Summer residents and fans of biological farming who continue to grow environmentally friendly vegetables on their plots know many secrets for caring for plants in the garden. Potatoes, which are aptly called “second bread,” are especially popular among our plant growers.
Several beds in the garden must be allocated for the nightshade crop, despite the fact that caring for the plantings is quite labor-intensive and consists not only of organizing watering, weeding and hilling, but also in the constant fight against Colorado potato beetles and manifestations of late blight.
The quality of the future harvest and the labor costs of caring for the plantation during the entire growing season directly depend on how well you prepare the potatoes for planting. One of the ways to increase potato yields is to dust planting material with wood ash.
What is the benefit of treating potato tubers with ash before planting?
Treating planting material with wood and grass ash protects potato tubers from wireworms.The presence of a thin layer of ash on the tubers provides the seedlings with potassium, phosphorus, calcium and microelements at the first stage of the growing season, when the plants germinate and begin to form a root system.
According to agricultural technicians, ash, which has an alkaline reaction, effectively suppresses the growth of phytopathogens. The ash layer protects the tubers from pathogens of infectious diseases of nightshade crops. It is especially useful to treat potato sections with ash if you cut large tubers into halves before planting, leaving sprouts on each part.
How to properly dust tubers with ash?
For each bucket of planting material, 2 cups of sifted grass or wood ash are required. The treatment is carried out 1-2 days before planting, always in a dry place so that the tubers have time to dry well. Typically, summer residents carry out preparatory work with planting material in a barn or dry basement.
The tubers selected for planting are laid out on burlap or cardboard in one layer, lightly moistened with a spray bottle and dusted first on one side and then on the other, trying to sprinkle all the root crops evenly. The tubers remain in this form until planting.
Sprouted tubers sprout several days earlier. The larger the potato sprouts, the faster the seedlings will appear in the beds. Try not to injure the sprouts during preparatory and planting work. Dust the potatoes exclusively with sifted ash. It is most convenient to carry out the event through a sieve.
What kind of ash is used in the garden?
Ash intended for the preparation of dry and liquid fertilizers, processing of planting material, application to the soil as phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and as a means of neutralizing increased soil acidity must be obtained exclusively from organic materials and wood untreated with paint and varnish products.
Typically, summer residents accumulate ash after burning plant debris from the garden: straw, dry tops, fallen leaves, nut shells, grass, pine and spruce cones, seed husks, branch trimmings, etc. The material should be stored exclusively in a dry place, for example, in a potato box or paper bag, in a basement or barn. With increased humidity and wet ash, the concentration of potassium compounds decreases significantly.
Try dusting the tubers before planting this season; fortunately, the process itself does not take much time, and you will significantly improve the conditions for the growth and development of potatoes in your own garden!
