Many people think that planting potatoes is a simple matter, but in order for the harvest to please you and your efforts not to be wasted, it must be done correctly. The result depends on many factors: the quality of the seed material, soil characteristics, planting technology.

The amount of harvest depends on the correct planting of potatoes.

Preparing the seeds in advance

Choice good seeds- half the success. The procurement of planting material begins at the stage of autumn harvesting:

• vegetables are sorted, separating smaller ones for planting, large ones, left for eating;
• It is preferable to select seeds from those bushes where the quantity of potatoes was maximum;
• the optimal tuber size is 4-5 cm in diameter, approximately egg;
• you can take a little larger ones, they will ripen earlier, and the harvest from them will be a little larger.

Potatoes that are too large can also be used as seed material, but certain varieties will ultimately produce a lot of small fruits, and the overspending will be significant.

Some gardeners believe that the lack of planting material can be compensated for by using cut potatoes into several parts. This option has a right to exist when there are not enough small-caliber seeds. In this case, after cutting, the parts need to be dried in the sun and sprinkled with ash. But the result will please you if the weather is dry and warm. A rainy spring can ruin everything planting material: since the surface without skin is easily susceptible to disease, becomes infected with fungus, and rots.

When buying seeds at retail outlets, you should not chase super-elite varieties. They will give good harvest, provided that agricultural technology is properly organized, but the most productive are the elite categories. It would be useful to familiarize yourself with the quality certificate; if the potatoes claim to be varietal, the seller must have this document. Otherwise, there is a risk of buying contaminated seeds, from which not only will you not get a harvest, but the soil will also have to be rid of pests and diseases for several years.

Potatoes for planting should not be too large

Before boarding

About a month before planting potatoes, you should remove them from the cellar to “wake up” the tubers. Here, too, you need to approach the process correctly:

• the root crop is dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection and placed in boxes for germination in one layer;
• the planting material is kept at a temperature of at least 20 degrees for a week;
• in the future it will be correct to reduce the temperature to 10 degrees;
• You should not keep the container with seeds in a dark place, then the sprouts will not stretch out, but will be strong and strong;
• During this period, it must be periodically moistened with water and turned over.

Moistening is alternated with spraying with a solution of ash and mineral complex fertilizers This will give you the opportunity to become seed material healthy, full of nutrients.

When sprouts of at least 1 cm appear, you can begin planting. The tubers should first be treated with copper-containing preparations to prevent early late blight.

Tip: To avoid seed infection, potatoes can be treated. The solution is prepared at the rate of: boric acid (20 g) per 10 liters of water. Then the seeds are immersed in the liquid for a few seconds.

Tubers with sprouts of at least 1 cm are suitable for planting

Preparing the site

It’s great if the soil in the garden is light loamy and sandy loam; drained peat lands and forest soils are perfect. Heavy and acidic soils culture tolerates it worse. Increased acidity is undesirable; potatoes grow worse on it, get sick more often, and weak plants are attacked by pests. In this case, manure and lime will help improve the composition of the soil.

Crop rotation must be taken into account. The vegetable should not be planted earlier than 3 years after its previous planting. Good precursors for culture are:

• cabbage;
• carrot;
• beet;
• leafy vegetables.

It is especially important to prepare the ground:

• The area intended for potatoes is cleared of tops and remains of previous plants. To prevent diseases and pests from spreading, it must be burned.
• It is necessary to fertilize the soil with rotted organic matter: 3-4 kg of manure per m/sq.
• Dig the soil deeply with a shovel. There is no need to break up large clods of earth; melt water and rain will do this themselves, but the earth will not cake and will be soft and fluffy.
• With the onset of spring, add complex nitrogen- phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
• The soil must be loosened or re-dug using a shovel to a depth of 10 cm.
• If the site is located in a lowland, it is important to provide drainage to drain excess water.

