Planting potatoes under a hat. Secrets of the potato bed. Preparation of planting material

Many gardeners use the “shovel” planting method to grow potatoes in their garden plots. This is the basic option for sowing tubers, since all the work can be done manually without using special equipment. What is the essence of this method, and how to plant potatoes correctly, we will find out further.

The essence of the method

If you need to plant tubers in small beds, many gardeners use the “shovel” planting method. This means that when planting potatoes in open ground, they are planted almost to the depth of a spade bayonet.

This planting method is often used on light and loose soils, where groundwater lies quite deep. After planting potatoes in this way, many gardeners create small earthen mounds around the stems of the plant, because the bulk of the productive stems are located deep in the ground, and there is no need to rake a lot of earth onto the plant.

Choosing a landing site

Before choosing this planting method, you need to make sure that the site is suitable for growing this vegetable crop:

• Nature of the soil. Chernozem soils are excellent because they will supply the plant with all the nutrients it needs. In addition, such soils have good water and air permeability. Potatoes can also be planted on clay and sandy soils. To improve the quality of clay soil, it is worth supplementing it with sand or peat, but sandy soil can be improved with peat.
• Soil reaction. If a buttercup or plantain grows from weeds in a garden bed, then the soil is acidic, and if there is a birch or sow thistle, it is neutral. Acidic soil needs to be turned into neutral, and for this it is enough to add chalk, ash or lime at a ratio of 1-2 kg per 1 sq. m. m. plot.
• Previous cultures. Potatoes should be planted in an area where crops such as sunflowers, beets, corn, cucumbers or pumpkins previously grew. If potatoes were previously growing on the site, then they do not need to be planted in this place for another 4-5 years. If this rule is violated, the potatoes will be susceptible to disease and may also be affected by wireworms.

In general, the area should be small, since this planting method is classified as labor-intensive. It is desirable that it is well illuminated by sunlight and is accessible for watering. In addition, it is recommended to choose a place near which groundwater does not accumulate, and there are no other reasons for stagnation.

How to prepare the soil?

To plant potatoes, you first need to prepare the ground, which can be done in two ways. In any case, preparations begin in the fall, since the potatoes are planted in the spring.

Continuous application of fertilizer

Gardeners scatter manure, bird droppings or compost over the garden bed, and then dig up the soil and loosen it with a rake. It is recommended to remove any weed roots found in the area.

To prepare excellent fertilizer for potatoes, you can use this method:

1. Remove all unnecessary mass from the garden in the form of various plant residues, weeds, roots and other plant components.
2. Place all this in a compost heap or pit - a specially designated place where the collected compost will rot.
3. Over time, it will become an excellent fertilizer.

There is another way to get organic fertilizer - to plant green manure crops on the plot in the fall, and in the spring, mow everything and manually bury it in the ground. Soon the crops will begin to rot, fertilizing the soil, so after 2 weeks you can plant the potatoes using a shovel.

If you are unable to prepare organic compost, you can use mineral fertilizers that are sold in stores.

Applying fertilizer in rows

If you need to dig up the soil and apply fertilizer at the same time, you can use this method:

1. Just dig up the area with a bayonet shovel, removing all the weed roots so that they do not germinate further, otherwise in the summer you will need to spend a lot of time weeding.
2. Apply fertilizer to the dug row, distributing everything evenly with a shovel so that there are no gaps.
3. When digging the next row, cover the first one with soil so that the fertilizer remains in the bed, and not on the surface, and nourishes the potatoes during their growth and germination.
4. In the spring, when digging the area, mix everything well again.

To ensure active growth of potatoes, you can use a mixture of fertilizers, for the preparation of which you mix 5 kg of manure and no more than 30 g of potassium phosphate.

Preparation of planting material

Potato yield depends entirely on which tubers are planted in the spring. So, you should purchase good varieties of plants, and then start processing the tubers, which is done in three stages:

1. in autumn. Sort through the planting material, removing tubers that are small or damaged. Then pour the potatoes in one layer and keep them in the light for 2-3 weeks, but not in direct sunlight. Soon the tubers will turn green and be disease resistant. It must be remembered that planting one hundred square meters will require from 500 to 700 tubers.
2. in spring. 1 month before planting, inspect the tubers and remove those that show signs of rotting or disease. Move good potatoes to a cool, damp place where the sun's rays penetrate. If the room humidity is low, the tubers should be sprayed moderately with water. They can be kept outside if the air temperature is not lower than 10 degrees.
3. Just before landing. Potatoes can be kept in a solution of potassium permanganate or boric acid for 20 minutes, which will make them more resistant to pests. To stimulate plant growth, tubers can be sprayed with biostimulants.

Popular methods of pre-sowing processing of potatoes can be found in the table:

Processing method	Benefit	Features of the technology
Gibberellin or Heteroauxin	Increases yield by 65 kg per hundred square meters.	A few days before planting, spray the tubers with a solution of the drug in a ratio of 7 mg per 1 liter of water.
Ferric chloride	Protects the crop from scab, which reduces the marketability of potatoes and shortens their shelf life.	Spray the potatoes with a weak solution of ferric chloride 2-3 days before planting.
Succinic acid	Helps nutrients remain in root vegetables, which improves their biochemical composition and taste.	A few hours before planting, treat the tubers with a 1% solution of succinic acid.
Wood ash	Increases the level of starchiness and nourishes the plant.	Treat the tubers before planting by dusting them with ash at a ratio of 1 kg of ash per 50 kg of potatoes.
Microelements	Nourishes potatoes with useful elements.	A few hours before planting, sprinkle the tubers with a solution of macroelements containing boron, manganese, copper in a ratio of 0.5 tsp. half a bucket of water solution.

