To obtain stable yields of juicy and marketable tubers, it is necessary to carry out agrotechnical practices, including the preparation of planting material, the application of fertilizers, and measures to protect the bushes from diseases and pests. Compliance with the rules of crop rotation and proper preparation of the plantation for planting play an important role in potato yields.
The best and worst predecessors of potatoes
Potatoes are not planted in the same place year after year. The vegetable is returned to its original bed after 2-3 years. Other nightshade crops (tomatoes, eggplants, tobacco, bell peppers) are also not suitable as a precursor to root crops due to the danger of the accumulation of pathogens and pest larvae in the soil. Yes, and nightshade vegetables remove the same nutritional components from the soil. That is why it is recommended to plant potatoes after any green manure, cruciferous, onion, legume and pumpkin vegetables, leafy greens, beets, carrots, and flowers.
Pre-planting soil cultivation for potatoes includes the following activities:
- deep plowing of the soil;
- autumn deoxidation of the soil on the site (if necessary);
- application of organic and mineral fertilizers;
- loosening the soil.
Terms of land cultivation
Digging of the beds for the crop is carried out either at the end of the previous season, or a week before sowing the tubers. Heavy clay soils, as well as sandstones and loams can be cultivated in both autumn and spring. But it is recommended to plow light sandy soils in the spring, since during the winter most of the plowed nutrients are washed out of them with sediment and melt water.
The best autumn and spring fertilizers for potatoes
Soil with a high level of acidity is enriched with fluff lime or dolomite flour, scattering these products over the surface of the plantation in the fall. Semi-rotted manure or compost is used as organic fertilizer for potatoes in the fall, and humus, prefabricated garden compost, leaf or peat manure compost is used in the spring.
For autumn cultivation, additional potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are applied, for example, a mixture of superphosphate and potassium sulfate or Ecoplant. A complete replacement for mineral products is ordinary plant ash, which, in addition to phosphorus, calcium and potassium salts, contains the entire complex of microelements necessary for the formation of marketable tubers.
During spring plowing, a complete NPK complex, for example, a composition of ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium salt, is embedded into the ground along with composted organic matter.But it is best to use modern water-soluble fertilizers for potatoes containing nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and a complex of chelated microelements, for example, Plantafol, Partner, Azofoska humatized.
Compost and humus are plowed under the crop at the rate of 0.5-4 buckets per linear meter. The amount of organic fertilizer depends on the degree of depletion of the soil in your garden. Mineral fertilizers are applied in accordance with the manufacturers' recommendations.
Features of planting tubers
After digging, the soil in the beds is loosened and leveled with a rake. Planting is carried out either in separate holes or in cut furrows. Experts recommend adding a few extra tablespoons of vermicompost, WMD for nightshade vegetables or humus, as well as a handful of onion peels to each planting site, which protects the plants from wireworms and other crop pests. Onion peels, which have phytosanitary properties and are rich in microelements, are collected by zealous owners throughout the winter.
We wish you good potato harvests every season!