The area for potatoes should not be located in a damp place

When to plant

Planting timing is a difficult issue. Depends on the location, weather conditions, and timing of crop ripening. There is no need to rush, it is better to wait for stable warm weather, but there is no need to let the soil dry out too much. Here you need to find a middle ground:

• Popular wisdom advises planting the root crop when small leaves appear on the poplar and birch trees.
• The optimal planting option is considered if the soil has warmed to a depth of 10 cm to 10 degrees, and the average night readings also do not fall below.

If the tubers have sprouted and their sprouts are strong, then when the soil warms up to about 6 degrees, you can plant potatoes. Experienced gardeners assure that the harvest only benefits from this.

A strong potato sprout can withstand temperatures not lower than +6 degrees

Landing technology

What should you consider when planting potatoes? First of all, the space between the rows. Typically the recommended width according to the pattern is 80x35. If you plant more often, problems will arise:

• the stems will darken each other and begin to stretch;
• there will be poor ventilation, and this is a direct road to late blight;
• high-quality hilling will not work, as a result, some tubers will be open and turn green;
• Sufficient soil aeration will not be achieved.

But if there is little land, it is permissible to shorten the gap if used early ripening varieties on fertile black soil: their tops are not very powerful and high, so 60 cm between rows is enough.

The quality of the harvest depends on the distance between the tubers, Typically, the average recommended width between holes is 35 cm. But there are options here too:

• small non-standard tubers can be planted at a distance of 20 cm;
• the early variety allows a width of 26 cm (you can use a shovel as a guide: this is about one and a half bayonets);
• late varieties and large tubers prefer to be planted at a distance of at least 30 cm;
• If you plant large potatoes on heavy soils, then the space should be increased to 45 cm.

Potato bushes should not be located close to each other

The depth of the holes also matters; the optimal depth of the root crop under the shovel is no less than 7 cm, but there is no point in planting more than 10 cm. Here, soil characteristics also play a role, as does the size of the potatoes:

• It is correct to plant large seed material deeper, shallower, higher to the surface;
• for light fertile soil 10 cm is quite acceptable;
• In dense clay areas, the seeds are not buried deeply; 5 cm is enough.

With any pattern, the rows must be even and the depth the same. It’s good if a pinch of fertilizer, ash and humus are added to the hole during planting. Potatoes should be planted with the sprout down; a layer of loose soil will remain under the tuber, then the bush will be spreading and will be well ventilated and illuminated.

After laying the seeds, they are covered with earth and leveled with a rake and mulched with peat.

If you plant potatoes, taking into account all the subtleties, then in the fall you can expect an unprecedented harvest. Over time, experience and your own secrets of success will appear, then every year the result will please you more and more.

Well, what is a garden without potatoes: you can’t cook soup without them, and they’re very good with a fresh cucumber for a bite! Therefore, in the spring, looking around their plot, every summer resident thinks about where and how to plant potatoes so that there is a good harvest.

At the same time, it is advisable to spend as little time and effort on care as possible, because in addition to potatoes, the garden is full of all sorts of things that cannot be ignored.

In the previous article we talked about

And today in In this article I will talk about traditional and unusual ways of planting potatoes. This will help you choose best option: so that the harvest is abundant and minimal care is required.

This is the simplest, most famous and most old way planting potatoes.

It's convenient when two people work together. One makes holes with a shovel, and the other follows and puts tubers in these holes. The holes are arranged in one row at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other. Between the rows there should be an optimal distance of 70-90 cm, so that each bush receives enough light, and then it is convenient to hill up.

The soil taken with a shovel from the hole in the second row is used to cover the potatoes in the first row. That's all the technology is.

The one who digs the holes presses the shovel with one foot, and the other foot leaves a mark on the ground at a distance just right for the next row. The second row is organized along this trail. But lovers of beauty and order can first stretch the cord or twine and make holes along it. Then the seedlings will delight the owner in even, ruler-like rows.

The soil for this method of planting should be loose, and the area should be flat and not very large, since, as you yourself understand, the method is quite labor-intensive. Therefore, summer residents use it on their plots, and mechanized planting is used on an industrial scale.