Before planting, large tubers can be cut, but in any case they should have strong and not too long sprouts that will not break off during planting.

Time and methods of planting

As a rule, potatoes are planted in the ground in mid-April. Depending on whether it is early or late spring, planting time may shift to the beginning or end of the month. In this case, you need to be guided by the air temperature at night - it should be more than 10 degrees.

Potatoes can be planted in three ways:

• Square-nested. The bed is “divided” into squares, in the center of each of which a hole (nest) is made for a potato bush. The distance between the holes is from 50 to 70 cm.
• Chess. The holes are arranged like a honeycomb, that is, each next row must be started with a shift of half the distance between the bushes.
• Two-line (according to Mittlider). Two rows (lines) are dug, and close to each other. Holes are made in each row at a distance of about 30 cm. Between every two lines you can create a gap of up to 1 m for passage. The holes of two joint rows must be placed in a checkerboard pattern, as in the previous diagram.

Square-nest method of planting potatoes

Chess method of planting potatoes

Two-line method of planting potatoes according to Mittlider

The bed should be located from south to north in order to achieve maximum illumination of the potatoes, because this way they will warm up and develop faster.

Regardless of the chosen scheme, potatoes should be planted under a shovel according to the following instructions:

1. Drive pegs into the ground and stretch a rope or cord between them to dig even rows.
2. It is advisable that at least two people do the planting: one should dig a hole, and the second should plant the potatoes. The optimal depth of the hole is 10-15 cm. Initially, you need to pour a handful of humus into it, and only then lay out the tuber with sprouts. Some gardeners resort to this trick - they throw in the seeds of bush beans along with the potatoes, since this can not only enrich the soil, but also increase the productivity of the plant. When working with potatoes, you need to be careful not to damage the sprouts.
3. Use the earth dug for the holes of the next row to bury the holes of the previous one. If there is a third assistant, he can level the ground with a rake after planting, which will reduce moisture loss.

In general, it is worth maintaining at least 50 cm between rows, and from 20 to 30 cm between holes, in order to provide each plant with an optimal feeding area. Of course, the distance between rows and holes can be adjusted according to the potato variety and soil fertility.

If there are large tubers, deeper holes can be prepared for them, and the optimal distance between them is from 25 to 35 cm.

Potato care

To reap a good harvest, you need to take proper care of the plant, from watering to fertilizing.

Watering

Water the plant during the growing season:

1. When the first shoots appear. As a rule, this happens a week after planting. Before this, watering is not required, since the tubers have enough moisture contained in the soil.
2. At the budding stage.
3. After flowering.

Potatoes are watered quite rarely: once a week, and in dry times - 2 times. If sufficient rainfall occurs, watering can be canceled. It is completely interrupted 2 weeks before harvest.

Under no circumstances should the plant be allowed to overwater, as the soil should remain slightly moist and loose.

Loosening

10 days after planting the potatoes, the first loosening should be carried out, since it allows you to remove excess moisture and prevent rotting of the tubers. It is important to remove weeds along with their roots, as they thicken the soil, making it breathable and susceptible to infectious diseases. In addition, weeds prevent the full development of potatoes. Loosening should be done regularly.

Hilling

During the season, it is necessary to carry out 1-2 hillings, since this provides normal conditions for the formation of tubers - it helps to get rid of the earthen crust, saturates the soil with air, allowing the plant to “breathe”, and protects it from frost.

The first hilling is carried out after the potato tops have grown to a height of 10 cm, and the second - a week later, when the height of the tops is about 40 cm. For manual hilling, you need to use a hoe with a long handle, a hoe or a ripper. When hilling, you just need to lift the soil from the bottom up to the potato sprouts, gradually forming grooves.

Fertilizer

During the entire period of plant maturation, it is enough to apply 2 fertilizing according to the following scheme:

1. For the first time - a month after planting.
2. The second time, as soon as the potatoes bloom, the dose of fertilizer should be doubled.

Before applying fertilizer, you need to water the potatoes so that the root system is not burned by chemicals. Of course, it is worth using natural fertilizers, as they allow you to obtain environmentally friendly vegetable products. So, humus and wood ash are perfect for fertilizing. It must be remembered that an excessive amount of fertilizer can lead to excessive growth of the tops, which can damage the tubers.

I want to share some techniques for growing the “second bread” - potatoes. Over the years, I have become convinced that even on our Kursk black soils, many manage to obtain meager yields of this crop. Our soil is heavy (loamy black soil). Sandy loamy chernozems are desirable for growing root crops, so in the first year we added sand to the plot. The result was not long in coming - the potatoes grew more even, larger and as if “washed”.

On my plot of 30 acres, I allocate 5-6 acres for potatoes every year. I grow only the most delicious and productive varieties. From the early ones I really like Latona, from the middle early ones - Sante, Symphony (all are “Dutch”). And this year I will try another variety - Rosara. All varieties with yellow flesh are well stored in winter.

Three weeks before planting, I lift the seed tubers from storage and make sure to wash them off the ground under lukewarm running water. This is done in order to reject tubers affected by rhizoctonia (false potato cancer).

Then all planting material must be treated in a solution containing 1 tbsp per 10 liters of water. a spoonful of copper sulfate, potassium permanganate until very pink and 1 teaspoon of boric acid. This technique is necessary to disinfect tubers from diseases and pests during the germination period. And boric acid is a good growth stimulator.

