical composition of the soil?

Take a handful of earth, soak it in water until it forms a dough and roll it into a ball. If a ball does not form, the soil is sandy. If a ball forms, but the “cord” does not roll down, the soil is sandy loam. If the ball and “cord” are formed, but the “ring” falls apart, the soil is loamy. If the “cord” curls into a ring without cracks, the soil is clayey.

On sandy loam soils, as a rule, there is not enough moisture, and the main goal is to preserve it, while loams first of all need to be well loosened to ensure air access.

Preparing the soil for planting potatoes includes two periods - autumn and spring.

Preparing the soil in autumn

Preparing the soil for the future harvest (and not only potatoes, but also other crops) begins in the fall, immediately after harvesting. Along the front of the area allocated for planting, the first furrow is dug to the depth of the spade bayonet. Then this groove is filled with straw or grass cuttings (5-6 cm in size) or sawdust, or fallen leaves - in general, all the organic matter that you have found. So it’s not surprising that smart gardeners prepare compost throughout the summer. There is no such thing as too much compost. He's all about the business. Next, this organic mass is sprinkled with crushed (to a powder) brown coal. What to do if you don't have coal? Use rotted manure or mixed peat-manure, peat-earth compost. Pour rotted manure onto the straw (grass) cuttings poured into the furrow and turn over. The more you put in, the better. Practice proves that the average rate of application of manure and other organic fertilizers for potatoes is at least 1 ton per 100 sq. m. meters.

It is better to apply organic fertilizers in the fall.

IMPORTANT!!!

Only rotted manure should be used. Especially rotted peat manure, obtained by using peat for livestock bedding or simply mixed with peat. It is important that the manure and peat are moist. This mixture of peat and manure can also be improved if the peat is first deoxidized by powdering it with ground limestone or lime. However, it is important not to overdo it, since potatoes do not like excess lime in the soil.

Low-lying, well-decomposed peat can be mixed with manure after it has been aired for two to three weeks. Peat also does not need to be added when it is dry. After you have filled the furrow with straw or weed cuttings and applied well-rotted manure, continue digging along the furrow. This must be done in such a way that each subsequent layer of earth taken with a shovel is transferred to the furrow you filled without turning over and traditionally breaking the clod.

Preparing the soil in spring

Spring preparation involves loosening the soil. Moreover, I recommend loosening it with a pitchfork. Loosening, as opposed to digging, will provide an influx of air and moisture and at the same time preserve the microflora of the earth. The depth of loosening should be slightly more than 15 cm, this facilitates the penetration of moisture into the lower layers. Fertilizers in the spring should be applied not to the soil, but under the potato tubers: figuratively speaking, you should place the tuber on a pile of rotted manure sprinkled with soil.

How to check the readiness of the soil?

Take a handful of soil, squeeze it tightly in your fist, and if this lump crumbles when it hits the ground from a height of 1.5 meters, then the soil is considered “ripe.”

STEP TWO - PREPARATION OF PLANTING MATERIAL

Your harvest largely depends on proper preparation of seed potatoes. Firstly, the harvested material must be carefully sorted, discarding rotten, scabbed, discolored and cracked tubers. The healthy tubers remaining after culling must be sorted by size - the most suitable for planting are tubers weighing from 50 to 90 g.

Do this: in the fall, after the bushes have been dug up and turned outward, go around with a bucket, inspect the nests, and where the potatoes are smooth, clean, and there are a lot of tubers, take them from such a bush for seeds. Wash the tubers in a solution of boric acid or in a solution of potassium permanganate and place them on the veranda. As soon as the potatoes turn green, lower them into the cellar. Greening the potatoes, that is, keeping them in the light for 10-12 days, is a must! During this time, the substance solanine will appear in the tubers, which makes potatoes unsuitable for food purposes: they can cause poisoning. But the same solanine well protects planted potatoes from pathogenic fungi and bacteria, and from rodents.

Landscaping increases yield by 10-12%!

IMPORTANT!!!

The selected potatoes must be washed, then dried thoroughly and placed in a pile in a dry but cool place. A cellar or pit under the garage is best suited. Tubers different varieties They have different shapes, they are round, oval and long oval. The eyes can be deep, medium and small (superficial). From an economic point of view, the small-eyed tubers are the most valuable because they are the most convenient for peeling and washing.

Keep in mind that round tubers are most suitable for mechanized planting and harvesting.

Types of vernalization of potatoes

In spring, planted potatoes are vernalized, i.e. germinate in the light for 30-50 days. In this case, the vernalized potatoes are kept warm for the first week, for example, at a temperature of plus 16-18 degrees, and then the temperature drops so that the last week before planting reaches plus 4-6 degrees. This is how hardening is carried out.

Small pieces with eyes can also be hardened in the refrigerator. Vernalization shortens the growth and development of potatoes and eliminates the threat of a short harvest of tubers from early autumn frosts. The most suitable containers are wooden or plastic boxes. The potatoes are placed in them no thicker than in two rows, since if the layer of potatoes in the box turns out to be too large, this will cut off the access of light to the lower layers. If the tubers do not receive enough light, the sprouts become too elongated, resulting in them becoming fragile and brittle.

If the tubers have not sprouted sufficiently by the time of planting, then a few days before planting they must be heated at a temperature of 35-40 ° C. This will stimulate the buds to awaken. The simplest method of vernalization is to lay out a batch of seed potatoes on specially equipped lattice racks, spreading the tubers in two layers. This vernalization should begin 35 days before planting. If the indoor air is dry, the tubers are sprayed with water after 3-5 days. By the end of the germination period, healthy, strong sprouts up to 3 cm long are formed from the potato eyes.

If it is not possible to use racks, you can use wire or nylon fishing line and string potatoes on them. These unique “beads” are hung on a wire so that the potatoes are exposed to light and air. Another method is used - germinating tubers in damp bedding.

This method consists of the following: on the bottom of a basket or box with a lattice bottom, pour wet peat, sawdust, chaff (chaff - waste from threshing and cleaning grain) or other suitable material in a layer of 2 cm; The moisture content of the material should be low; when squeezed in your hand, water should not drip.

Place potato tubers on top of the litter, cord down, and again add the same layer of peat or other material. Row by row, place 4 - 5 layers of potatoes. In a humid environment, roots develop on the sprouts after a few days. In the room where potatoes are vernalized, the temperature is maintained at 13-15 degrees. heat. Germination time is 7-10 days. This method is especially good for producing early potatoes. It is better to plant large tubers.