If the soil has not been prepared in the fall, then you can sprinkle a handful of humus into each hole, mixing it with the soil.

The rows should be made in the direction from north to south so that the bushes are illuminated evenly throughout the day: first in the morning - from the east, at noon and at sunset - from the west. If you arrange the rows from east to west, then on the north side the bushes will always be in the shade, our potatoes will be uncomfortable and the yield will be lower.

The area of ​​land allocated for potatoes depends on the size of your garden. It’s good when there is so much land that you don’t have to worry about how to fit everything in.

If the area is tiny, but there are a lot of plans in your head, then you have to find non-standard solutions. And this is what the cunning Chinese came up with.

Planting potatoes the Chinese way

As you know, there are a lot of Chinese living in the world, but they have very little fertile land. Therefore, every scrap they use is 100% or even more. I myself witnessed how a security guard at a private beach on the shores of the Yellow Sea grew onions and beets, literally a few at a time, in a narrow area between the sidewalk and the fence.

But how do they grow potatoes? That's how. They dig a hole measuring 75x75 cm and half a meter deep. The soil at the bottom is well loosened, about a third of a bucket of compost is poured there (you can take well-rotted manure), 30-50 grams of superphosphate and a handful of ash. Mix everything well.

A potato with sprouted eyes is placed in the middle of the hole and buried to a depth of 8 cm. First, in order to activate the potato eyes, either a simple cut is made around the circumference of the tuber to a depth of about 1 cm, or even the pulp is cut out in this place to make an “hourglass” from the tuber. . To prevent decay, the cut site is treated with ash.

As soon as the stems above the ground have grown to 15 cm, a 10-centimeter layer of loose soil is poured around. The tops stretch upward and, as soon as they have grown again by 20 cm, they are covered with earth again, leaving only the top few leaves on top.

And this is done several times until the hole is filled. Each time, they are fed with manure, ash and superphosphate, only in smaller quantities than when planting.

Water once a week and pluck some of the buds from time to time so that they are not wasted nutrients, but went to the resulting tubers.

They say that the Chinese get 20-24 kg of potatoes from one tuber in this way. Agree, from this quantity you can prepare lunch for a large family, and even more than once.

The advantages of this method are obvious:

• you can use a small plot of land;
• planting material is saved;
• no need to weed and hill;
• frequent watering is not required;
• easier to protect against the Colorado potato beetle.

But it's not that simple. The main disadvantage is that Russian gardeners are unable to extract the promised kilograms from the pit. The Chinese trick did not take root on Russian soil.

But we Russians are not cut out for it either. We came up with our own tricks. Here is one of them.

Planting potatoes under straw

This method was probably invented by “lazy” gardeners who value spring time and well remember the proverb “In spring, the day feeds the year.” Planting potatoes under straw does not involve labor-intensive digging of the site, which saves time.

The tubers are laid out in rows directly on the heated ground. Then straw is thrown on top 30-50 cm. All. The potatoes are planted.

This could be the end of the description of this method, but let’s point out some nuances.

Before covering with straw, the tubers can be lightly sprinkled with soil. The potatoes will then not turn green and will sprout faster.

If you germinate the tubers a little before planting, you will get an early harvest.

Watering is only necessary in case of severe drought, as moisture is well retained under the straw.

No hilling required.

Instead of fresh straw, you can take last year's straw, which after use was dried and stored until spring in a dry place.

Tubers grown under straw are smooth and large. Since they lie almost on the surface, to collect them you just need to rake the straw.

It is very important that the soil structure improves; rotted hay serves as top dressing.

And most importantly, they planted 1 bucket of potatoes and harvested 12-20 buckets! And these are not Chinese promises, but the real Russian reality!

Watch a video in which experienced gardener Galina Kizima shows in practice how she plants potatoes under straw.

In my opinion, the method of planting under straw is simply ideal; you can’t imagine a better one. However, someone will complain: “I have a tiny plot and there is a completely unsuitable place left for potatoes; nothing will grow there.”