Next, I lay out the seed material for vernalization in the room on the floor. If the air in the room is dry, then you need to periodically lightly moisten the tubers using a spray bottle. The temperature during germination should not be more than 17-20°C. After 1.5 weeks, I place early potatoes of the Latona variety in boxes with moistened rotted sawdust for germination. To do this, I take boxes no more than 10 cm high, line them with film, add a 2-3 cm layer of sawdust and moisten them with water to which potassium permanganate has been added. Then I lay out the seed tubers in a “bridge” way, that is, next to each other. I fill the top with sawdust and, lightly sprinkling it with water and potassium permanganate, put the boxes in a warm place. After some time, the tubers begin to sprout. They must be periodically moistened with water and potassium permanganate, preventing the sawdust from drying out. By the end of vernalization and by the time of planting, early potato tubers have sprouts of 2.5-3 cm and the same roots. The remaining tubers, intended for the main harvest, have strong sprouts with root rudiments.

You need to plant potatoes when the earth warms up and the birch leaf becomes “a pretty penny.” But in recent years, returning spring frosts often damage potato seedlings, so I sometimes delay planting by 5-6 days.

Before planting, I “paint” the uncultivated and leveled area with a marker with a tooth distance of 40 cm, then I mark future paired furrows, placing them across two full furrows of the marker. The direction of the furrows is strictly from north to south. In our latitudes, the sun walks on the south side. With this arrangement of furrows, it will illuminate and warm the eastern side of the row until noon, and the western side in the afternoon. In this case, the potatoes will always be light and warm, even in cloudy weather.

Paired furrows are good because they require 2 times less labor to process them. In this case, each row in the furrow is processed on only one side.

I pull the furrows with a hoe or walk-behind tractor to a depth of 5-8 cm. I lay out the potatoes in the furrows in a checkerboard pattern and cover them with soil taken from between the rows. I fill each row only on one side. With this method of planting, early potatoes sprout in 5-6 days, the rest - in 10-12 days. As soon as the sprouted rows are fully identified, I treat them with a solution of copper sulfate and potassium permanganate, trying to get on the underside of the leaves. Then I hill up the paired furrows head-on, raking up soil from the row-spacings. I treat with the solution and hill up 2 times, each time covering the plants completely. At the same time, weeds are destroyed and not damaged, but, on the contrary, roots and stolons grow to form a full-fledged harvest. By the time of flowering and tuber formation, potato ridges look like an inverted basin with a wide bottom. This form of comb “catches” the sun, moisture and draft well.

A special word must be said about potato flowers. During mass flowering, before treatment against the Colorado potato beetle, I completely cut off the inflorescences. The plant spends most of its energy and nutrition on the formation of flowers and fruits, i.e. seeds. If you pick the flowers, the food and energy will be used to form tubers. For the same purpose, I carry out senication, i.e., treating potato bushes with a solution of superphosphate prepared at the rate of: 2 kg of superphosphate per 10 liters of water. The fertilizer must be stirred well (for 2 hours), allowed to settle, filtered and treated with bushes during mass flowering. At the same time, nutrients from the leaves intensively descend to the roots and tubers. In addition, superphosphate has a positive effect on the formation of eyes in young tubers, increases the starchiness of tubers and improves their winter storage.

2 weeks before harvesting, i.e. in early August, I cut the tops to 2/3 of the height. At the same time, the ridges dry out well, and the tubers begin to ripen, their skin becomes coarser.

I always clean during the waning moon. We dig the potatoes by hand using a wide fork. At the same time, when choosing potatoes from the ground, we place each nest separately, without pouring them into a common pile on the site. I do this in order to select healthy, clean tubers for seeds. I select only from productive and clean nests. After selecting the seed tubers, I collect all the rest. There are almost no patients.

I place the seed tubers in the shade for landscaping. I put the rest under a canopy, cover them with a light dark blanket and leave them for 2 weeks so that they can show themselves. After two weeks, I sort them and put them in a pit for winter storage. After gardening, I put the seed tubers for winter storage in a hole in wooden boxes. And in the spring everything starts all over again. In winter I don’t sort through the potatoes, because this is not required. A two-week check gives good detection of diseases and the potatoes lay perfectly.

There are a few more little secrets that give a big increase in yield and resistance to pests. If the planting tubers are large, or there are few of them and there is a need to divide them, then I advise you to cut the tubers 2-3 days before planting, otherwise the segments wither and lose moisture.

If you need to obtain medium-sized seed tubers in large quantities, then I advise you to draw a closed circular furrow on each tuber with a knife 1-2 mm deep, dividing the tuber crosswise. At the same time, all the eyes wake up. The result is more stems and smaller tubers.

In order to get two potato crops, you need to harvest the first, early harvest on a cloudy day, and after picking the tubers, plant the bush a second time, pouring 2 liters of water into the hole. At the same time, by the time the main harvest of early potatoes is harvested, the second crop has time to ripen.

After 5-7 years, it becomes necessary to change the seeds to improve their health. To do this, I leave a few flowers on the potato bushes, and in the fall I pick the berries with seeds. Tubers grown from these seeds will be elite planting material. I don’t add manure for plowing in the fall, but sow the entire potato plot with rye after harvesting. In late autumn we plow the field. Rye cleans the soil from pests, and when it rots, it provides food for the next harvest.

At the beginning of May, earlier in the southern regions, vegetable growers everywhere are busy planting potatoes. They try to carry out this procedure in such a way as to save space on the site for other crops and get a decent harvest of tubers. To achieve these goals, there are many ways to plant potatoes: under a walk-behind tractor, under straw and hay, in ridges and other interesting options, which we will discuss in this article.