With normal sowing, after 15-18 days, the tubers can be planted in the ground. By this time, they will not only sprout, but also fibrous roots. During germination, the tubers need to be sprayed with a 0.02 percent solution of potassium permanganate (2 g per 10 liters of water), then with an aqueous infusion of ash (infuse 1 glass of ash in 2 liters of water for 24 hours and filter).

Potato slices

If you do not have enough planting material, you can plant potatoes in slices; it is better to cut the tuber on the day of planting. Each part should weigh at least 40 grams and contain 2-3 sprouts. The tuber is usually cut into 2 or 3 parts. When dividing into two parts, the tuber is cut lengthwise from the part with a large number of eyes to the lower opposite part.

When dividing a tuber into three parts, first cut off the apical part with the maximum number of eyes, and then cut the remaining part in half, that is, make a T-shaped cut. If you decide to divide the tuber into 4 parts, then cut in perpendicular directions - transverse and longitudinal. You cannot plant such slices in the ground immediately after cutting! It is necessary to keep the planting material on outdoors about 3 o'clock. And only then put it in the prepared holes.

Potatoes through seedlings

This method may not appeal to everyone, as it requires twice as much time and attention, but it has one important advantage - in the case of growing potatoes through seedlings, the seeds are not affected by viruses, fungal and bacterial diseases, and the cost of planting is sharply reduced. material. And what’s also important is that potato seeds remain viable for up to 10 years or more at temperatures from 0 to 20 degrees.

Despite their small size, potato seeds are capable of forming multi-stemmed, highly productive plants if favorable growing conditions are created and good care. Potato plants from seeds are grown in two ways - through seedlings (like tomatoes) or by direct sowing in the ground. But in the latter case, you need to have a cultivated, fertile (floodplain) area.

In most of our areas, planting seeds in open ground makes no sense. Seeds for seedlings begin to be sown in early - mid-April. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in water for 48 hours. The seeds are pre-soaked in water, in solutions of microelements or gebberellic acid (GA) at a concentration of 0.005%, holding time for 24 hours. The solution is prepared as follows: 50 g of GA are dissolved in 5 ml of ethyl alcohol, then water is added to 1 liter. Filter paper is placed under the soaked seeds in flat cups or a shallow plate. The paper is constantly moistened, but the seeds are not poured. To avoid water evaporation, cover the cup with glass. In April, the sprouted seeds are sown in seed boxes or peat cups, filled with a mixture of equal parts of peat, sand, turf soil and humus.

Before sowing, the soil is thoroughly moistened. When sowing in boxes, the seeds are laid out in rows at a distance of 5 cm, and a gap of 10 cm is left between them, then the seeds are covered with fine sand with a layer of 5-10 mm. The top layer of soil is slightly compacted so that the seeds are not washed away when watering; the crops are watered through the smallest strainer. The best temperature for germination is 15-20 degrees. Shoots appear on the 4-5th day, and when sowing with dry seeds - on the 8-10th day. Before germination, the soil is kept moist; when shoots appear, moderate watering is given, especially a week before planting seedlings, because excess moisture with poor ventilation softens the plants and promotes the formation of looser tissues. During this period, the seedlings need to be fed with urea - a tablespoon per 10 liters of water. After feeding, water with clean water. As soon as rooting has occurred, the seedlings must be fed, 1st time with ammonium nitrate (20 g per 10 l of water), 2nd time with complete fertilizer (20 g ammonium nitrate, 40 g superphosphate, 20 g potassium sulfate per 10 l of water ). A month and a half later, when the plants reach a height of 15-20 cm, they can be planted on the site.

Potato seedlings are usually planted in open ground at the end of May. It is important to promptly cover potato seedlings during frosts and protect them from sunburn. Protection from the Colorado potato beetle is also necessary, because tender sprouts are their favorite delicacy. Standard 40-day potato seedlings have 5-6 leaves. Its placement patterns can be 70x10 cm or 70x30 cm.

As a rule, the largest number of tubers is obtained with a thickened planting scheme; with sparse plantings, the size of the tubers increases, but their number decreases.

Caring for potato seedlings is standard - regular loosening of rows, double hilling, pest control and watering. The seedlings are harvested in the first ten days of September.

ATTENTION!

When sowing seeds in open ground, the plant only has time to form small tubers; from such sowing, an excellent harvest of large and high-yielding potatoes is obtained the following year.

Potato varieties for growing from seeds

For sowing potatoes with biological seeds, the following varieties are used - potato populations.

Early ripening - Assol, Farmer, Triumph, Empress, Velina, Milena.

Mid-season - Ilona, ​​Ballada, Revenge, Krasa and the F1 hybrid Lada.

Mid-late variety - Virgo.

Early varieties produce a harvest in 50-65 days, mid-ripening varieties in 80-95 days, mid-late varieties in 95-110 days.

Little secrets of my neighbors:

Zoya Ivanovna, 62of the year:

- 2-3 weeks before landing P I dust the prepared potatoes with ash . When the sprouts sprout, I transfer the potatoes into cardboard boxes with sawdust. I moisten the sawdust with water and manganese so that it is slightly damp, and mix it with stove ash. I pour sawdust into a 3-5 cm layer at the bottom of the box, lay out the potatoes on them in a 10x10 cm pattern, cover with sawdust on top and cover with film. I put the boxes in a cool place.

When the sprouts emerge on the surface of the sawdust, I remove the film and place the boxes in the light - in this case the stems will not stretch, the plants will be squat.

In the second half of March, on a warm day, I plant seedlings in furrows , I fill it with soil and form low ridges. Then I cover it with spunbond (black non-woven material). This material retains moisture well and allows air to pass through. A bed insulated with spunbond can be watered without opening it. I keep the potatoes under spunbond until they are dug up. And the whole family is already eating new potatoes, when everyone is just getting ready to plant them in open ground in the traditional way.

Nikolai Semenovich, 57 years old

- In order for the potatoes to sprout, I take them out of the basement and put them in plastic bags. Can be laid out on the floor.

Margarita Alexandrovna, 44 years old

- My mother taught me this method a long time ago. A month before planting, I take the potatoes out of the cellar and lay them out on the floor. After drying, I put the tubers in three-liter jars (no lids needed) and place them on the glassed-in veranda. Within a month, all the eyes, thanks to the microclimate, sprout.

Dina Andreevna, 38 years old

To disinfect tubers, I prepare an explosive mixture: 50 g of boric acid, 16 g of copper sulfate, 10 g of zinc sulfate, 10 g of magnesium sulfate, 2 g of potassium permanganate and half a kilo of wood ash. First, I dissolve all the ingredients separately in warm water, then pour everything into a separate container and add water to make 10 liters. I put sprouted potatoes in this composition. As a result, I get healthy tubers ready for planting.