So what now, don’t plant potatoes? Thank God, the craftsmen have not yet died out; they have found a way out here too.

Planting potatoes in a barrel - a method for a small area

An old plastic, metal or wooden barrel, a wicker structure made of wood or metal, old car tires stacked on top of each other, a basket more than 30 cm high, and metal grid, wrapped in straw - all these containers can be used for growing potatoes.

The container can be installed in any unsuitable area, where even weeds are notwant to grow. It is only important that there is enough light.

For example, let's look at how to grow potatoes in an old metal barrel.

The barrel must have no bottom so that excess moisture went into the ground. Before pouring soil into it, the inside should be thoroughly washed with boiling water and soda, and the outside of the dark surface should be painted with light paint. Then the earth in the barrel will not overheat.

Now, every 10-15 cm along the surface of the barrel you need to drill holes with a diameter of 1 cm so that the soil in it is saturated with oxygen. And it is also advisable to make the barrel detachable so that it is convenient to harvest in the fall.

We sorted out the barrel. All that remains is to decide how to water the plant evenly. This is very important, since drying out is unacceptable, it will immediately affect the yield and our efforts will be in vain.

For watering we use an ordinary hose. We make a plug at one end of the hose and on the part that will be in the barrel, we make cuts every 20 cm, through which we will supply water for irrigation or air for ventilation. We lower the hose vertically into the barrel, leaving one end outside. If the length of the hose allows, you can also lay it in a barrel in a spiral.

The soil in which we will plant the tubers must first be steamed or calcined. This way we will get rid of dangerous bacteria or pests.

Now you can start planting. Mix the soil with compost in equal proportions and fill the bottom to 10-15 cm. Then lay out the already sprouted potatoes around the circumference, 20 cm apart from each other. We again cover the top with 10 cm of soil.

As soon as the sprouts have reached a height of 2-3 cm, sprinkle them again by 10 cm with a mixture of soil and compost. And we repeat this several times until the earth in the barrel rises by 1 meter.

Weeding and hilling are not required. All that remains is to monitor the soil moisture to prevent drying out.

Those gardeners who can only envy the happy owners of old barrels quickly got their bearings and improved this method.

How to plant potatoes in a bag - step-by-step instructions

To grow potatoes, you can use ordinary plastic bags, for example, sugar bags, instead of barrels. Place them in any well-lit place in the garden, even if the soil there is trampled down and unsuitable for growing anything.

We purchased the bags, what should we do now?

1. Fold the bags halfway.
2. Pour up to 40 cm of a mixture of soil, humus and peat onto the bottom.
3. Lay out 5-6 tubers and cover with soil.
4. Water.
5. Lay out another 5-6 tubers and cover them with 15 cm of humus.
6. After the shoots appear (after 2-3 weeks), cover them with humus.
7. Wait for the entrances again and fall asleep again.
8. Repeat the procedure until the bag is 2/3 full.
9. Water regularly, avoiding drying out.
10. When the potatoes begin to bloom, some of the buds need to be plucked off so that nutrients are not wasted on them.

The harvest is ripe when the tops begin to dry out.

Of course, growing potatoes in bags is beneficial, since in addition to saving space, it also saves time. There is no need to weed, hill up and fight various pests (Colorado beetle, mole cricket).

As a disadvantage, we can note the need to use large quantity humus and constantly need to monitor the soil moisture in the bags.

One can only envy the inexhaustible desire for experiments of our gardeners. Barrels and bags were invented for tiny plots. What if there are huge fields, but few workers? There is a solution for this case too.

Square - nesting method of planting

The square-cluster planting method was invented for mechanized cultivation of fields.

The area is divided into squares using a cord stretched between two pegs and a marker. The side of the square is 70-90 cm, depending on the technical parameters.

In the places marked with a marker, make a hole-nest 6-8 cm deep, add fertilizer there and lay out the tuber. You can also lay out 2 potatoes at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other. Then the nest is covered with earth.