Preparation for planting work

Potatoes in Russia are grown in any soil composition, but it is better to plant them on light, pre-fertilized, water- and breathable soils. If the area is clayey, it is recommended to add sand during digging. It is recommended to fertilize the area allocated for potatoes in advance. It is necessary to add manure and potassium sulfate for the main treatment (autumn digging).

Predecessor selection

Having figured out what to fertilize the soil with, you need to choose the right predecessor. You cannot plant potatoes in one place for several years in a row. Bad predecessors for it are representatives of the Solanaceae family, to which potatoes belong. This is explained by the fact that various pathogens and pests of this family overwinter in the soil and in early spring will immediately attack young potato sprouts.

The optimal predecessors for potatoes are:

• virgin soil;
• legumes;
• rye;
• rape;
• mustard;
• cucumbers;
• carrot;
• beets.

Important! It is highly undesirable to place potatoes after cabbage.

Soil preparation

Planting begins when the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to +7 degrees. If the soil temperature is 2 degrees below optimal values, you can plant early varieties with sprouted tubers. Preparing the soil for planting potato seeds presupposes its technological ripeness. She must be:

• loose,
• have low density,
• air- and water-permeable.

The planting date in the central zone and Moscow region is the first ten days of May. In other areas, dates may vary depending on the weather. More fertile areas are planted earlier. At an earlier date, potatoes are planted in elevated areas and southern slopes.

Planting consists of the following stages:

1. soil treatment depending on the planting method;
2. preparation of potato tubers (processing) before planting, including selection of the required size of tubers, germination and treatment against late blight;
3. direct planting work.

Tuber preparation, germination

Tubers must be properly prepared before planting. You need to know how to choose tubers. First of all, this means careful selection of tubers for:

• size,
• cleanliness,
• health.

Preparing potato tubers involves sprouting them. This technique is not mandatory, but it speeds up the ripening time of potatoes after planting.

Germination takes about 3 weeks in a bright place, at a temperature of 13-15 degrees above zero. Tuber processing is also carried out there.

How to treat tubers before planting? They are treated with fertilizer solutions and growth stimulants. Sometimes preventive treatment of potatoes against late blight is carried out before planting.

How long potatoes grow from planting to harvest depends on many factors:

• from variety,
• depends on how well the potato seeds and soil are prepared,
• potato care.

Traditional and new planting methods

Over the long period of potato cultivation, various options for planting this crop were invented and put into practice, and various devices for planting were made.

Of the old, but still used methods, it should be noted:

• square nest method,
• planting before winter,
• into the ridges,
• into the combs by hand.

Over time, new technologies for planting seed potatoes began to be used. The most popular were:

• under the walk-behind tractor,
• into the straw
• Dutch method.

Numerous methods are based on principles aimed at providing tubers with optimal conditions:

• providing heat;
• sufficient soil aeration;
• ensuring irrigation regime;
• feeding system;
• protection from pests and diseases.

Under the shovel

This ancient method has been used since time immemorial. Summer residents are captivated by its simplicity and reliability, which is why modern gardeners use this method.

The scheme for planting potatoes under a shovel is as follows:

1. In a pre-dug area, holes 5-10 cm deep are made every 0.3 m.
2. Place one potato tuber in each hole. Before planting, the tubers should be warmed in the sun so that sprouts form.
3. When planting, potato fertilizer - humus or compost - is placed in the hole. If there is no organic matter, you can use nitroammophoska.
4. Fill up the hole. The distance between rows when planting should be 70 cm.
5. At the end of the procedure, you need to level the area planted with potatoes using a rake.

Into the ridges

Many amateur vegetable growers have adopted this planting option, since they can get a good harvest of tubers, even on depleted soils, with minimal effort. With this method, there is no need for loosening and hilling of plantings.

The width of the beds is arranged in different ways, most often leaning towards narrow beds. Work progress:

1. the area where the ridges will be formed must be cleared of weeds;
2. level the surface of the earth;
3. mark the location of the beds.

In the southern regions, 2 potato crops are harvested on narrow ridges per season.

The size of the beds is accepted as follows:

• width – 45 cm;
• the length is arbitrary, which will allow you to place 2 rows of plants on the ridge;
• between the ridges you need to leave paths 80-90 cm wide for crop care.

In the trench

This method is suitable for sandy soils that dry out quickly after being moistened. The following work needs to be done:

1. In autumn, trenches are dug on the site to a depth of 30 cm, the distance between the trenches is 80-100 cm.
2. A ten-centimeter layer of wet hay is placed in each trench and sprinkled with manure on top.
3. Add a little ash, urea, and onion peels to repel wireworms.
4. During the winter, this entire composition will begin to rot, compact and settle. In spring, the thickness of the compost layer will be no more than 5 cm.
5. It is planned to plant potatoes in May. The tubers are laid out in trenches with a distance of 30 cm between them and sprinkled with earth.

Advantages of this option:

• heat is released from the rotting compost, the tubers sprout faster, and the seedlings can withstand light frosts;
• Less watering is required because compost retains moisture;
• There is a lot of food in the trenches, no feeding is required;
• The method gives high yield.

Obvious disadvantages of the method:

• in excessively damp soil, tubers can rot;
• the expenditure of time and effort on digging trenches and cutting hay.

Attention! If for some reason it was not possible to dig trenches in the fall, this can be done in the spring. But then you need to lay a 5 cm layer of rotted compost.

Into the ridges

Ridge planting deserves great attention. The so-called Dutch method has become widespread. The essence of the technology is as follows:

• tubers are planted in raised beds;
• the rows are arranged in the orientation: north - south;
• the planting step is taken from 30 cm, 70 cm is maintained between rows;
• on high ridges they dig holes and put in them fertilizers for potatoes - 3 kg of humus and a handful of ash;
• cover the tubers with soil on both sides, forming ridges.