Irina, 24of the year.

- To obtain early potatoes, I plant tubers under black non-woven material - spunbond. I loosen the area, apply fertilizer, level it with a rake and cover it with black film, securing the edges. Then I make cross-shaped cuts in it, dig holes 10-12 cm deep with a scoop and place the tubers in them. This method helps protect potatoes from return frosts, retain moisture in the soil, avoid weed control and, finally, get a harvest almost a month earlier.

STEP THREE - ALTERNATING CULTURES

I probably won’t be opening America if I say that growing potatoes for several years in a row in the same place is, at a minimum, short-sighted. Potatoes and vegetable crops must be alternated. The best option is the following: divide the plot into two parts: sow one with vegetables, the other with potatoes. And then alternate them every year. However, even here you will have to remember one simple rule: plants of the same family (say, cabbage, radishes and radishes) should not return to their original place earlier than after 4 years. To avoid confusion, I advise you to keep a gardener’s diary. It is very useful!

So, here is an approximate list of how crops should be located on your site.

1st year - Early cabbage, rutabaga, turnips, radishes, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, early potatoes, carrots, parsley, parsnips, beets, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, legumes, vegetable corn, late potatoes.

2nd year - All types of cabbage, rutabaga, turnips, radishes, radishes, early potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, rutabaga, melon, watermelons, carrots, parsley, parsnips, beets, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, legumes, vegetables corn, late potatoes.

3rd year - Cucumbers, pumpkin, zucchini, melon, watermelons, cabbage, turnips, rutabaga, radishes, radishes, tomatoes, legumes, vegetable corn, late potatoes, carrots, parsley, parsnips, beets, onions, garlic, early potatoes .

For myself, I discovered the following know-how: potatoes grow best after sunflowers. Beans and beans give a similar effect, but sunflower works real miracles! From one planting bucket I dig up to 18 buckets of selected potatoes! After some thought, I began to sow the beans to the potatoes; I always throw a bean next to the tuber. These crops get along well with each other, besides, beans enrich the soil with nitrogen, and the Colorado potato beetle bypasses such a plot.

Just allow me two pieces of advice: choose bush beans, not climbing beans, and make the distance between the holes larger. In principle, for all beginners I can recommend this option: the first year you plant sunflowers, the second year - potatoes and beans. You will be pleasantly surprised by the result. If you don't like sunflowers, plant with winter rye. The peculiarity of the rye root system is that after it the soil for a long time retains a loose structure, which is why potato pests do not coexist in it. After all, she freezes well from this...

STEP FIVE - COMPLIANCE WITH THE PLANTING TIME

Potatoes must be planted on time! This is some simple wisdom. Over time, you will learn to instinctively choose the time to plant. It is impossible to plant potato tubers too early or too late - this reduces the yield. The optimal time for planting potatoes coincides with the soil warming up at a depth of 10 cm to 8-9 degrees. By folk signs Potatoes should be planted when the birch tree opens its first leaf buds. This is an indicator that the earth at a depth of 10-12 cm has warmed up to 7-8 degrees. heat, that is, to the temperature at which it is necessary to immediately and quickly plant potatoes.

If the tubers are planted earlier than this time, then, once in cold, damp soil, they will germinate much more slowly, and there is a risk that the tubers will develop rhizoctonia, a disease that kills the sprouts. In the middle zone, the optimal time for planting potatoes is May 1-10, in the chernozem zone at the end of April, in the southern regions - at the end of March or beginning of April. However, it turns out that in recent years the climate has changed a lot. Therefore, each region has its own deadlines.

If you are a novice amateur gardener, then the best option is to determine the timing of planting: consult with more experienced neighbors, they will also give practical advice regarding soil, fertilizers, pest control, etc. Don't be afraid to ask and share experiences! Why step on a rake when someone did it for you?!

For planting in garden plots, you can use more precise guidelines - you need to plant potatoes (and everything else) at a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, since it is at this temperature that the living matter of the earth begins to awaken. Therefore, regularly measure your temperature with a thermometer. However, according to own experience I know that you can plant potatoes much earlier if you use frost protection products. Such early plantings in cold soil yield 40-50% more yield than those planted in May-June in warm soil. There are no contradictions here. It's all about specifics. Late plantings, as a rule, suffer from a lack of moisture, and also from high temperature soil and air. And early plantings do not lack moisture. They can be protected from frost. For example, cover with old newspapers and then with film. If frosts are expected when seedlings have already appeared, then they can be covered with earth, peat or straw, etc. With warming, there is no need to remove such organic material - it will serve you well as humus.

In general, you need to remember that the most favorable temperature for potatoes is 17-18 degrees. Reducing heat slows down plant growth and makes them susceptible to various diseases. Increase in heat over 25 degrees. leads to the same thing: slower growth and disease. What to do? In the first case, insulate and loosen the soil. In the second - loosen and mulch, i.e. shade the soil. Mulch with a layer of 3-4 cm reduces the soil temperature to 10 degrees. It also retains moisture. And this is a very important circumstance, given the high demands of potatoes on the presence of moisture in the soil. During different periods of growth and development, potatoes need water differently. The least moisture is needed at the moment of germination and at the moment the tops die. But at the time of budding and flowering, the lack of moisture will immediately affect the size of the tubers and the yield as a whole.

STEP SIX. PLANTING CORRECTLY!

Planting depth is determined by soil and climatic conditions. The colder the climate and the heavier the soil, the shallower the planting depth, and vice versa. Potatoes are planted either on a flat surface or in pre-made ridges or beds. The second option is most often used in northern regions, since with ridge planting the soil warms up much faster. Ridge planting is not successful if there is a drought in your area, otherwise it is what you need!

This is not the first year I have seen the same mistake made by summer residents: they plant potatoes on a flat surface with row spacing of 60-70 cm. This is wrong. I'll explain why. The fact is that with this option, you simply won’t have enough soil for hilling, and you risk getting green tubers in which solanine has accumulated. In addition, with this option, the potatoes turn out to be small (all their strength goes into the leaves), and in this case the potatoes get sick many times more often. Mainly late blight. After much experimentation, I came to the conclusion that if we are talking about classic version potato cultivation, then the best option The row spacing is considered to be 90 cm with a distance between tubers in a row of 30 cm. If you decide to try your luck in breeding elite varieties (and rightly so), I advise you to change the pattern by choosing 140x30.

