How to plant potatoes: tips for beginners

Planting material

So, we have already decided that any summer resident accumulates experience in planting potatoes as each harvest is successfully harvested by him. The first important factor that directly affects the achievement of the result is the choice of a good planting material. Seeds should be harvested already when the autumn harvest is carried out. Planting material is advised to take from those bushes that gave the maximum amount of crop. In order to harvest planting material, it is recommended to choose tubers, the size of which is about 4–5 cm, but larger potatoes can be selected for planting. As practice shows, if you plant potatoes from large tubers, then it is able to ripen earlier and produce more root crops in a season.

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

The tubers should be removed from storage in mid-March, dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate and laid out in boxes for germination. They need to be kept at a temperature of 20 – 22 degrees, and after a couple of weeks they should be transferred 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 preparation and site

To plant potatoes, the soil also begins to be prepared in the fall. The tops remaining from the dug out 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, while the depth should be on 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, they use the well-known cow dung – it is also humus. Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers have proven themselves well, which must be scattered over the site before digging it up. If the site is located in a lowland, 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, one should not neglect the grinding of clods of earth, as well as the removal of weed roots. Fertilizers that are on the surface should be dug in. After that, you need to level the soil so that it does not have time to dry out. The presence of sand is necessary 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

When choosing varieties of potatoes for your backyard, pay attention to the timing of their planting and ripening. Some gardeners believe that vegetable crops should be planted as early as possible, while others insist on later dates. Even experts are not able to name a specific planting date, since the recommended dates vary depending on the area. But even in the same region, potato planting may not be carried out on the same day in different years – a lot also depends on weather conditions.

Folk signs suggest gardeners to plant vegetables when buds appear and bloom on a birch, and leaves on poplars. You can also use the “three dozen” rule – according to it, you can plant potatoes in the middle lane when the temperature at night stays at 10 degrees for a couple of days, the soil in the area at a depth of 10 cm will warm up to 10 degrees. Planting dates also depend on the variety of potatoes – early-ripening varieties are distinguished (harvest can be harvested after 50-65 days), mid-ripening (harvest should be expected in 80-95 days), late-ripening (they will please you with a harvest only after 110 or more days).

If you believe the lunar calendar, landing can be planned during the third lunar phase, that is, within 3 to 5 days after the onset of the full moon.

Landing technique

Proper planting of potatoes today is not just the process of burying root crops in prepared soil. The depth of planting potatoes depends on the type of soil, humidity, quality of planting material. The general requirements for planting are as follows – for marking the beds, markings should be made using a rake with three teeth located 80 cm apart – this will be the distance between the beds. The interval between the bushes can be measured by the length of the leg. Potatoes need to be planted at a depth of half a palm. Approximately 100 – 20 kg are planted per 25 meters of square tubers of medium size.

When shoots appear, they need to be sprinkled with earth three times as they grow – in order to get a powerful root system. There are three main options – smooth landing, in ridges and in trenches.

Smooth or planting in the traditional “under a shovel” method involves raising a layer of soil with a shovel, laying tubers, which you previously decided to cut or not, into a prepared hole, and then covering it with a layer of earth from above. This planting technique is well suited if the area is flat, the water does not stagnate on it, the sun’s rays warm and illuminate the ground perfectly, and you have helpers – planting this way alone is quite difficult.

With a high level of groundwater and in waterlogged areas, it is better to choose planting in ridges. With the help of a hoe or a tractor, ridges are made about 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 a hot climate, on sandy and sandy loamy soils. It is like ridges on the contrary – they must be deepened into the soil in order to protect them from drying out and overheating.

Unusual methods of planting potatoes include equipment for straw – when the tubers are laid out on the site and covered with straw, and as the tops grow, they are added to the rows and spud as in traditional planting; the technique of planting in boxes on organic matter – they build ridges-containers in which tubers are placed in organic raw materials and planted; planting in barrels – fertile soil is placed in a container with drainage holes with a layer of about 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 ones bring the most profitable results.