This planting allows the tractor and cultivator to pass along and across the field without damaging the plants.

You can use the square-cluster planting method on your own site and carry out the processing manually.

Its advantage is that less potatoes are required for planting, the bushes are evenly illuminated and do not interfere with each other. As a result, the yield is 10-15% higher than if planted in the usual way “under the shovel”.

And at the same time, moisture evaporates faster with this method and requires additional watering, especially in dry times. Plus we have to fight weeds and hill up.

Having examined the topic of how to plant potatoes so that there is a good harvest from all sides, what have we found out?

1. There is a time-tested method of planting “under the shovel”, which gives a sufficient harvest, but requires the allocation of certain areas.
2. There are unusual ways of planting potatoes that are convenient to use in small areas. However, gardeners do not have a clear opinion about the yield of these methods: some are satisfied with the harvest, others believe that “the game is not worth the candle.”

Choose the method that best meets your expectations and capabilities. If you liked the article, share it with your friends.

I wish you all good harvests!

The most popular vegetable, also called “second bread,” is potatoes. Therefore, at their summer cottage, almost everyone allocates at least a small bed for it. But not everyone knows how to plant potatoes to reap a good harvest.

Preparing for landing

The process of preparing for planting potatoes includes:

1. Prepare the place— it needs to be dug up and fertilized in the fall. The bed in which the vegetable will be grown must be well lit. Very small potatoes will grow in shade or partial shade.

Every year you have to choose new site for landing. It is ideal if cereals, legumes (peas, beans), radishes, and rapeseed were previously grown on it.

It is important to know when to plant potatoes in open ground. By this time, the earth should be warmed to a temperature of 10-15 degrees Celsius. Otherwise, the tubers will lie unsprouted in the cold for a long time, and may simply rot.

2. Select the necessary potatoes – do this after harvesting (in autumn). The dug up potatoes are sorted out, dried in the shade, and then the planting material is selected.

The tubers should be medium in size (about the size of a chicken egg or paintball). But some farmers plant very large potatoes. The important thing here is to know how to cut it for planting. To do this, the sprouted tuber is cut lengthwise into two halves, without touching the sprouts.

You can plant very small potatoes, like a quail egg. It should have nice, thick sprouts. They are placed in a hole several at a time.

Tubers for planting should be free of fungal infections, cuts and stains.

3. Proper germination– the quality of the harvest largely depends on this. As our ancestors did, and even now, farmers adhere to the rule - before planting, potatoes need to be sprouted, and you need to start 40 days before planting.

To do this, potatoes are brought in in a room with an air temperature of about +20 degrees. Seed potatoes are laid out in shallow boxes in one layer and immediately treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. As soon as the sprouts begin to appear (after 15-20 days), the room temperature should be lowered to +10 degrees.

To prepare potatoes for planting and speed up germination, you need to treat them with wood ash and minerals diluted in water.

The best potato varieties for planting

Depending on the climate and geographic location, you need to choose which potato variety is more suitable for growing.

Early ripening potatoes. His growing season is no more than 60 days. They are usually planted in mid-spring. The disadvantage of this variety is that it is poorly stored. Early ripening varieties include Red Scarlet, Rosara, Udacha.

Medium-early ripening varieties. Harvesting can begin in 60-70 days. This type includes Adretta, Gala, Karat, Nevsky.

Medium ripening potatoes. Ripening time is from 80 to 100 days. Harvesting occurs at the end of summer. Among the varieties are Tuleevsky, Lugovsky, Altair, Skarb.

Mid-late and late potato variety. The crop is harvested 120 days after planting. They are stored better than the previous ones, so they are grown for winter consumption. TO late varieties include - Kiwi, Zdabytok.

Processing potatoes before planting

To protect potatoes from, they need to be treated with prestige before planting. This drug is stored in tubers for up to 70 days, so early varieties Potatoes are not treated with it. Such drugs as Tabu and Cruiser are suitable for them. Their shelf life in the vegetable is 45 days.