How are combs made? The ridges are cut with a hiller or poured with a shovel to a height of 15 to 35 cm. If the height of the ridges is 15 cm, then the distance between them is usually 60-70 cm, and the tubers are planted to a depth of 6-8 cm. If the ground is very wet, then the height of the ridge can be and more. Carry out the first hilling a week after planting, after which 20 cm of soil will appear above the tuber, after the second hilling the height will become 35 cm, and this is enough for the tuber to develop well.

By the way, I plant large tubers at intervals of 40 cm, medium ones at intervals of 35 cm. If you use cut tubers, the planting becomes denser - the distance between plants is 30 cm.

I also have an experimental bed: every little thing goes there. However, in this bed I am working on different sowing options. For example, planting a tuber in a hole filled with water and ash. Believe it or not, this method gives amazing results.

IMPORTANT!

When planting, place onion peels and ash in the hole, and cover the tuber with turf on top. And cover the bed with a layer of freshly cut grass (7-8 cm), this should be done at least three to four times after germination. With any planting method, it is necessary to plant the tubers to the same depth, ensuring uniform germination, leave a layer of loose soil under the tubers, place the plants in even rows, at the same distance from each other - this creates an optimal light regime.

More uniform lighting is achieved when rows are arranged from north to south. I hope I don't need to tell you that planting potatoes in the shade of trees is a waste of time? Potato is a light-loving crop. Plant in the shade, the harvest will not live up to expectations: the plant stems will be thin, elongated, and the tubers will be small. Planted in a place open to the sun, it forms powerful tops with a large leaf surface, which form large tubers.

STEP SEVEN -HILLING, WATERING, NUTRITION

The first hilling must be carried out even before the first shoots appear; the height of the ridges depends on weather conditions: the more precipitation, the higher the ridge. If your soil is heavy and sticks together into clumps, then you should definitely use hilling, and in the northern zones, where it rains more often, use planting in ridges, since the ridges warm up better, aerate, and also save the potatoes from getting wet during prolonged rains .

Hilling first of all improves gas exchange in the mound where the tubers are filled. The higher the mound, the more lateral underground shoots will develop in it, and the number of stolons on them will increase, which ensure crop growth. The hilling process itself loosens the soil. And locks moisture in the soil. this implies practical conclusion: It is useful to carry out hilling after each rain or watering.

Other general requirement- this is the need for hilling during the formation of buds. At this time, general tuberization begins. Therefore, it is necessary not only to rake the earth towards the stems, but also to move them apart, spreading the stems to the sides. After all, to form an increased yield, the plant requires more sun, and therefore it is necessary to give space for the formation of foliage. It is in the leaves that carbon dioxide and other nutrients are converted into carbohydrates, including tuber starch, with the help of solar energy. After hilling, it is useful to apply liquid fertilizer “under the stake” and sprinkle the row spaces with mulch. This mulch (except for the above) will slow down the emergence of weeds that will lack sunlight. And most importantly, it will turn on the air irrigation mechanism, i.e. dew in loose soil. Here's how it's done: using a sharpened stick (stake), a hole 20 cm deep is pressed into the ground between the plants and a fertilizer solution is poured into this hole. This is done before hilling. It turns out that the place for filling is in the middle of the triangle, at an equal distance between the three bushes, so three bushes will use your feeding at once. The solution will go far enough away from the fragile roots, that is, it will not burn or damage them. And then the plant will find a way to use feeding and your intervention will not be required.

Bird droppings should be used for feeding. It contains all the basic nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium - and, moreover, approximately in the technical ratios that plants need. Therefore, fertilizing with bird droppings can be used for any crop. The benefit of the solution increases when ash is added to it (2:1). Getting ready nutrient solution from bird droppings as follows.

A day before feeding, litter is poured into a barrel or some other container (up to half) and filled to the top with water. Then the litter is thoroughly mixed and the lumps are broken up. To feed, the solution is diluted with ten parts of water and poured “under a stake” on the basis that 6 - 10 kg of dry bird droppings with ash are required per hundred square meters of land. A good additive for increasing yield is adding silt from lakes and swamps, as well as duckweed, to the soil. After fertilizing, the soil must be loosened or the potatoes hilled up. Foliar feeding also accelerates the ripening of tubers. The tops are sprayed with a solution of ammonium nitrate and copper sulfate. (For ten acres 250 g of saltpeter, 10 g of vitriol, dissolved in 40 liters of water) Best time- morning and evening.

Foliar feeding stimulates the outflow of accumulated substances from the tops into the tubers. This not only accelerates their ripening, but also increases the starch content and increases the yield.

IMPORTANT!

IRRIGATION FEATURES

Potatoes are a crop that is very demanding on watering, but only with the onset of budding, since tubers are laid during this period. At the same time, potatoes do not like waterlogging, so the area should be well drained.

Moisture is needed: - 2-3 weeks after germination (plentiful watering is needed with 15-20 liters of water per 1 square meter); - during the formation of tubers (in the budding phase); - in early August, when intensive accumulation of the harvest occurs.

Remember: rains and watering in June-July determine the number of tubers, and rains and watering in July-August determine the weight of the tubers.

The effect of irrigation on potato yield and quality

- The harvest grows by 10-30%.

- Early watering increases the number of tubers, reduces the average size of tubers and accelerates the ripening of tops.

- Starch content increases slightly, but late summer watering and heavy rainfall may reduce this.

- The distribution of tubers by size is evened out.

- Scab is noticeably reduced with proper early watering.

- Improves the appearance of tubers. Less cracks, deformation, voids and brown

potato spotting.

- Powderiness and boilability increase, wateriness decreases. Darkening during cooking is slightly reduced.

- The nitrate content in the tuber decreases, the phosphorus content increases.

- Black leg of potatoes may appear if the original seeds were bad.

- The need for nutrients is growing.

Let's talk about fertilizer:

We have already talked about the benefits and value of organic fertilizers and that per one hundred square meters on average it is necessary to apply 500-1000 kg of rotted

manure or compost. However, to provide potatoes with a sufficient amount of nutrients, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers in the form of superphosphate, potassium chloride and ammonium nitrate

(5-6 kg per hundred square meters), nitrophoska (10-20 kg) per hundred square meters. Good fertilizer

is wood ash (30 kg per hundred square meters). Please note that when depositing

mineral fertilizers in the holes, the dosage is reduced by 2-3 times.

A particularly good effect is achieved by the local application of organomineral salts per 1 sq.m.

100 kg of humus, 1.5 kg of superphosphate and 0.5 kg of ammonium nitrate.

I use bird droppings for potatoes in dried form, before fertilizing.

or by planting potatoes, I chop them. Others are ripping him off. In this case

There are no universal pieces of advice: do what is comfortable for you. In time you will find yours

option.

