Each experienced gardener or just a summer resident, fond of gardening, will say that growing vegetables, cultivating a garden is a difficult thing, it has its own subtleties. Any variety of vegetables, fruits, any flower requires an individual approach. For example, Natasha’s potatoes, description of the variety, photos and reviews, how it relates to different soil, how long it ripens, how it looks, whether it can be transported. Such information will help anyone, even an inexperienced gardener, to get a good harvest in the end.
Characteristic
Potato variety with a beautiful, unusual name for vegetables, "Natasha" fully justifies the name. The tubers are beautiful, oval in shape, with a thin, easily peelable skin. The color is yellow, the peel is smooth, the eyes are shallow, small. The pulp inside is warm yellow.
Starch there is 12-13%, the average value.
The plants are medium, intermediate type, they are semi-upright. Their leaves are large, shades ranging from light to intense emerald color. With the edge of medium undulation. The variety was presented to the State Register by the manufacturer Solana as an early, very highly productive, with great prospects, table. Solana is a manufacturer from Germany. Recommendations for growing - preferably the Middle Volga region.
Pros and cons
"Natasha" is not yet so popular among gardeners or potato growers, but the characteristics presented for the variety themselves indicate its advantages:
1. Early, quickly ripen;
2. High productivity (if we consider the total quantity);
3. On a bush many tubers are usually formed;
4. Tasty, beautiful pulp;
5. The marketability of tubers is somewhere 76-93%;
6. Shows good resistance to a number of diseases (alas, vegetables, fruits also have their own diseases), including potato cancer with a golden potato nematode, and also the U-virus, common tuber rot with rhizoctonia;
7. The tubers are well laid, stored for a long time, approximately 93% retaining their qualities.
“Natasha” looks extremely attractive, tubers are pleasantly smooth, beautiful pulp, oval shape.
Disadvantages are not particularly severe.
Dates, landing features
An important point in the description of any variety, because for a good harvest you need to provide the crop with all the conditions it needs. It would seem that you need potatoes? In addition, of course, hilling and protection against various pests. Who remembers the village, the grandmother’s garden, where potato bushes occupied an honorable place 60% of all plantings. Endless rows of green bushes.
Most of the schoolchildren were already dispersing by the time of the harvest, but they probably remember the frequent hills when it was necessary to carefully examine the bushes, removing all undesirable plants around. More bugs! Striped Colorado loves to feast on the delicate leaves of potatoes. They have to be collected manually or poison in advance.
What is special about Natasha? It needs to be planted like any early variety, given of course the weather conditions, climate:
- First, the required planting material is selected, then approximately 1.5-2 months before the start of planting, it is transferred from the store to another, warm room so that acclimatization and germination take place;
- Sproutseedlings varieties "Natasha" only in a room where there is access to good lighting, warm. To pick up tubers of medium size, where there are no signs of disease;
- When they germinate, they must be carefully treated with Prestige as a prophylaxis against diseases and Heteroauxin, a well-known growth stimulant;
- Experienced gardeners in the fall prepare their sites for future planting, removing excess, digging.In the spring, when the snow is already melting and the soil is getting a little warmer, a second digging is needed, then the removal of all overgrown weeds. Carefully level the soil.
If planting material has large volumes, the planting process itself can be mechanized. Although gardeners often use their hands. It’s long, but effective. Between plantings, a distance of 30 cm should be maintained, figuring out the future dimensions of the bush, its roots. Between the beds, the distance is 70 cm. So most early ripe varieties are planted.
Fertilizers must be applied immediately to all planting holes in a little, having prepared a mixture of 700 g from dry humus plus 5 tbsp. from wood ash. Mix everything and pour immediately.
Landing will be ordinary, bushes smoothly, in rows. This will provide future plants with a convenient, accessible nutrition area, and it will also be easier to conduct various activities for inspection and hilling.
After planting, carefully level the area with a rake. Everything, now further care can be resumed after about 10-11 days.
How to care
Prepare the site, then drop off - half the battle. Further, potato shoots that need to be sprouted should be looked after. Fortunately, Natasha is quite resistant to weather surprises, especially during its growing season. This makes it accessible to gardeners, because many regions are famous for unstable weather. The second plus is that modern gardeners have a good helper, advanced agricultural technologies. They will help to achieve the desired large crop.