Everyone who grows potatoes should know how to treat them before planting against late blight. One of the best drugs is Matador Grand. It has a triple effect, protecting potatoes from beetles, beetles, whiteflies, aphids and flea beetles. Including late blight, peronospora, alternaria and rhizoctonia.

Treating potatoes with boric acid before planting will help prevent the reproduction of the Colorado potato beetle. Have to take boric acid– 2 tbsp. spoons, 1 tbsp. spoon copper sulfate, potassium permanganate on the tip of a knife, stir it all in a bucket of water (10 liters). Then process the seed material and dry it.

Preparing the soil for planting potatoes

In order for the potato harvest to be good, you need to prepare the soil for planting in advance. Ideal soil for potatoes - well-drained, loose, with access of oxygen to the tubers.

The acidity of the soil for planting tubers should be at pH 5.5 – 7.5. Alkaline reactions of the soil will have a very negative impact on the development of potatoes. Also if the soil is too waterlogged for a long period of time, or too dense. Potatoes develop poorly in such conditions and are poorly stored; they quickly rot.

The designated bed must be thoroughly cleaned of roots and weeds, especially wheatgrass. With its roots it penetrates the potato tubers right through, preventing further growth.

In spring the soil is loosened. Do this with a pitchfork or a shovel, half bayonet size.

If the planting soil is too acidic, you should add wood ash or bone meal. TO alkaline soils add peat or mullein.

It is also necessary to enter the main ones. They will saturate the soil and attract worms, which will loosen it well.

Solonetzes, clay and peat soils need compost, rotted straw and sand. Sandy soil is improved with peat and rotted straw with the addition of mineral supplements. Mullein, sawdust and compost are added to the swamp-peat soil. Also potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

Sandy loam soils should be regularly diluted with compost and peat. And very often, in small quantities, feed with mineral fertilizer.

IN organic fertilizers loamy and medium loamy areas are needed. Fertilizers are applied only as needed.

The soil must be disinfected before planting. This can be done using chemicals– “Iprodione”, formaldehyde and lime. Use them strictly according to the instructions. And biological solutions - “Fitosporin”, “Gamaira”, “Trichodermina”, “Glyokladina”.

It is important to know that you cannot use several of these remedies at once.

After harvesting potatoes, agronomists recommend planting garlic or marigolds to renew the land.

Ways to properly grow

When the ground is warmed up and the sprouts begin to reach one or two centimeters in length, you can begin planting potatoes in open ground.

The optimal planting depth for potatoes is 10 cm. The distance between the bushes should be equal to the number of tubers planted in one hole. The more there are, the farther the bushes should be planted from each other. The distance between rows is no more than 1 meter.

It is necessary to fertilize the potatoes when planting, adding humus and wood ash to each planting hole. Then use the sharp end of a shovel to mix the bait with the soil. Afterwards, carefully lay the tuber, preferably with the sprouts facing up, and carefully sprinkle with soil without damaging them.

Already seven days after planting, the soil must be weeded. This will provide additional access to oxygen and clear the soil of weeds.

When the bushes grow to 15-20 centimeters in height, they need to be hilled. They do this in order to protect it from spring frosts and allow the bush to grow wider. After 15 days, repeat hilling.

Before the bushes begin to flower, it is necessary to feed the rhizomes. To do this, the potato bed is watered with a fermented infusion of weeds. You can use cow manure or bird droppings diluted in water.

Methods for planting potatoes

There are many ways to plant potatoes. Below are the main methods used by gardeners.

Planting potatoes under straw

This is a method of planting potatoes on unplowed land. Well-sprouted potatoes are laid out on virgin soil and covered with a thick layer (at least 20 cm) of straw. There is no need to do anything else until autumn. During harvesting, the stale straw is removed, and then the potatoes are collected.

Planting potatoes using Dutch technology

Potatoes are planted in a high continuous row, the width of which is at least 40 cm and the row spacing is 70 cm. Throughout the entire growing period, the potatoes must be constantly hilled, collecting soil from the row spacing.

