How and when to plant potatoes in open ground

23.01.2018 Potatoes

Potato is very common among summer residents of our country. It is planted both by beginners and experienced gardeners, because potatoes are a versatile and very nutritious vegetable, which has found wide application in our kitchen.

It is not difficult to grow potatoes, but not only proper care, but also the way of planting has a great influence on productivity.

Potato planting methods

Under the shovel

Under the Shovel is the classic and most common way to land manually. When the potatoes are ready for planting, in the beginning or middle of May it will be necessary to choose the most consecrated place and start planting. Dig holes with a depth of 15-20 cm, observe the distance between the holes of about 50 cm. It is more convenient to plant potatoes together so that one person digs holes and the second puts potatoes there, after having laid the necessary fertilizers. To make the rows even, you can pull the pegs with a rope.

Mitlider landing

A distinctive feature of this method is that the rows must be formed in pairs, that is, two rows are located at a distance of up to 30 cm, and the distance between each two lines is up to one meter. Thanks to this method, you can increase your yield by 15-20% due to good illumination of plants, and wide aisles can be used for watering and fertilizing. The depth of the hole for potatoes does not change - 15-20 cm will be enough.

Chinese way

An unusual way that our summer residents rarely use. Its essence is that instead of a hole to dig a deep hole to a depth of half a meter, and as the potatoes grow to keep its tops underground, this will provoke the formation of tubers. To plant potatoes in the Chinese way, follow these steps:

  1. Dig a hole with a depth of 50 cm, a diameter of about 80 cm.
  2. At the bottom of the pit, mix the fertilizers necessary for the growth of potatoes (for example, manure and ash).
  3. Plant the tuber.
  4. Pour on top 10 cm of earth, pour over.
  5. After the bush grows by 15-20 cm, cover it with soil so that about 5 cm remain on top.
  6. As potatoes grow, continue to do such hills.

 

Square Nest

Before planting potatoes, you need to consider the following scheme: divide the field for planting into squares with sides of about 70-90 cm, observing the checkerboard pattern. In the corners of each square, dig holes about 15 cm deep, apply the necessary fertilizers and plant 1 or 2 tubers. The advantage of the method is that the plants have enough sunlight, they do not compete for water and nutrients, which favorably affects the yield.

 

Barrel landing

This method is landless, it is similar to Chinese, the only difference is that potatoes are planted not in the ground, but in an ordinary barrel. Previously, holes must be made in its bottom so that moisture and air better flow to the roots, and holes can also be made in the walls. Follow the same sequence as in the Chinese landing method until the ground level in the barrel reaches one meter.

 

Landing in the crests

This method is ideal for planting in the soil where groundwater is located nearby. Combs will help to avoid excess moisture.Before planting, apply fertilizer to the soil and mix everything thoroughly, then you can form ridges, observing a distance between them of about 40 cm. Each new tuber can be planted every 25-30 cm. After planting, cover the potatoes with earth and form a comb with a chopper.

Black film fit

For residents of the northern regions who want to get an early harvest, a method of planting under a black film is suitable. To do this, stick arcs with a height of about 70-80 cm into the bed under the potato, put the film on top or simply cover the bed with the film itself. Landing technology is similar to the “under the shovel” method. As plants grow, if the temperature reaches 25about holes can be made in the film, and in the afternoon to raise its edges.

Rules for planting potatoes

To begin with, before planting, you need to find out what type of soil on your site in the country, the depth of planting of potatoes depends on this:

You may be interested in:
  • for clay soils - it is 7-9 cm;
  • for chernozem - 10-15 cm;
  • for sand - up to 20 cm.

The planting density depends on the size of the tubers - the smaller they are, the thicker it is necessary to plant.

Avoid too rainy weather, otherwise your plants may get sick. If you still can not avoid moist soil, try to make all plantings quickly, within 3-4 days. 38-50 thousand food plants per 1 hectare of land is the norm, seed - from 40 thousand per 1 ha.

When to plant potatoes

Traditionally, it is customary to plant potatoes from late April to mid May. However, potatoes planted in the summer in June and even in July can grow successfully. The main thing is that the air temperature at night reaches 10about. If you live in the middle lane, then you can plant a mid-ripening variety, if in the northern regions it is early ripening, as frosts can sharply hit and tubers do not have time to ripen. Do not be afraid to sow so late, summer potatoes have the same good taste as the earlier ones.

Soil preparation rules

The main condition when choosing a place for landing is its illumination, it is better to choose a site oriented from south to north. Open ground must be prepared since the fall, immediately after harvesting, the best option would be to dig the soil well and introduce humus into it. In spring, also thoroughly plow the soil, remove all weeds and remaining roots of plants.

Preparing planting material

It is better to start the preparation of tubers in advance - for 20-30 days. The essence of preparation is to obtain green sprouts that will accelerate the germination and growth rate of potatoes. This process is called germination. There are several types of germination:

  • Dry. Arrange the potatoes in a well-consecrated place, observing the temperature regime (in the first days - 18-20 degrees, in the following -14-18 about).
  • Wet. For 15 days, the potatoes are kept in boxes sprinkled with peat on top. Due to this, root crops form not only sprouts, but also roots.
  • Combined. The first 3 weeks you need to keep the potatoes in a lighted place, the next 10-15 days in boxes with peat.

Landing

Comb

Ridge planting is suitable for loam and clay soils, ridges will help to avoid excess moisture. You can make ridges in the selected area in the spring, immediately before planting. To do this, pull the ropes at a distance of about 70 cm from each other. The distance between the holes - up to 30 cm, the depth of planting - depending on the type of soil. It is considered one of the easiest ways, since it does not require laborious plowing of the soil, and even the lazy will cope with it.

In the trench

This method can well increase productivity, so it is suitable for all summer residents with a small plot.It is necessary to prepare for this method of planting in the fall: it is necessary to dig a trench 35-40 cm deep and fill in various organic waste, so that by spring all this will decay. Tubers need to be planted every 30 cm.

Reviews

Karina: “Hello! On my site there are very clay soils, the water stagnates, so all previous years, the potatoes rotted, and the harvest was poor. Last year I read about the method of planting in the crests, and it saved me! "The harvest is excellent, the potatoes have never been sick, and the harvest was big!"

 

Artem: “I have long been interested in the Chinese way of planting potatoes, it is quite exotic. For a long time I could not believe that with it you can get a big crop, but it’s true, I have grown almost 2 times more potatoes than a year earlier! ”

 

Svetlana: “For a very long time I had problems with the harvest of potatoes. It seemed that she was not sick, the insects did not disturb, but the harvest was poor: in practice, how much they planted, they collected so much. But then I read on the Internet about the Mitlider method, I tried it, and everything just got great! ”

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