Well-decomposed peat can also be applied under potatoes - this is an ideal fertilizer for heavy clay and loamy soils.

Fertilizing with liquid organic fertilizers also gives good results.

Just remember that the solution must be prepared in advance for fermentation to begin. For 1 bush add 1.5 liters of mullein solution (1:6) or bird droppings. After watering, the soil needs to be loosened and the potatoes should be hilled up.

STEP EIGHT - ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF GROWING POTATOES

Unfortunately, not all of us can boast of large garden areas,

More often it turns out that summer residents have at their disposal a plot of 6 acres, or even three. Where can we grow huge crops? Fortunately, they come to the rescue

alternative options for growing potatoes.

Here are the most effective of them:

Growing potatoes under straw:

Potatoes have been grown under straw for several hundred years. The method is reliable and

as they say, proven. The advantages of this method are obvious: straw is an excellent mulch that provides potato tubers with warmth, moisture, and air access

and decomposing organic material for fertilization, protection from direct light, and also suppresses weed growth.

Potatoes grown in straw are smoother and cleaner, eliminating the possibility of damage to the tubers during harvesting. This method is more suitable for growing late-ripening potatoes. When growing potatoes in straw, you must ensure that the tubers are always covered with a thick layer of straw and that they are not exposed to

light.

The soil should be loose and fertile. During the potato growth process, fresh

straw is added as needed when the old one rots or is nailed to the ground. Ripe potato tubers will lie on the surface of the ground under a layer of straw; they can be collected as they ripen, carefully lifting the straw and leaving the unripe tubers to ripen on the plant.

It's done like this. Select an area for planting at your dacha.

There is no need to dig it up, nor do you need to apply nutritious fertilizers.

After this, place the potato tubers at a distance of 30 cm, and cover them with a 30-40 cm layer of straw on top.

This completes the landing. But all its care will boil down to the fact that occasionally you will have to lay a new layer of straw and water it with water. By the way, if you don’t have fresh straw, then you can easily replace it with dry grass. Also note that there is no need to hill up grown potatoes.

And the last thing that is required of you is to harvest in the fall. Although if you

If you plant early potatoes this way, you will be able to harvest the harvest much earlier.

Growing potatoes in a barrel:

Potatoes are grown in barrels, just like tomatoes. But there are a number of excellent

points that need to be taken into account if you want to achieve good results.

Firstly, if a tomato seedling was planted in a barrel alone, then potatoes

it is planted much more often (since it does not form stepsons), approximately every 20 cm, and if the growing container is round in cross-section, we plant it along the diameter, but if it is square, in a checkerboard pattern.

Secondly, since many plants will be planted, to supply oxygen

root systems of all plants, holes made in the sides of the barrel will clearly

not enough.

Therefore, to avoid oxygen starvation in the root zone, it is necessary to apply

in fact, one gardening trick. I'll tell you which one.

Before adding nutrients and drainage to the barrel, at the very bottom

put down the rubber hose. You need to lay it in a snake in a spiral - so that the distance between the turns is about 10 cm. Make 2-3 cm long slit-like cuts in the hose every 15-20 cm.

Attention! Precisely slotted ones, not round ones! While there is no pressure in the hose, the edges

cuts close and are not clogged with earth, but if you make holes, they will

Over time they will be buried in the ground.

Next, bring the outer end of the hose outside the barrel, and the inner end tightly

shut up. This is done so that with an ordinary pump 2-3 times a week, in

Pump air into the root zone for 5-10 minutes.

Thirdly (and this is very important!), when filling a barrel layer by layer with soil mixture, you cannot

Allow the sprouts to hatch completely. In other words, as soon as the sprout reaches the upper boundary of the soil layer, it is necessary to immediately fill in the next layer. If you overlook and the sprouts hatch completely, i.e., form the green part, then the root system will no longer form from the green part of the plant.

These are general tips, and now let’s go through the technique of growing potatoes in barrels

in more detail.

First, stock up on containers. It is not at all necessary that these be barrels; large plastic containers for garbage or other large containers that you have at the dacha will also work. Treat all containers with a mild bleach solution to prevent plant diseases.

Growing potatoes in the country using this method primarily implies good drainage, so be sure to make small (about 2 cm) holes at the bottom of the container.

If you wish, you can even cut off the entire bottom if you plan to place the container on the soil of the site.

After this, pour a drainage mixture 12-18 cm deep onto the bottom of the container.

For example, it could be a mixture of compost, moss and nut shells. This mixture will help retain moisture for the plant root system. The next layer is nutritious, a mixture of compost, soil and turf in a ratio of 1:1:1, also 10 cm.

Place the tubers on a layer of soil. Make sure they are not too far apart

close to each other. After this, cover the potatoes with a layer of soil (12-14 cm) and generously

water it. It is important that the soil is moist all the time, but you should not overwater the plants either.

When the plants grow, it is necessary to make the first addition of soil with compost. Main

Don’t be late: you need to add it before the leaves begin to form, otherwise the development of the root system will stop. Thus, you need to fill the barrel about 3/4 full with earth.

In July, you need to start feeding the potatoes, which by this time are contained in the ground.

fertilizers will already be processed. It is best to feed with a compost solution.

To prepare it, fill a third of a 100-liter barrel with compost, add the rest with water,

and let it brew for a day. Fertilize with this mixture at least once (optimally 2-3 times) a week.

When the potato bushes turn yellow and dry, you can “open” the barrel.

Up to two buckets of potatoes are collected from one barrel.

Growing potatoes in a box:

Growing potatoes in containers is especially suitable for those who do not have a large garden with beds. Growing vegetables in containers also saves a lot of energy and time. In many ways, this method is similar to the option of growing potatoes in a barrel.

Boxes with meter parameters are used as a box. Release the box from the bottom.

If the material of the container allows, then you need to drill the entire surface with small

holes. This is necessary in order to provide air access for the potato rhizomes.

Urgasy concentrate is placed at the bottom of the container (the most valuable fertilizer in EM technology, which is prepared from food waste).

Then on the urgas you need to lay out a soil mixture consisting of prepared compost, turf soil and ordinary soil, which are taken in equal proportions. It is on the soil layer that potatoes need to be planted. We must remember to fertilize the crop and maintain optimal water-air balance in the soil.

STEP NINE - FIGHT PESTS AND DISEASES!

You and I can't escape pests. It is a fact. However, if you arm yourself with knowledge

and carry out preventive measures, you can reduce the occurrence of pests to a minimum. First of all, as I said above, it is necessary to green the tubers and process them in

special disinfecting solutions, and then prevention, prevention and prevention again!