Landing on ridges

This method of growing potatoes is suitable for clay soils. The ridges are made using a walk-behind tractor. Its height should not exceed 20 cm, and the width between rows should be 60-80 cm.

Growing potatoes in a barrel

A tuber planted in a barrel is sprinkled with earth as it grows. By the time of harvest, a whole pyramid of potatoes will grow in the barrel.

There is no need to be lazy and, having learned how to plant potatoes, work in a timely manner. Then throughout the autumn-spring season there will be potatoes from your own garden on the tables.

It would seem that all experienced and even novice gardeners know how to plant potatoes correctly. But every time you carry out this important process, you can learn a lot of new things for yourself. In order to get a high-quality and rich potato harvest, you should provide and take into account all the nuances - take care of the availability of good planting material, prepare the soil and planting site, and be sure to follow all the points of vegetable planting techniques.

So, we have already decided that any summer resident accumulates experience in planting potatoes with each successful harvest. The first important factor that directly influences the achievement of results is the choice good stuff for landing. Seeds should be prepared already when the autumn harvest takes place. It is recommended to take planting material from those bushes that have produced the maximum amount of harvest. In order to prepare planting material, it is recommended to select tubers whose size is about 4–5 cm, but larger potatoes can be selected for planting. As practice shows, if you plant potatoes from large tubers, they are able to ripen earlier and produce more root crops per season.

Some gardeners traditionally prefer to plant potatoes that must first be cut, or use sprouted eyes for this purpose. Experts say that if you cut a root vegetable, and then dry it in the sun and dust the cut area with ash, you can achieve a good effect. But in order to pre-cut potatoes and then dry them, the weather must be warm. If after planting the weather is cold and rainy, it may very well turn out that the potatoes that you decided to pre-cut in order to obtain planting material will simply rot. But experienced gardeners they still prefer to cut tubers, since most often when planting a crop they still germinate and give a good harvest. In any case, whether or not to cut the tubers before planting is up to you.

Tubers should be removed from storage in mid-March, dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate and placed in boxes for germination. They need to be kept at a temperature of 20 - 22 degrees, and after a couple of weeks moved to a colder place. Tubers need to be moistened, turned over and sprayed - with water, ash solution and mineral fertilizers, which alternate.

Video “Rational planting of potatoes”

Soil and site preparation

To plant potatoes, the soil also begins to be prepared in the fall. The tops remaining from the dug up root crops should be removed from the site. To prevent pests from overwintering in it, it is recommended to burn the tops. The soil must be dug up and plowed, the depth should be equal to the bayonet of a shovel. Large clods do not need to be crushed so that the earth can breathe. If the soil has not been fertilized for a long time, use the well-known cow dung- he’s humus. Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers have proven themselves well, and they need to be scattered around the area before digging it up. If the site is located in a low area, it is necessary to make drainage grooves so that water leaves the garden.

With the onset of spring, when the soil warms up well, the entire area should be dug up again. Only this time you should not neglect crushing clods of earth, as well as removing weed roots. Fertilizers located on the surface should be buried. After this, you need to level the soil so that it does not have time to dry out. There must be sand in the soil, then the root crop will grow and develop better. The beds should be placed in a north-south direction, and the seeds should not be lowered to a depth of more than 10 cm.
When to plant

Choosing potato varieties for your personal plot, pay attention to the timing of their planting and ripening. Some gardeners believe that planting vegetable crop should be as soon as possible, others insist on more later. Even experts are unable to give a specific planting date, since the recommended dates vary depending on the area. But even in the same region, planting potatoes can be different years not carried out on the same day - much depends on weather conditions.

Folk omens suggest gardeners to plant vegetables when buds appear and bloom on birch trees, and leaves on poplars. You can also use the “three tens” rule - according to it, in middle lane You can plant potatoes when the night temperature stays at 10 degrees for a couple of days, and the soil in the area at a depth of 10 cm will warm up to 10 degrees. Planting dates also depend on the potato variety - there are early ripening varieties(the harvest can be harvested after 50 - 65 days), mid-ripening (harvest should be expected in 80 - 95 days), late-ripening (you will be pleased with the harvest only after 110 or more days).
If you believe lunar calendar, landing can be planned during the third lunar phase, that is, within 3 to 5 days after the full moon.

