Potato - a crop in cultivation is very laborious. The soil in the area under it should be nutritious, loose and enriched with trace elements. To prepare the land, you can use manure and all kinds of purchased fertilizers. However, there is a more effective and also practically free way to improve the physicochemical properties of the soil and its structure - planting green manure. About which "green fertilizers" are best for potatoes, and we will talk further in the article. Also consider some of the most popular methods of growing this crop.
What are siderates and what are they for?
Almost any plant is capable of improving the structure of the soil and saturating it with mineral substances. However, some varieties in this regard are considered the most effective. They are called, in fact, siderates. Most of them are annuals with a well-developed fibrous root system. Sowing green manure on a site means getting the following benefits.
- The soil will be saturated with such trace elements necessary for potatoes as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
- The structure of the soil will improve. After decaying the roots of green manure, the tubules remain in the ground through which air and water exchanges are carried out.
- The soil will be reliably protected from drying out, and weeds on the site will grow much less.
- The soil will be enriched with nutrients.
- Some varieties of potato pests will disappear from the site.
In terms of efficiency, the use of fertilizers such as green manure for potatoes (in autumn or spring) is comparable to the introduction of manure into the soil. However, at the same time, the amount of green mass needed to improve the soil is much less, since it decomposes faster and gives up useful substances. If desired, these two methods of increasing soil nutrition can be combined. Manure can significantly increase the effectiveness of the green fertilizer.
Siderat Landing Time
Sowing "green fertilizers" can be both in autumn and spring. In the first case, the procedure is performed approximately one and a half months before the onset of frost. Green manure is planted for potatoes in the fall immediately after the crop is harvested. In winter, the plants do not mow or smell. Annuals in the snow decay, giving the soil a maximum of nutrients. Perennials will sprout in April and give a green mass that can be used as mulch. In the spring, green manure is planted immediately after the snow melts and the soil warms to a depth of about 5 cm.
Ways to plant "green fertilizers"
The soil before sowing plants such as green manure (for winter or spring) needs to be dug up. If the soil is not treated, the plants will develop poorly. Consequently, the effect of their cultivation will be minimal. The first planting method consists in digging grooves about 7 cm deep in the plot. Seeds are scattered in a strip of them. The second method is often used in the fall, after harvesting. In this case, the seeds are simply scattered on the ground and mulched by compost. Under the snow in this case, the areas intended for planting potatoes go green.
Landing of green manure is carried out with a certain density. If the plants are sown too often, during the subsequent digging, they will not rot, but simply begin to sing. With a rare landing, they will not be of particular benefit. It is necessary to focus on the fact that about 2 kg of seeds should fall on one hundredth.
What "green fertilizers" are best for potatoes
Of course, you need to select the siderates correctly. For good growth, potatoes primarily require nitrogen and phosphorus. Therefore, under this culture, it is best to use legume "green fertilizers." For example, such as peas, alfalfa, lupine, vetch, clover. Suitable for potatoes and some other siderates. In the fall, mustard or rye will be a very good choice. They well improve the structure of the soil. In addition, mustard scares away from the site of one of the most unpleasant pests of potatoes - wireworms. However, these two varieties of green manure do not release nitrogen into the soil during decomposition.
Seeding siderat in the soil
In order for the stalks and leaves of the "green fertilizer" to have time to overtake, they must be planted in the soil no later than two weeks before planting potatoes. Loosening the soil too deep is not necessary. It will be enough to cut the green mass with a hoe. At the same time, plants are cut down at a depth of about 2-3 cm underground. Stems and leaves should be left directly on the site.
Under no circumstances should sideraties overgrow. Cutting must be carried out before flowering. And, of course, the formation and maturation of seeds cannot be allowed. Otherwise, siderate will turn into a common weed from a useful fertilizer.
Growing methods
So, green manure was sown for the winter, and cut off or smelled in the spring. What next? Now is the time to start planting potatoes. What are the methods of growing it? First, we will consider the classical method, and then we will deal with the features of the original technologies that allow you to get very good crops.
Which variety to choose for planting
Of course, in order to get a good harvest, you need to choose the most suitable type of potato for a given local area. When choosing a particular variety, the owners of summer cottages are guided, first of all, by its keeping quality and taste. Also, great importance is usually attached to the degree of digestibility of tubers. It is best to immediately select 3-4 varieties of potatoes (photo of siderates suitable for this crop, you can see on this page), which differ in maturity.
Classic growing method
Prepare planting material should begin immediately after harvest in the fall. Dug up tubers are pre-sorted, sorted by size. Potatoes of medium size, healthy and intact, are suitable for planting. They will need to be thoroughly dried and put in a sunny place for landscaping. After that, the tubers are put in boxes and lowered into the cellar. There they will be stored until spring. Of course, you can’t eat such potatoes, since it contains a substance that is poisonous for both humans and pets - corned beef.
In the spring, tubers are lifted up along with the boxes and transferred to a heated room for germination. Further on the site make shallow holes (about half a shovel), in which the potatoes are laid.
Growing potatoes down the hill
This is another interesting way to get a good harvest. Having prepared the plot using fertilizers such as green manure for potatoes (autumn or spring), you now break it into circles of not very large diameter. Tubers are buried inside them at a distance of 25 cm from each other. After the first shoots appear around each such small "field" with the help of a shovel, a "hill" is formed. The result is a kind of funnel in which water will accumulate.
Planting potatoes under a straw
What other potato growing methods are there? Planting under straw is a rather old method, which has recently become very popular with Russian gardeners. The technology includes several steps:
- A bed is made with wall compaction, at the bottom of which tubers are placed.
- Wet straw is laid on them.
- In order for the weeds not to clog the potato, its layer increases by about 5 cm above the soil surface.
- The top of the bed is covered with a dark cloth or film.
- After germination of the tuber in the film, a small hole is made under the stem.
Early potato under a black film
When using this method of cultivation, the plot prepared for planting potatoes is covered with dark non-woven material, its edges are well fixed. You can take, for example, a black film. Its perimeter edges need to be fixed as securely as possible. Then, holes are made in the form of rhombuses in the film, dug holes through them in the ground, and tubers are placed in them. Usually, early varieties of potatoes are used for this method (see the photo of properly prepared planting material below).
Landing at the same time produce a little ahead of schedule. The film will reliably protect plants from freezing. Consequently, tubers will grow much earlier. In addition, the film “mulch” will prevent the germination of weeds, that is, much less time will be spent on planting care.
So now you know how to use green manure for potatoes in autumn or spring. Improving the soil with this "green fertilizer" and using one of the methods for growing this crop discussed above, you can get a very good crop.