Important! With this planting option, high yields are achieved and potato rows are easy to care for.

Deep landing - the American way

A scientist from the USA, Mittlider, has developed an innovative method of deep planting potatoes, which makes it possible to increase the yield of tubers by almost 2 times. In this option, the seeds are planted at a lower planting density, and the yield will certainly increase.

Planting potatoes using the Mittlider method goes like this:

1. beds 40 cm wide are formed;
2. the distance between them is 90 cm;
3. mark the area, dig up the ridges without affecting the row spacing;
4. plant sprouted tubers in the garden bed in a checkerboard pattern in 2 rows to a depth of 10-12 cm;
5. maintain an interval in the row between tubers of 35 cm;
6. In the holes, along with the tuber, put a little compost, ash, onion peels and bird droppings;
7. fill the hole with earth;
8. earthen sides are made along the edges of the ridge.

Advantages of the method:

• plantings do not require hilling;
• almost no weeding required;
• excellent yield.

Important! This method requires a lot of labor and time.

In bags, barrels, boxes, tires

Planting potatoes in barrels, bags or boxes is less common than traditional methods, but it has its adherents.

In bags

Potato growers like this method for its mobility and space saving. If the need suddenly arises, the bags can be relocated to a more optimal location at any time. From each hundred square meters it is possible to collect 100% more tubers.

The bags should be small in size, made of strong, breathable fabric. The edges of the bags are wrapped and filled with a 20 cm layer of soil mixture. Then 4-5 potatoes are placed on the surface of the soil and covered with a 20 cm layer of soil.

The bags are placed in a lighted place. During the growing season, you only need to water the crop and periodically add soil to the bag.

Important! Early ripening potato varieties are well suited for this technology.

In barrels or tires according to Gülich

With this method, a multi-tiered potato bush is grown in a high barrel without a bottom, adding soil to it from time to time. The barrel can be metal or plastic. If there are no barrels, you can stack several car tires vertically. The walls of the barrel are perforated to improve air access to the roots and remove excess moisture.

The container is placed in a vertical position. Pour a mixture of compost and soil and lay out 3-5 tubers in a circle. The tubers are covered with a layer of soil. When the seedlings reach a height of 3 cm, they are sprinkled again and such actions are repeated several times. Caring for such plantings is greatly simplified; it is enough to water and feed the potatoes during the growing season.

Attention! Some gardeners are not limited to planting one layer of tubers. As the soil is added, to increase the yield, lay out a couple more layers of potatoes.

In boxes

Instead of barrels, tall boxes can be used for planting tubers. They use it to knock out the bottom before laying the soil mixture. The technology for growing potatoes in boxes is identical to that intended for barrels.

Chinese way

When planting Chinese potato tubers, you can get a bumper harvest of tubers in the fall. The increase in yield using the Chinese method is ensured by an unusual technology for preparing tubers for planting and preparatory work on the site.

The fact is that the Chinese use fairly large seed material. If in our country a large tuber is cut in half, then the Chinese make a cut in it and in the end they get two halves of the tuber, held together by the core. The tuber has a waist, thanks to which the maximum number of buds appears on both halves of the tuber.

The landing process proceeds as follows:

1. We dig a trench 50 cm deep.
2. In the trench we make recesses 70 cm wide and long, the depth of the hole is 40 cm. The holes are spaced every 25 cm.
3. The following is poured into each hole:
   • 1 tbsp. l. ash;
   • 1 cup of fertile soil;
   • 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate.
4. Lightly loosen the mixture and put in 2 tubers with sprouted eyes. Sprinkle with soil to form a mound.
5. The result is a trench in which there are tubercles. Finally, you need to mulch the area with straw, which will retain moisture.

Original methods

Unlike the usual methods of growing potatoes, original methods are used.

No digging

Experiments conducted by amateur vegetable growers show that potatoes can be planted in a plot without digging and get good yields.

To do this, make markings on a flat area and determine how the potato beds will be located. At the same time, they do not pay attention to weeds. To make it easy to care for the plantings during the growing season, two-row planting is used, where the distance between the beds is 70 cm, between the rows in the tape - 50 cm, between the bushes in the row - 40 cm.

Holes 10 cm deep are dug carefully without destroying the soil structure. A little mulch is placed in the recesses, a tuber is placed on it, with the sprouts facing up. Then pour a little water into the hole and bury it without forming a mound.

At the end of the work, the plantings are mulched with straw. The mulch layer needs to be increased during the growing season, since the mulch rots and settles.

Into the grass

For this method you will need a shovel, a piece of land and grass. The following varieties grow and bear fruit well under the grass layer:

• Red Scarlet;
• Karatop;
• Zhukovsky.

If you are developing a new weedy area, it is wise to get the first harvest by planting it with potatoes. The method does not require preliminary preparation, the sequence of actions is as follows:

1. at the zenith of May on the virgin lands they mark where the beds will be located;
2. from south to north, with an interval of 40 cm, stretch two lines of twine - these will be 2 lines of one bed;
3. Along the rows, every 30 cm, holes are made with a shovel 5 cm deep;
4. one tuber is placed in the hole;
5. then add 40 g of compost and 1 tsp. ash;
6. The bed is covered with pre-harvested fresh grass.

Important! The grass layer is 20 cm. During cultivation, they constantly ensure that the thickness of the mulch is this. To do this, you will have to add mulch to the beds several times.

For hay or straw

Of the original methods, the option of planting potatoes under hay (straw) has found the most widespread use. Seed tubers are laid out in rows according to the accepted pattern, directly on the grass, without any preliminary soil preparation.