Tiazone, DD (nematicidal mixture), carbation, heterophos and urea. The zone is brought in

2.7 kg per hundred square meters (powder is scattered over the surface of loose soil and buried).

It is best to apply it in autumn or early spring at least 30 days before planting.

After treatment with thiazone, nematode-resistant varieties can be planted.

Wireworms, or click beetles

A dangerous pest of potatoes, it is a larva of the click beetle. Wireworms live in the ground and damage stolons, roots, the base of stems and especially tubers. Potatoes. The larvae gnaw through the tuber, forming tunnels, which often leads to its rotting.

Methods of prevention or control

All types of ammonia-containing fertilizers (ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, ammonium chloride). The use of ammonia water is effective. Soil liming. The wireworm does not like soils with high Ph. However, do not overdo it - an increase in Ph contributes to the development of common scab. Treatment of tubers before germination. Use of bait crops. To do this, oat and barley seeds are treated with insecticides (Decis, Karate, etc.), dried and sown on the plot 2-3 weeks before planting potatoes.

Frequent and thorough loosening of the soil and destruction of weeds, especially creeping wheatgrass. Adding the chemical Bazudin (granulated) or the insecticide Aktar to the soil to spray the bottom of the furrow during planting.

Colorado beetle

One of the most dangerous potato pests. Beetles and larvae damage (eat) vegetative organs and potato tubers. Hot weather is most favorable for the development of this insect. Continuous cultivation of potatoes in one area contributes to the accumulation of the pest. Collection of beetles and larvae by hand.

Fill a bucket of potato peelings with karbofos solution (1-2 tablespoons of karbofos per 0.5 liter of water). Before planting, spread the poison into several holes at a depth of 25 cm. Morning pollination of the tops with clean sifted ash.

Medvedka

A large (up to 50 mm in length) brown insect with digging legs and short elytra. The mole cricket is widespread and ubiquitous. Adult insects and larvae are harmful. Making tunnels near the soil surface, they gnaw through the roots and stems of plants.

In the fall, you can use a mixture of water and kerosene (100 g per 10 liters of water), which is poured into the pest holes at the rate of 30 g per hole.

In places where mole cricket tunnels accumulate, a 3-liter jar is dug into the ground so that the neck is at ground level. The mole crickets fall there, but cannot get out.

You can pour some beer into the jar, because... These insects really like the smell. Please note that mole crickets crawl on upper layers lands only until Peter's Day (July 12), and then go deep into the earth. Therefore, it is only possible to fight them until this time. Bears are also very afraid of soapy water. Pour a strong solution of water and laundry soap into the holes. When they come out, destroy them! And if they don’t get to the surface, then they will die there.

Naked slugs

They are worm-like mollusks with a body covered with mucus. They have a hard tongue with sharp teeth. Naked slugs cause great harm in wet years, mainly in low areas, on loamy or clay soil. On the plant, slugs make holes in the leaves and eat deep cavities in the root crops.

Methods of prevention or control

Carefully cultivate the soil, remove weeds. To protect garden plants from slugs, before planting you can make grooves and then pour lime, ash, tobacco dust, and ground hot pepper onto the bottom. The grooves become a barrier for slugs. It is advisable to use dry mineral fertilizers (potassium salt, superphosphate), scattering them on the soil around the plant. Moreover, such processing alone is not enough. The first treatment only has a terrifying effect on slugs, and only the second guarantees complete destruction. The treatment interval is 30-40 minutes.

Brown spot and chlorotic leaves

The appearance of this physiological potato disease is caused by a lack of magnesium in the soil. Most often this manifests itself at the edges of the leaf lobes due to the death of tissue in these places. With severe magnesium starvation, chloroticity also spreads between the veins.

Methods of prevention or control

Fertilizing with magnesium sulfate or potassium magnesia at the rate of 10-15 g per 10 liters of water, dolomite flour (15-20 g) or wood ash at 25-30 g per 1 square meter. m.

Ring rot

Affects potato tubers. First, pink or brown spots and cracks appear, then the vascular system becomes infected, acquiring a yellow color, clearly visible on the cut. Subsequently, with the development of harmful microorganisms, the affected areas darken, gradually spreading to the entire tuber.

Methods of prevention or control

It is necessary to carefully select healthy tubers, disinfect storage facilities, apply moderate doses of nitrogen and use varieties more resistant to ring rot - Ideal, Berlichingen..

Wet rot

The disease appears during storage. When damaged, the potato softens and becomes moist, turning into a slimy mass of dark brown or pink color with an unpleasant odor.

Methods of prevention or control

Reduce the temperature in potato storage areas, remove diseased tubers, sprinkle with ash, systematically ventilate the room and place containers with quicklime to reduce humidity.

Dry rot

The disease is transmitted during storage of affected or mechanically damaged tubers. Its development is facilitated by increased doses of nitrogen fertilizer, including excess manure. Dark brown spots, soft to the touch, form in the affected areas. Wrinkled concentric folds with pads of various colors are observed.

Methods of prevention or control

Carefully select healthy tubers, dry and store in dry rooms at a temperature of 0-2 o C.

Gothic (spindle-shaped tubers)

In affected plants, the leaves are located at an acute angle to the stem and decrease in size. The leaf blade becomes rough. The disease affects the formation of tubers, which acquire a spindle shape.

Methods of prevention or control

Purchasing healthy planting material, free from viruses and other diseases. Careful protection of plantings from the introduction of infection from other areas.

Mottling

Potato leaves and tubers are affected. The leaf blade of diseased plants is colored unevenly. The disease greatly reduces the yield and deteriorates the quality of tubers.

Methods of prevention or control

To protect plants from this disease, tubers from apparently healthy plants are used for planting. During the summer, plantings are protected from aphids, bugs and cicadas, which are carriers of viruses.

Macrosporiasis

Affects leaves, stems and tubers of potatoes. The leaves become covered with dry, concentric brown spots. The fabric in these places is destroyed and crumbles in dry weather, resulting in the formation of holes of different sizes. With severe damage, the leaf blade turns yellow and dries out.

Methods of prevention or control

The disease is transmitted through affected plant debris and tubers, so they must be removed and destroyed. Only healthy material is used for planting.

Striped mosaic

Viral disease of potato. Severely affects plants and reduces tuber yield. Onai appears on the veins of the underside of leaves and stems in the form of longitudinal stripes. The disease leads to early aging and death of plants.

Methods of prevention or control

Using healthy planting material; protection of plantings from insects that carry viruses.

