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Molly potatoes are the result of the work of German breeders. The best regions for growing: North-West, Central.
Description
The Molly variety belongs to the early canteens. Bushes grow of various heights (from 50 to 70 cm). Light greenish leaves are characterized by a slight waviness along the edges. The tops grow quite abundantly, and relatively few buds are tied. Molly potatoes ripen in the period from 55 to 65 days. However, the first fruits can be dug up 40 days after planting.
A distinctive feature of the variety is fertility. From one bush of the Molly variety, you can collect up to 25 tubers with an average weight of 100-160 g. Starch in fruits is 13-22%. The peel, the pulp have a pleasant yellowish tint, but the pulp is somewhat lighter (as in the photo). The fruits of the Molly variety are formed in an oval shape or may be oval-round. The skin is very smooth, the eyes practically do not stand out. Due to its good taste and medium friability, the Molly variety is very loved by summer residents.
Advantages and disadvantages
Molly’s potato is one of the first to appear on the shelves, but its advantages are not limited to this:
- seed germinates well;
- attractive presentation of tubers Molly;
- easy to care for plantings;
- excellent taste qualities.
The disadvantage is the weak resistance to damage by the potato nematode or cancer.
Landing
Variety Molly does not impose special requirements on the soil. But, according to experienced gardeners, a more abundant harvest is collected from light soils or medium in structure. Potato beds are best placed next to plantings of cabbage, cucumbers, and beets. These same crops may be the forerunners of the Molly potato. Bad neighbors are plants of the nightshade family (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers).
Early ripe potatoes are recommended to be planted in warm soil. The rows are placed at a distance of 65-70 cm from each other. Between the holes in the row, a step of 20-25 cm is observed. A shallow depth (about 3-4 cm) will contribute to the friendly and rapid germination of Molly tubers.
Planting material must be germinated and processed. Healthy tubers are suitable for planting, without damage, weighing 50-80 g. For germination, Molly potatoes are kept for about a month and a half in the light, in a warm, dry place. To increase productivity and protect root crops from diseases, they are treated with growth stimulants (Krezatsin, Albit, Immunocytophyte).
Care
Compliance with the rules of caring for the culture will be the key to obtaining a high-quality early harvest. Since when planting early Molly potatoes there is a possibility of late frosts, there should be a special covering material “at hand” (an inexpensive plastic film will do). If it is not possible to cover the plants, then if there is a threat of frost, they should be planted high.
A week after the sprouts appear, you can gently loosen the ground near the Molly potato sprouts. The soil is pre-moistened if there was no precipitation. Loosening promotes the flow of air to the roots, prevents the soil from drying out. Weeds are removed at the same time.
If the potato tops have begun to wilt noticeably, then the beds need to be watered, but not flooded. In order not to wash away the hilled plants, water is directed along the grooves along the rows. Plants require more liquid during the period of tuberization.
Hilling and top dressing
During the summer, potato beds are spudded repeatedly. The first time is when the tops grow by about 20 cm. Molly potato bushes are added dropwise to a height of about 10 cm. Then the procedure is repeated during the flowering of the crop. The height of the beds is increased by another 5 cm.
Thanks to this procedure, the earthen crust is broken, which makes it difficult for air to reach the roots, additional tubers begin to tie, and soil moisture is preserved.
It is believed that during the season you need to fertilize potato beds three times:
- Initially, top dressing is added after the appearance of sprouts of the Molly variety. An excellent option would be a complex fertilizer: in 10 liters of water, dilute a tablespoon of the preparation “Mortar” and urea. If preference is given to organic top dressing, then a solution of litter / mullein can be used (half a liter of organic matter is diluted in a ten-liter bucket of water).
- During the budding period, plantings are fertilized with the following mixture: potassium sulfate (10 tablespoon), wood ash (1 tablespoons) is dissolved in 3 liters of water.
- During the period of active flowering of potatoes of the Molly variety, a combined solution is introduced: 2 tbsp is diluted in a bucket of water. l superphosphate and a glass of chicken manure (mullein). For one bush, half a liter of solution is enough.
Time is allocated for top dressing on cool days or in the evening if hot weather has set in. A prerequisite is moist soil. Therefore, the beds are treated after rain or watering.
Diseases and pests
Molly potatoes are considered disease resistant. However, it is impossible to categorically exclude the possibility of being affected by some diseases:
- Fitoftoroz – fungi that damage leaves and fruits. The first signs of damage to the bushes are the appearance of brown spots on the lower leaves. Favorable weather for the spread of the fungus is wet, cool days. When the plant is damaged, both the aerial part and the tubers disappear. For the treatment of the disease, a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture is used.
- Rot Blackleg affects the basal part of the stems. Already after 5-6 days, the diseased part of the plant softens and the bush breaks and falls. Fungi develop in the soil and infect plants in conditions of dense plantings, with poor ventilation of the beds, excess moisture and sudden changes in temperature. The way to resist the disease is to treat the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate (3 g per ten-liter bucket of water is enough). An excellent option is spraying the seed before planting with solutions of fungicides (“Fitosporin-M”, “Vitaros”).
- Colorado beetle able to destroy all the beds of Molly’s potatoes. Insects and larvae are harvested by hand if the area is small. An excellent means of control is the insecticidal preparation “Confidor”.
Preventive measures can prevent the occurrence of diseases. These primarily include the removal and burning of the remains of potato tops and diseased tubers at the end of the season, pre-sowing treatment of soil and seed, and compliance with crop rotation rules.
Harvesting
Approximately 7-10 days before harvesting, the tops are mowed and tails about 10 cm high are left. Due to this, the skin of the Molly potato tubers is compacted. And the likelihood of damage to root crops when digging is reduced. From the remains of the stems, it is easy to find the center of the bush and you can not be afraid to miss the potato tubers. If the soil is rather loose, then you can try to simply pull out the fruits by the remains of the tops.
It is preferable to harvest in dry weather – the tubers retain their presentation and are better preserved in winter. Potatoes of the Molly variety are not immediately removed for storage – they are left on the beds so that the skin of the root crops is weathered, strengthened and dried. If the weather is damp, then the potatoes are left to ventilate in covered areas or in a dry room. When harvesting, Molly’s potatoes are carefully sorted. Otherwise, damaged tubers can rot and damage neighboring healthy ones.
In the presence of light, the upper layers of the potato turn green and the fruits become unfit for human consumption.
If the plants remain healthy and have not been damaged by disease, you can use the tops as mulch. Damaged stems must be burned.
Excellent presentation, excellent taste and stable yields make Molly potatoes popular not only among summer residents, but also among farmers.
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