Then the tubers are covered with a layer of straw or hay. During the growing season, the covering layer will begin to rot, decompose, and decrease in volume. You will need to add a little hay or straw to the area. In the summer, you need to water the potatoes.

Advantages of the method:

• ease of execution;
• high productivity;
• large size of tubers;
• the harvest is easy to harvest;
• there will be no stuck dirt on the tubers.

Disadvantages of the method:

• Hay does not retain moisture well; you will need to increase the number of waterings;
• Mice can live in the straw, and part of the harvest will be spoiled.

Into the sawdust

Planting in sawdust is identical to planting seed potatoes under hay (straw). Only, instead of hay or straw, sawdust is used. Fresh sawdust is unacceptable for this technology. As they decompose, they absorb nitrogen from the soil. Potato plants that find themselves on a starvation diet will die.

Sawdust must first be prepared by composting. They are laid in layers for several months, each layer is soaked in a urea solution. If this work begins in the fall, the sawdust will be ready for planting next spring.

How many days does it take for potatoes to sprout after planting? This largely depends on the temperature:

• at +10 degrees, seedlings should be expected after 25 days;
• at +20 degrees it will take 2 weeks;
• From a sprouted tuber, shoots can be obtained after 1 week.

Under cardboard

1. In the spring, after the snow melts and the ground warms up, they begin to prepare the site.
2. It is covered with cardboard without doing any other preliminary work. If the soil is not sufficiently moistened, it should be watered before laying the cardboard.
3. An X-shaped cut is made in the cardboard every 30 cm and the sprouted tuber is placed in them. The edges of the cardboard close over the tuber. The seed tuber remains under the cardboard, where it takes root and sprouts.
4. As the shoots grow, it is necessary to mulch the potatoes 3-4 times with a twelve-centimeter layer of straw. To prevent the wind from carrying away the straw, it is covered with lutrasil on top.
5. In rainy summers, such potatoes require minimal watering.

Harvesting tubers grown using this method is as easy as possible. To do this you will need:

1. collect tops and straw;
2. remove cardboard from the ground;
3. collect potato tubers from the surface of the ground.

Advantages of this method:

• there is no need for weeding,
• the amount of watering is sharply reduced,
• The tuber yield is quite decent.

Walk-behind tractor cascade

When planting with a Cascade walk-behind tractor with a hiller, you must first prepare the soil on the site. Using a milling cutter or plow, the soil is plowed to a depth of 14-15 cm. Then, manually or using special attachments for the walk-behind tractor, they loosen and level the soil on the site.

The walk-behind tractor with hiller consists of the following components:

• bunker;
• conveyor;
• furrowmaker;
• distributor;
• hiller.

The landing process occurs according to the following scenario:

1. Metal wheels are installed on the walk-behind tractor - they will cut furrows.
2. Pre-prepared seed potatoes are poured into the hopper. Before planting, you should select seed tubers by size and it would be a good idea to treat the potatoes with a fungicide against fungal diseases.
3. During operation, the tubers are moved from the bunker to depressions in the ground using a conveyor and distributor. The walk-behind tractor should be driven exactly in a straight line, otherwise it will be difficult to perform inter-row processing later.
4. When the distribution of seed tubers along the furrows is completed, you need to fill these furrows with earth. To do this, metal wheels are replaced with rubber ones to prevent damage to the tubers lying in the furrow. Then, using a walk-behind tractor with a hiller, they go through the rows again. The hiller fills the furrows with earth.

Important! Planting with a walk-behind tractor is accessible to every gardener; the unit is inexpensive.

Growing in a greenhouse

This technique involves a significant amount of preparatory work, which should begin in the fall. It is necessary to carefully prepare planting material, bring in humus, peat, compost and ash. The greenhouse needs to be heated and the temperature controlled.

The essence of the work:

1. remove the soil layer (30 cm) from the greenhouse;
2. lay a layer of peat (10 cm) on the ground;
3. Fertile soil is placed on peat in a 20 cm layer, with the addition of ash and humus;
4. turn on the heating;
5. after 4 days, the soil in the greenhouse warms up and is ready for planting;
6. plant with sprouted tubers according to a 65 by 25 cm pattern;
7. the planting depth of potato tubers should be 8-10 cm;
8. maintain air temperature at +22 degrees;
9. when sprouts appear, the temperature is lowered to +18 degrees;
10. Irrigate with water at the same temperature at the rate of 1.5 liters per bush, preventing the soil from drying out;
11. over time, the watering rate is increased to 10 liters per bush;
12. care consists of maintaining a temperature of +22 degrees and carrying out loosening and weeding.

How to properly sprout potatoes? It is germinated in boxes at a temperature of +24 degrees. When eyes appear on the tubers, the boxes are transferred to a bright room with a lower temperature and kept there until the skin of the tubers turns green. Green potatoes with sprouted eyes are used for planting.

Planting under film, agrofibre

This method is chosen by vegetable growers seeking to grow an early harvest. Potato tubers are planted under film. Having completed planting, the soil surface is leveled with a rake and covered with film. The edges of the film are secured.

The soil under the film warms up faster, moisture is retained, and the seedlings are reliably protected from frost. However, this method has disadvantages:

• the film does not allow air to pass through;
• plants may overheat;
• it is necessary to constantly monitor the temperature under the film;
• It is necessary to regularly ventilate the plantings.

Gardeners often use modern covering material - agrofibre - white and black. Unlike polyethylene film, spunbond is breathable. White agrofibre is used in a similar way to film.