Landing technique

At high level groundwater and in waterlogged areas, it is better to choose planting in ridges. Using a hoe or tractor, they make ridges approximately 15 cm high at a distance of 70 cm, into which the tubers are then planted. You can also plant potatoes in trenches - in areas with hot climates, on sandy and sandy loam soils. These are like ridges in reverse - they need to be deepened into the soil to protect them from drying out and overheating.

Unusual methods of planting potatoes include the straw technique - when the tubers are laid out on the plot and covered with straw, and as the tops grow, they are added to the rows and hilled up as in traditional planting; technique of planting in boxes on organic matter - they build container ridges in which tubers are placed in organic raw materials and planted; planting in barrels - fertile soil is placed in a container with drainage holes in a layer of approximately 15 - 20 cm, potatoes are laid and sprinkled with soil.

Video “Methods of planting potatoes”

From the video you will learn which methods are most common when planting potatoes, and which of them bring the most profitable results.

By general recognition, the second bread for Russians, which has firmly and permanently entered everyday life, is potatoes. This is the main crop that is grown in summer cottages. Despite the fact that the process uses a variety of tools for the garden and garden, which can often be seen in the hands of even non-professional gardeners, not everyone knows how to plant potatoes correctly.

Basic rules for successful landing

Potatoes, the seeds of which are used for planting, are harvested at the time of harvesting, in the fall. It is better to take material from those bushes that have given a rich harvest. You need to choose tubers without spots and problem areas, approximately 4-5 cm in size. However, you can take larger potatoes for planting, then the harvest will ripen earlier and be richer. Some gardeners plant cut potatoes or simply sprouted seeds. Interestingly, after briefly drying it in the sun and dusting the cut with ash, there is a high probability of obtaining a good harvest. It is extremely important that the weather be warm and humid during this planting process. If it is rainy and cold, the planting material will most likely rot and not sprout. It is best to plant seeds in the place where cabbage, broccoli, spinach, cucumbers or lettuce previously grew.

Proper preparation

Before properly planting potatoes, that is, in mid-March, the tubers need to be removed from storage and placed for germination. They must be washed in a solution of potassium permanganate, and then placed in boxes in one layer and kept at a constant temperature of +20-22 degrees, protected from direct sunlight. After 2-3 weeks, the boxes can be moved to a cooler room, where the temperature ranges from +10 to 14 degrees. In this case, the tubers need to be regularly turned over and moistened, sprayed every other day with solutions of ash and mineral fertilizers (alternate).

What to do if the earth has not yet warmed up

This situation often happens, because late spring does not give gardeners a real opportunity to prepare the soil. How to plant potatoes correctly in such conditions? At the dacha, you need to place the seeds in pre-prepared grooves and cover them with a good layer of sawdust or high-quality humus, or just soil. To be on the safe side, the entire structure can be covered with film. Then the tubers will be able to lie quietly for another 1-2 weeks, and 7-8 days after they are planted permanent place friendly first shoots will definitely appear.

How to achieve a rich harvest?

A common mistake gardeners make is planting potatoes in one place for many years in a row, but changing them is so important! There must be sand in the soil, then the vegetable will grow better. How to plant potatoes in beds correctly, and when? As soon as the leaves on the birch begin to bloom and the soil warms up to +9 degrees, the seeds are lowered to a depth of 10 cm. The beds should be located in the direction from north to south, and they should be planted in accordance with the planting pattern 80 x 35. The larger the seed material, the there should be landing less often. Potatoes, planting and caring for which will be successful, if you pay due attention to every moment of growth, will certainly please you with a good harvest. It needs to be hilled twice during the summer (5-7 days after planting and when the seedlings bloom). On hot summer days you need