I select seed tubers for planting from good productive bushes, with large even tubers two weeks before the main harvest. There are two main methods of processing potatoes - gardening and germination. The first I spend immediately after selection for seeds. The second before landing - in the spring. But even between these basic operations, seed tubers need special care during storage. There are also other techniques for processing potatoes before planting.
Gardening potato tubers
Landscaping prevents the evaporation of moisture from seed material, which is beneficial for frequent spring lack of moisture in the soil. In this case, the mother tuber plays the role of an insurance fund in the water supply of the potato plant in the first periods of its growth, when a weak, not yet developed root system cannot provide the plant with moisture in the daytime.
At night, potatoes (this distinguishes it from other crops) are able to consume water from the air with the help of leaves.
Gardening can also be carried out in spring, at the same time as germination.
Sprouting potatoes before planting
Germination before planting is a highly effective agricultural technique that accelerates the emergence of seedlings, contributes to the rapid development of plants and the formation of crops.
Tubers prepared for planting are laid out in a thin layer in boxes of 10-12 kg and placed for 5-7 days in a warm (18-20 ° C) room for awakening the kidneys. Then they are transferred to a bright, cool (10-12 ° C) place. At this temperature, the germination of the sprouts slows down, daylight prevents them from stretching, while there is intensive planting of tubers.
Every 7-10 days they are carefully ted up for better coverage. At the same time, the sick, the weak, who, when gardening and germinating, are clearly discarded, are rejected.
Tuber disinfection
Before planting, to prevent disease, we process seed material with a solution of potassium permanganate. Conveniently, quickly do the processing in a galvanized trough. A box with germinated tubers is immersed in a potassium permanganate solution (1 g per bucket of water) and kept for 30-40 minutes. You can use a solution of copper sulfate together with zinc sulfate (10 g each per bucket of water) or boric acid (50 g per bucket).
Please note: to dissolve copper sulphate use only wooden, glass, enameled dishes. Galvanized or metal can not be used. If there is no suitable container, you can use a pit in the ground slightly larger than standard boxes lined with oilcloth or plastic wrap.
Potatoes immediately after bathing are dusted with wood ash, which adheres well to wet tubers. You can pour ash directly into the wells. Wood ash is known to contain potassium, which regulates the water regime of growing plants. If the level of potassium in the leaves decreases, the plant fades faster, the formation of tubers slows down, and, consequently, the yield, as well as keeping quality, decrease, and they peeled quickly darken.
Potassium in wood ash is readily soluble, and ash left in the rain and snow will be of little use. It is stored in a place inaccessible to moisture.
Planting potatoes - technology
I plant potatoes in grooves with a depth of 5-8 cm. Such a small embedment depth promotes the rapid rooting and germination of tubers in a well-warmed layer of soil. Later varieties can be planted a little deeper.
To enrich the soil with nitrogen, in the same place I sow legumes (peas, beans, beans), which are able to absorb free nitrogen from the air. After planting with a hoe, I close up the rows, immediately forming a ridge with a height of 7-10 cm. Ridges in the form of ridges in a cold, damp spring are better warmed up, aired. And with heavy rains, a shallow bed of tubers prevents them from getting wet.
Potato care after planting
Such a departure. In 5-7 days after planting, or necessarily after rain, I spend harrowing the ridges with a rake, destroying the threadlike seedlings of weeds. At the same time, soil aeration improves. After a week, I repeat the operation. Until the potatoes sprouted, it is done quickly and efficiently.
In rainy, damp weather, along with weeding, I continue to build up ridges. In dry, hot weather, I leave them as they are. In my opinion, landing in grooves has several advantages over the square-nesting method. Firstly, there is less effort spent on hilling - the earth is hewed up only from two sides - no need to revolve around each bush. Secondly, when watering, the space between the rows is easily filled with water.
Potato fertilizer
Of fertilizers, in addition to wood ash, I give preference to bird droppings. I bring it in advance to the site intended for planting potatoes. In addition, in spring I spend root dressing with bird droppings. Poured between the beds, it also contributes to weed control, which “burns out” upon contact with it, and ridges poured on the furrows prevent the fertilizer from contacting the seedlings. After rain or watering the aisle with poultry droppings, I deeply “pierce” it, mixing it well with the ground.
When to plant potatoes
Potatoes are planted when the soil temperature reaches 7-8 ° C, at a lower temperature, the sprouts develop at the expense of the mother plant, without forming roots. Sometimes, for better soil warming, black paper, film, and roofing material are used: the earth, heated under such materials, cools more slowly at night, this contributes to the formation of roots.
Adhering to these simple care measures when planting, you can get a very early harvest, and by the time of the mass gathering, a significant increase.
It should be remembered that good seeds are a prerequisite for a good harvest.
Germinated, stratified potato sprouts faster, blooms faster, ripens faster. Large tubers intended for planting must be cut 10 or more days before planting. The resulting caked surface of the cut does not rot in the ground, and a fresh cut is an excellent medium for the development of rot.
Landscaping for seed tubers is useful in that the resulting solanine is an antiseptic.
Of the main nutrients, potatoes consume the most potassium.
To fertilize the potato field, manure can be used rotted. Fresh manure causes a strong development of microorganisms, which themselves absorb a significant part of the ammonia nitrogen of not only the manure itself, but also the soil, which often leads to a lack of nitrogen.
The direction of planted rows has a significant impact on productivity. Rows planted in the north-south, north-west or south-east directions are more evenly lit by the sun throughout the day than, for example, rows of the west-east direction, therefore, increase productivity, starchiness. A potato plant requires a lot of moisture, especially from the beginning of flowering, when the period of intensive growth of tubers begins.
A significant role in the final result is crop rotation. Potatoes greatly deplete the soil and, grown on the same field for several years in a row, even using advanced agronomic techniques will not yield significant results. In addition, such a field is infected with fungal, viral diseases from year to year, which leads to a shortage of crops. Potatoes cannot be grown after nightshade crops - peppers, tomatoes, eggplants.