Black spunbond is used differently:

1. it is spread out on a flat piece of land;
2. secure the edges;
3. According to the planting scheme, markings are made on the agrofibre;
4. cross-shaped cuts are made in the places where the tubers should be placed;
5. Seed tubers are placed in the cuts.

Important! Black agrofibre prevents the germination of weed seeds, does not interfere with the passage of moisture during watering, and the penetration of air.

As we see, modern vegetable growers widely practice old-fashioned, time-tested methods of planting potatoes and the latest technological developments, the existence of which they did not know before. It is claimed that the use of innovative methods shortens the ripening period of tubers and gives unprecedented yields. To confirm or refute such judgments, it is necessary to place potato plantings where the new method is used next to traditional plantings. With the arrival of autumn, it will be possible to compare the harvests from both sites and draw appropriate conclusions.

Potatoes are the most valuable food product. Almost every garden owner grows vegetables, using various methods of planting root crops. Potatoes have been planted under a shovel for many years. The planting method is quite labor-intensive, but as a result the gardener receives a hefty harvest. Information on how to plant potatoes under a shovel can be found below.

Planting root crops under a shovel is considered a common method. Almost every summer resident plants crops in this way.

Sprouted potatoes are laid out in pre-prepared holes. It is very important to pay attention to the location of the sprouts. They should be facing up. Using a shovel, the holes are dug in. The soil surface is leveled with a rake.

Maximally leveled furrows make it possible to facilitate the further maintenance process associated with hilling and harvesting. The distance between the holes should be within 20-25 cm. The distance between the rows can reach 45-60 cm.

The main advantage of the method of planting vegetables is considered to be reliability and proven effectiveness for decades. However, the method has many more disadvantages:

• a large amount of time spent by the gardener preparing the soil and planting tubers;
• if the bushes are planted too densely, difficulties arise associated with eliminating the main pest of the potato field - the Colorado potato beetle;
• increasing the risk of damage to the root system of bushes when hilling.

Note! Before you start planting, it is important to familiarize yourself with the information on how to plant potatoes under a shovel correctly.

How to choose a landing site

The first step is to select an area that is ideal for planting vegetables. It is worth giving preference to areas located on the south side. The soil should be slightly acidic and moisture permeable.

If the soil is acidic, experienced agronomists advise liming. For this purpose, a small amount of chalk, lime and ash is added to the site.

Important! In order to check the reaction of the soil, it is enough to pay attention to what kind of weed grows on the site.

With an abundance of birch and thistle, we can talk about the neutrality of the soil, but a large amount of buttercup or plantain indicates an acidic soil. It is worth considering that only black soil can nourish potatoes with the necessary amount of nutrients.

Soil preparation

Soil preparation is an important stage that should not be ignored. At the end of October the fields are plowed. Organic fertilizer is applied to the soil according to the following type:

• manure;
• bird droppings;
• humus;
• ash;
• compost.

During the spring months, the gardener should till the soil shallowly using a cultivator. Mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil in two ways:

• continuous method;
• in rows (directly into the hole/ridge).

Preparation of planting material

To plant vegetables, you should use good quality root crops. It is also important to pay attention to the variety and yield level.

Root vegetables should be prepared in two stages:

1. During the autumn period. Small and damaged potatoes should be discarded at this stage. On days 14-21, selected planting material is taken out into the air to dry. However, you should avoid exposing the tubers to direct sunlight.
2. During the spring months. A couple of weeks before planting root crops, tubers are checked for diseases and pests. Planting material is taken out in the spring for 5-7 days in a cool and damp room, the door of which is best opened.

Note! Before you start germinating potatoes, each tuber must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, which helps to increase resistance to diseases and accelerate plant growth.

Immediately before the day of planting the tubers, the planting material must be treated with one of the complex preparations:

• Prestige;
• Celeste Top;
• Maksim.

Methods of planting under a shovel

How to plant potatoes under a shovel? Planting work can be carried out during the period when the threat of night frosts has passed.

As a rule, it is ideal to plant potatoes around the 20th of April. It is worth considering that planting tubers too late will negatively affect crop yields, but soil that is not sufficiently heated will completely destroy the planted root crops.

The area selected for planting is dug up with a sharp shovel. In order for the beds to be level, it is recommended to drive pegs into the ground and pull the rope.

For reference! Each dug hole should be buried 10-12 cm.

Among the main methods of forming beds, it is worth highlighting:

• Honeycombs in which the holes in the open ground should be arranged in a checkerboard pattern. Each subsequent row should move one bush to the side.
• Squares. The landing zone is divided into cells. A hole is dug inside each cell.
• A two-line scheme in which the planting area is divided into long beds. The holes must be staggered. Double rows should have a common ditch into which fertilizer and water can be applied. The width of the passage reaches 90-100 cm. It is quite easy to maintain order in the beds located in this way.

Note! The shovel for planting potatoes must be sharp.

How to care after planting

After planting, the area is systematically watered abundantly. Weeds are removed in a timely manner, and the soil is loosened in order to eliminate excess moisture and prevent rotting of the tubers. Weeds contribute to thickening of the soil, which causes various diseases.

Note! During periods of prolonged rains, it is better to avoid moistening the soil. As practice can show, waterlogging often causes tubers to rot.

Hilling and fertilizing are carried out every 4 weeks. With the onset of flowering, the bushes need more frequent application of fertilizers. Before you start applying the drug to the soil, you should water it abundantly, which will avoid burns to the root system by chemical agents.

Harvesting

Picture 5 High-yielding method of planting

Harvesting activities are carried out in dry weather. 10 days before digging up potatoes, the tops are cut off, which allows the root crops to accelerate ripening and the skin to become stronger.