Without waiting for the first shoots, you need to carefully process the entire area sown with potatoes, removing weeds. Also, take the chopper or rake in time so that the soil does not form a hard crust. It blocks oxygen to the sprouts and prevents them from growing.
When the seedlings appear, it is time for the first time to hobble the tops “with your head”, because there is a possibility of late night frosts for spring frosts. The tops hidden by the ground will be protected and the moisture inside the soil will be better preserved. Reception will help against weeds.
If at the time of the autumn preparation the soil is well fertilized, then in the planting an additional top dressing was laid in each of the holes, then in the future potatoes can be fed only twice, making one top dressing extra root. Here, of course, it also depends on the properties of the soil itself, how much nutrient is stored in it.
Irrigation measures certainly delight the potatoes, contribute to the better formation of its tubers, but excess water often leads to unpleasant decay of the crop, so water carefully. Given the natural rainfall. There are varieties that require only two watering; others, on the contrary, like moisture. Variety "Natasha" somewhere in the middle.
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If there is an unfavorable agricultural background in the zone selected for cultivation, then frequent inspection of potato bushes is required. Especially when the tops are still young, only growing. Delicate leaflets are very fond of a variety of pests. Having noticed the signs of damage, it is necessary to take the necessary protective measures by treating the plants with insecticides and fungicides.
The variety "Natasha" is highly valued by foreign manufacturers, where it is still better known, because it comes from Germany. Abroad, they also love potatoes, actively grow it, and breeders are constantly working on improved varieties. After all, it is easier to make a pest resistant variety than to poison vegetables with harmful chemicals, the remnants of which can then go to consumers' tables. Especially when it comes to potatoes. Thousands of tons of potatoes are planted annually in Russia to fill markets, shops and food stalls.
Tips for growing are really simple, "Natasha" does not require expensive investments, valuable fertilizer, in many ways caring for it is similar to growing ordinary potatoes. Experienced gardeners often manage to harvest two crops instead of one, because the variety is considered to be ripe, which means that the harvest time comes earlier than usual. The degree of maturity of potatoes is judged by the condition of the tops. When it begins to dry, it means that the tubers are almost ready for assembly.
Connoisseurs look at a number of signs by which a variety is classified as a quality and successful product:
• Appearance;
• Taste qualities;
• Demanding conditions for growing;
• Quantity in the crop;
• Transportability.
Large harvests, good resistance to transportation, are liked by large producers, because it is profitable for them to sell the vegetables they receive, and sometimes they are taken to the place of sale for several hours, if not days. Variety "Natasha" is considered high-quality, good. By the way, the reviews of the cooks are also positive. The potato has a pleasant, warm yellow color, the mashed potatoes come out beautiful, tasty, without lumps.
It is used for soup, a variety of salads, you can cook for a long time, keeps its shape, does not boil. Thin skin, easy to clean and quite economical. Fruits are more often than average sizes, which is also convenient. Professional chefs do not like excessively large or too small fruits. It is more difficult to calculate the amount for dishes, to clean. Ordinary people also prefer the average size.
Practice reviews
The majority confirms that it’s really convenient for Natasha to grow in the nearest household plots, in the conditions of a usual rural garden, where it is not possible to bring purchased soil. The table variety is highly productive. Gardeners did not forget to speak about the taste of potatoes. Here they agree with the opinion of experienced chefs. In the variety "Natasha" the pulp is beautiful, warm yellow, which remains even after heat treatment. The tubers are beautiful, neat, easy to wash, clean, and the taste is excellent. Dishes even inexperienced housewives are nutritious and beautiful.
Of course, while among domestic gardeners Natasha is little known, but this, as experts know, is a temporary phenomenon. The variety has everything for a full-fledged “colleague” of local varieties, it can even make them good competition. Who will refuse to grow beautiful, disease-resistant, high-yielding potatoes? He did not have any serious shortcomings, this was also noted by experts who studied the variety thoroughly even at the time of entering “Natasha” in the register. A lot of pluses in planting potatoes varieties Natasha.
Potatoes are suitable for mass production and private cultivation in their areas. It is not too finicky to the ground, the main thing is good top dressing. The climate also tolerates well, especially unexpected frosts, strong winds or hail. Needs careful and regular care, so a good owner will certainly get a high yield. In principle, any kind of potato should be regularly spudded, cultivated, especially immediately after planting. Varieties vary in their tolerance to soil, weather, and moisture. Two varieties of watering for the whole summer are enough for some varieties, while others need to be watered more often.