Common (actinomycosis) scab

A widespread fungal disease of tubers. Warts and ulcers appear on them, which sometimes merge, covering the entire tuber. Affected tubers lose their presentation and taste, and are also worse stored, since scab promotes the introduction of dry and wet rot pathogens into the tubers.

Scab spreads through contaminated soil and tubers.

Methods of prevention or control

1. Treatment of tubers before germination.

2. Compliance with watering schedules.

3. Proper tillage.

Scab is caused by excessive fertilization of the soil with unrotted manure.

Potato cancer

The disease affects tubers, root collars, stems and leaves. On the above-ground organs, growths form in the form of corals 10-12 cm in size, colored green. On tubers and stolons, the disease is detected in the form of a white growth, gradually darkening and greatly increasing in size,

often resembling the head of a cauliflower in shape. Most effective means The fight against the disease is to cultivate cancer-resistant varieties - Priekulskiy early, Falenskiy, Vesna, Detskoselskiy, Gatchinskiy, Sulev, Olev, Shpekula, etc. Potatoes cannot be planted in infected areas for 5-6 years. Containers and tools must be thoroughly washed and treated with pesticides, and affected plant debris and tubers must be burned.

Rhizoctoniosis, or black scab

A widespread fungal disease of potatoes that affects roots, tubers and the base of stems. Sclerotia form on the tubers - black warts that look like lumps of soil that has dried to the tubers. As a result of the disease, the emergence of potato seedlings is delayed, and the number of stems per bush and their height are significantly reduced.

Methods of prevention or control

1. Light germination of tubers and compliance with planting deadlines.

2. Before planting, pickle the tubers in a 1% boric acid solution.

Late blight

The most common fungal disease of potatoes. It usually affects leaves, stems and tubers after potato flowering, especially in moderately warm and humid weather. On the leaves, symptoms of the disease appear in the form of dark brown spots. The spots quickly increase in size, the leaves turn black and the plant dies.

On the underside of the leaves, along the edges of the spots, a white coating of fungal sporulation forms. Most often it forms on early ripening varieties.

Methods of prevention or control

1. Treat the tubers before planting.

2. If detected, destroy the affected stems.

3. Once a week, spray with a solution of copper sulfate (2 g) or boric acid (50 mg), or potassium permanganate (10 mg) per 10 liters of water. No less effective drug is Bordeaux mixture (a mixture of copper sulfate and lime). It is prepared immediately before spraying. Dilute 100 g of copper sulfate in 9 liters of water and add 1 liter of 10% milk of lime. To obtain milk, you need to dilute lime in water and stir so that there are no lumps.

Leaf chlorosis

The high calcium content characteristic of carbonate soils in dry years can cause leaf chlorosis, which recurs in the second year. This disorder is accompanied by wrinkling of the leaves and the appearance of a dark brown color in the vascular system of the tubers.

Methods of prevention or control

Do not allow the soil to dry out and use mineral fertilizers that contribute to its acidification: ammonium sulfate, urea, etc. A lack of manganese causes chloroticity and a decrease in the size of the leaves at the top, their paleness or redness. Along the veins of young leaves appear black and brown dots. To eliminate deviations in growth, potato plants are fed with manganese sulfate at the rate of 5-7 g per 10 liters of water.

Blackleg

A widespread bacterial disease of potatoes. It manifests itself in the form of damage to the root part of the stems during the growing season (“black leg”) and rotting of tubers (“soft rot”) in the field and during storage. In infected bushes Bottom part The stems and roots rot and turn black, and the leaves turn yellow and curl. Sick plants are depressed and are easily pulled out of the soil.

Methods of prevention or control

During the growing season, before budding, it is necessary to spray the tops and soil with a solution - 1 tbsp. spoon of copper sulfate and 1 tbsp. spoon of liquid soap per 10 liters. water. Spraying should be done in the morning. Remove diseased plants from the area and burn them. Dust the area with a mixture of ash and copper sulfate (1 teaspoon of copper sulfate per glass of ash). Sort the tubers and dry them.

STEP TEN - SELECT POTATO VARIETIES

Before choosing potato varieties, I strongly recommend paying attention to such properties as: ripening period, resistance to diseases, adverse environmental factors, taste characteristics. More than once or twice I have encountered the fact that summer residents plant only one variety on their plot.

This is, at the very least, short-sighted. Select varieties that differ in early ripening. For example, early varieties more effectively use the moisture accumulated in the soil in the first half of summer, while mid-ripe varieties use precipitation that fell in July and early August.

Early varieties produce a harvest 50-65 days after planting, mid-early varieties - after 65-80 days, mid-season varieties - after 80-95 days, mid-late varieties - after 95-110 days, and late varieties, respectively, after 110 days.

OSTARA

Early, productive, reliable variety. The tubers are large, oblong, the variety has an excellent taste and is resistant to viral diseases.

ZHUKOVSKY EARLY

Early ripening: 70-80 days. A flexible variety that produces high yields in various soil and climatic conditions. When planted in the soil, the tubers actively germinate, even at low temperatures. Tubers with a pink color, leveled, are stored for a long time. One of the best varieties in terms of taste. Drought resistant. Resistant to scab, potato nematode and rhizoctonia.

CLEOPATRA

Early ripening, high Ko productive variety. Has high productivity. Suitable for frying and boiling. Susceptible to scab, but not susceptible to late blight. Resistant to drought and mechanical damage. Grows on clay and sandy soils.

SPRING WHITE

Early ripening: 70-80 days Table variety with high marketability. The tubers are white, oval, for household needs appear after 55-60 days (become shelf-stable after 70-80 days), good taste. The weight of the commercial tuber is 100-185 g. It is stored well, but is mainly used as fresh early potatoes. Moderately resistant to rhizoctonia and common scab, susceptible to late blight.

TIMO HANKKIJAN

Early ripening: 70-80 days Variety from Finland, table, productive, suitable for growing on all types of soil.

The tubers are white, round, good taste, and can be stored for a long time. The weight of a marketable tuber is 65-120 g. The shoots are friendly and powerful. The variety is resistant to elevated temperatures, drought and waterlogging. Resistant to rhizoctonia, blackleg, scab, moderately resistant to late blight.

LUCK

Early ripening: 70-80 days. A popular high-yielding table variety, suitable for both summer and winter consumption. The tubers are oval, white, with high taste. The weight of a marketable tuber is 90-120 g. The shoots are friendly and powerful: a marketable harvest can be obtained already in June when planted with sprouted tubers.

The variety is resistant to late blight and blackleg, and is moderately resistant to damage by the Colorado potato beetle.