Using a sharp shovel, holes are dug and the soil is turned over. The tubers are collected in buckets. The harvest dug up in this way can be stored for about 30 weeks.

By controlling the process of crop rotation and observing agricultural techniques for growing crops, you can grow healthy vegetable bushes, which will subsequently delight the owner of the plot with a hefty harvest.

Potatoes can be planted under straw, in the ground under a shovel, under film, in bags and in other ways. The traditional and simplest method is to plant in holes made with a shovel. Before planting potatoes under a shovel, you need to properly prepare the soil and planting material.

Preparation of planting material

Recommendations on how to plant potatoes correctly are not limited directly to the principles of planting. The preparation of tubers and soil is carried out long before the start of the season: the first stage of work occurs in the fall, and the second in the spring, several weeks before planting.

How to prepare tubers for planting:

1. Procurement of planting material begins in autumn. Potatoes need to be carefully sorted, discarding spoiled, damaged and too small tubers. To increase the germination of seed material, it is necessary to keep it in the light for 2-3 weeks. Green quality tubers can be stored in a dark, dry and cool place.
2. In early spring, prepared potatoes should be inspected, rotten and spoiled tubers should be removed again. The mesh with the remaining material should be immersed in a weak solution of boric acid or potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes.
3. Prepared potatoes must be laid out in 1 row in a bright, humid and well-ventilated room. The air temperature must be at least 10°C. When indoor humidity is low, planting tubers should be regularly sprayed with water. Planting begins in mid-spring, so you need to lay out material for germination no later than the end of March. The germination period is 20-40 days. In chaff, sawdust, warm peat or humus, potatoes germinate twice as fast - within 15-20 days.
4. If there is not enough space for placement, you can germinate tubers in bags, after moistening the tubers with water. Holes must be cut in the bags. When germinating in bags, you need to more carefully monitor the condition of the planting material: immediately after the sprouts appear, it must be taken to a cool place.
5. After the sprouts appear, the potatoes are ready for planting. The sprouts should be small, because large and long ones are easily damaged during planting. Sprouted tubers can be stored on the balcony or in a cool, dry place for 1-2 weeks. 2-3 days before planting, you can treat the tubers with biostimulants (Albit, Mikon, Poteytin, etc.). Treatment with stimulants can be carried out before germination. To protect plantings from scab, gardeners treat tubers with a solution of ferric chloride
6. To increase starchiness, potatoes should be dusted with ash at the rate of 10-20 g of ash per 1 kg of root vegetables.

Large tubers are cut into pieces: this allows you to increase the number of seedlings. There should be sprouts on every piece of potato. The cut should be dried for 1-2 days.

Soil preparation

Well-lit areas with low groundwater levels (at least 5-6 m from the surface) are suitable for planting. It is advisable to plant potatoes where sunflowers, beets, cucumbers, corn or pumpkins grow. After planting potatoes, it is recommended to take a break of several years.

Root crops grow well in soil with a pH of 5.5-7.0. A sign of suitable acidity is a large amount of dandelions, clover and wheatgrass.

Before planting, the land should be prepared

1. In the fall, the area needs to be dug up and fertilizers (manure, superphosphate, potassium sulfate) applied. Instead, you can plant green manure plants (rye, phacelia, mustard) on the site. At low pH, you need to deoxidize the soil with ash, dolomite flour, lime or another reagent. You can also apply fertilizers in the spring: superphosphate, compost, humus, etc. are used for this.
2. Spring cultivation depends on the method of preparing the land in the fall. When using green manure, 2 weeks before planting, you need to mow the plants on the site and dig up the soil to a depth of 10-15 cm, introducing stems rich in microelements. With another method of autumn preparation, you can loosen the soil with a pitchfork to a depth of 10-15 cm. Wet or clay soil is loosened. Then they dig up and level before planting.

After preparation with a walk-behind tractor or a walk-behind tractor, the soil should stand for at least 2-3 days.

Scheme of planting potatoes under a shovel

The basic principles of planting that planters argue about are what depth to place the tubers, how to arrange the beds and how to distribute the seed.

With a continuous planting method, there is a high risk of tops closing, which complicates care and harvesting. It is advisable to plant potatoes in ridges or beds.

Depending on the size of the plot, preferences and other factors, you can choose one of the following planting schemes:

• two-row according to Mittlider (the distance between pairs of rows is 1 m, between rows in a pair is 30-50 cm, the gap in a pair is used as a watering ditch);
• checkerboard pattern (tubers in the rows are offset relative to each other, the distance between the rows is 50-60 cm);
• square-cluster scheme (the plot is divided into squares, in the center of which 1-2 tubers are planted, the distance between the rows and bushes is 60-70 cm).

The landing is carried out as follows:

1. Make holes 10 cm deep.
2. Pour a handful of humus, compost or other fertilizer into the hole, carefully lay out the tuber, and fill the hole.
3. Form a bed. After planting, level the ground with a rake.

Caring for potato seedlings

1-1.5 weeks after planting, you need to weed the area to remove weeds. Before the bushes appear, you need to regularly loosen the soil to provide the roots with oxygen and water.

When the potato tops grow to 20 cm, you can begin hilling - raking soil from the rows under the bushes. This procedure is performed with a hoe or flat cutter once every 2 weeks. When the bushes grow, hilling can be stopped.

A month after planting, the potatoes are fed with fertilizers. The second and third times, fertilizing is carried out after flowering and after flowering of the plants. Before applying fertilizer, seedlings should be moistened. Watering is done 1-2 times a week.

2 weeks before harvesting, stop watering and cut off the tops.