How to grow potatoes in the country?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Potato is the "second bread". That's what the people say. And for good reason! This culture is loved by everyone, and every day we eat it fried, boiled, baked, in soup and salad. Therefore, many summer residents know how to grow potatoes. We dedicated our conversation today to beginner gardeners.

Create the conditions for growth

So, how to grow large potatoes? This requires good seeds and proper care. But first of all, you need to create conditions for the normal growth of this plant. In order for the tubers to germinate well, it is necessary that the earth warms up, and its temperature is consistently above zero, and during the day the thermometer stays at around 15-20 degrees. As a rule, such weather sets in mid-April. The soil of this culture loves light loamy, black soil, sandy; alkaline reaction - neutral. Choose a sunny, open and well-ventilated landing site. It is recommended to change it every 4 years. Provide soil with humus. Since autumn, you need to dig up the site, fertilize with minerals and organic matter, andspring - nitrogen. Remove weeds before planting.

Select Seeds

How to grow potatoes to reap a rich harvest? The first step is to prepare good seed material. If you have not done this since last year's collection, then you need to purchase it in specialized stores or from experienced gardeners. "Is it profitable to grow potatoes?" - you ask. After all, you have to spend money on seeds, fertilizers and take care of it all summer. Of course, you will have to make a lot of efforts and spend some amount of money, but it's worth it. Think for yourself, from 6 acres of land you can collect 5-6 bags of potatoes (and this is in the worst case!), Which is quite enough for a small family for the whole year. Now imagine how much money you will spend on the same 5 bags when buying potatoes in a store. We think that the question of the profitability of growing potatoes has disappeared by itself. So, back to the topic of our conversation. Own planting material is prepared in the fall. The tubers should be whole, round in shape, without damage and visible signs of disease. Dry the seeds, sort again in the spring and germinate about a month before planting.

Plant

There are many options for how to grow potatoes, that is, which planting method to choose. Potatoes are usually planted in rows in holes - this is the most common way. Although some do it in the beds, others use the trench method. Whichever method you choose, keep the distance between future bushes at least 20 cm, and plant the tubers themselves no deeper than 10 cm. It is recommended to fertilize at the same time.

Care and handle

Potato care is as follows:

• loosening the soil from the moment of germination and later - after watering or precipitation in the form of rain;

• hilling (for all the time you need to do this at least twice);

• top dressing with mineral, nitrogen, potash, organic or phosphorus fertilizers in dry or liquid form (it is better to use natural raw materials - manure, chicken manure and ash);

• Abundant watering, especially during bud formation and flowering (at least 5 times per summer) in the evening;

• plant pest control and disease prevention.

Eat and enjoy

We told you how to grow potatoes and how to care for them, now the only thing left is to wait for spring, take a shovel in hand and go to the country. And there, put your soul and strength into the earth in order to get large and tasty root crops in the fall!