LATONA

Early, highly productive variety. The tubers are round-oval, with yellow skin, pale yellow flesh and superficial eyes. Resistant to scab, late blight, cancer and mechanical damage. High yield in a short growing season.

SANTE

Mid-early: 80-90 days High-yielding Dutch variety of universal use. The tubers are large, oval in shape with yellow skin and light yellow pulp, good taste. It has good marketability and preservation. Suitable for processing into French fries.

Resistant to potato nematode, late blight, viruses, moderately resistant to common scab, susceptible to rhizoctonia.

CONDOR

Mid-early: 80-90 days High-yielding Dutch table variety with high marketability. The tubers are large, elongated oval in shape, with red skin and light yellow pulp. They store well and have excellent taste. The weight of the commercial tuber is 90-180 g. The variety is resistant to viral diseases and common scab, and is susceptible to late blight.

ROMANO

Mid-early: 80-90 days Dutch table variety with high marketability, enjoying growing popularity. The tubers are round-oval and regular in shape, the skin is pink, strong, not damaged during harvesting, the flesh is light cream, the taste is good. The weight of a marketable tuber is 70-80 g. The tops develop quickly and tolerate drought well.

The variety is moderately resistant to late blight and rhizoctonia. Susceptible to common scab.

NEVSKY

Mid-early: 80-90 days. A high-yielding table variety with high marketability and excellent taste. The tubers are round-oval in shape, the peel and pulp are white. The weight of a commercial tuber is 90-130 g. The preservation of the tubers is good. The variety is resistant to rhizoctonia, moderately resistant to late blight and common scab. Resistant to drought and waterlogging.

FAIRY TALE

Mid-early: 80-90 days. High-yielding variety with good marketability. The tubers are oval, the skin is yellow, the flesh is white. The condition is good. The weight of a marketable tuber is 76-129 g. The variety is distinguished by its multi-tuberism: it can produce up to 30 or more potatoes per bush. Resistant to late blight, susceptible to nematodes.

LUGOVSKAYA

Mid-season: 90-110 days. A high-yielding table variety with high marketability and good taste of tubers. The tubers are oval-shaped, the skin is light pink, the flesh is white, the state of preservation is good. The weight of the marketable tuber is 85-125 g. The variety is resistant to late blight, common scab, and moderately resistant to blackleg.

DESIRE

Mid-late variety. The tubers are large, oval, with red skin and light yellow flesh. Grows on different types of soil, not demanding on conditions. It is resistant to mechanical damage, moderately resistant to scab, and has good resistance to drought and heat.

AGRIA

Mid-late: 110-120. days High-yielding Dutch variety for universal use, suitable for industrial processing. The tubers are elongated oval in shape, yellow in color, with yellow flesh. Safety is high. The weight of the marketable tuber is 72-135 g.

The variety has high taste qualities. Resistant to potato nematode, susceptible to late blight and common scab.

STEP ELEVEN - CLEANING AND STORING THE HARVEST

The formation of the crop ends when the tops dry out. In the last 30-40 days before its natural death, intensive tuberization occurs, and the accumulation of dry matter and starch in the tubers is activated.

10-15 days before harvesting potatoes, when the fourth or third part of the plant foliage turns yellow, it is useful to cut and remove the tops, leaving stumps 7-10 cm high. The point is that when the tops dry out, all diseases move into the tubers. Therefore, they are poorly stored and rot. In addition, cut tops force the plant to accelerate the ripening of tubers.

IMPORTANT!

For plants of early and mid-early varieties, if you leave them until autumn harvesting, removal of the tops is mandatory! Harvesting of mid-season varieties is carried out no earlier than 90-100 days after planting, mid-late varieties - after 100-110, late - after 120.

In most Russian regions, potato harvesting begins on August 20-25 (mid-season) and September 1 (mid-late), naturally, depending on weather conditions.

It is advisable to harvest potatoes in dry or windy weather. The dug up tubers must be dried in a furrow for 1-2 hours before packaging. Such drying facilitates the separation of soil from tubers and reduces damage to potatoes by late blight, wet rot and other diseases. If weather conditions do not allow drying the tubers in the furrow, be sure to do this under a canopy. And keep potatoes exposed to light as little as possible (except for seed ones). And another piece of advice: never, under any circumstances, leave dug up potatoes in a furrow overnight! You cannot cover dug up tubers with tops! When harvesting, potatoes are placed in three baskets (boxes). In one - strong tubers from the best bushes, in the other - healthy tubers for long-term storage, in the third - small, ugly, cut, partially sick.

Seed tubers are stored separately by variety. Having received a large harvest, care must be taken to preserve it. Mature potatoes, undamaged during harvesting, should be stored for storage.

In order for fewer damaged tubers to slip through the total mass, it is necessary to carry out a “treatment period”, i.e. Keep the collected potatoes for up to two weeks in a dry, dark place at a temperature of 12-18 degrees.

Then a protective layer is formed on the damaged areas of the potato, allowing it to resist rotting. - wash the room where the potatoes will be stored (walls, bulkheads and floors) hot water with lye. Dry the room and ventilate; - fumigate boxes, baskets and the entire room with sulfur, which kills infectious agents. Sulfur can be bought at a pharmacy or obtained from chemistry teachers at school.

And to fumigate means to take a small amount of sulfur, set it on fire (on a tin) and use thick, creeping smoke... to smoke; - after fumigating with sulfur, the room must be ventilated again. Whitewash the walls, ceiling, bulkheads and floors of the compartments with lime. Boil the bags in water and dry; - storage and containers can be disinfected with a formaldehyde solution (1 liter of 40 percent formaldehyde per 40 liters of water). After treatment, the storage is closed for two days and then ventilated.

Before storing potatoes, they must be cleaned of dirt, sorted, and dried. The thickness of the layer of tubers in the bottom should not exceed 1.5 meters;

Bins and bottoms should have a grated floor, raised 25-30 cm above the storage floor. The walls are made with gaps between the boards, which provides natural ventilation.

During the first month after harvesting, potato tubers need to be dried, as they release a lot of moisture. Therefore, the roof covers and ventilation pipes should be kept open, and the doors should be opened in good weather;

The air temperature in potato storage should be kept from 2 to 7 degrees Celsius. When necessary, you need to heat the room. If the temperature rises above 3 degrees, you need to open the ventilation pipes, and in good weather - the doors. It is clear that you need to keep a thermometer in storage for this.

Regularly check the condition of the potatoes, turn them over and ventilate them. If you follow all the rules listed above, your harvests will be larger year after year - to the delight of the whole family!

Good luck in growing a big harvest!!!