Potatoes in most suburban areas - the main culture. It is under it that a large part of the garden area is allocated. Almost everyone knows how to plant this wonderful plant correctly. Recently, however, a huge number of new, interesting methods have appeared that make it possible to significantly reduce labor costs when growing this crop or to increase its productivity. We will talk about the most popular technologies to date and talk further.
Bag growing
This is perhaps the most interesting and unusual way. It can be considered new, however, only for the inhabitants of our country. In Europe, vertical gardening has become widespread for quite some time. Abroad, many owners of not too large plots use it.
So, how to grow potatoes in a bag correctly? This method is actually very simple. Bags will suit absolutely any: from thick polyethylene to white polypropylene (from flour or sugar). In addition to them, for growing potatoes, you also need to prepare suitable soil. Fill the bags with a mixture of humus and earth in equal quantities.
Initially, the soil should not be so much. If the bag is designed for 10 buckets, then at the first stage, two are enough. After the earth is poured, potato tubers (previously sprouted) are laid on its surface and sprinkled with a not too thick layer of earth. Next, potatoes need to be watered. The bags themselves are installed in a sunny place.
After the potatoes grow by about 7 cm, they need to be sprinkled with earth so that only a small part remains visible on the surface. As soon as the plants rise above the ground again, they are again sprinkled with earth. This should be done until the bag is about 2/3 full. Tubers are harvested in late August - early September.
This method is an excellent answer to the question of how to grow good potatoes and save energy. When using this technology, one potato can be collected from one tuber. This method is suitable mainly for owners of small plots.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
How to grow potatoes in a bag, we have figured out. What are the pros and cons of this method and is it worth it to apply?
In fact, this technique is so convenient that sometimes owners of large enough sites use it at the same time as the traditional one. Indeed, when applying this method, it is not necessary to plow the ground, carry out weeding and laborious hilling. In addition, the tubers in the bags grow neat, even and quite large.
There are practically no drawbacks to the method of growing in bags. The only thing is that you will have to water the potatoes more often than using the traditional method. In bags, the soil dries faster than on the field. However, this problem can be very easily solved by arranging ordinary drip irrigation.
We grow potatoes at home
This wonderful method is suitable not only for suburban areas. Potatoes can be grown in bags, if desired, even on the balcony. Of course, you won’t get a lot of tubers this way. However, a bag and a half can still be grown.
Using a Thick Mulch
So, how to grow potatoes in a bag, you now know. What other methods of obtaining good yields of this crop with minimal effort are there?
Mulching is also a rather interesting way, very simple and effective. In this case, landing is as follows:
- The site selected for potatoes is dug up (on the bayonet of a shovel) and carefully leveled.
- After the earth warms up under the rays of the spring sun, tubers are laid out on the bed (the distance between them should be about 40 cm).
- Next, you need to sprinkle the potatoes with a little earth. In this case, it will grow faster.
- At the final stage, the site with the tubers is closed with a thick (30-35 cm) layer of straw.
The advantages of a method such as growing potatoes under a straw can be attributed primarily to the fact that plants do not need to be spud and weed. In addition, under the mulch, moisture persists for much longer. Consequently, watering plants in the summer will have much less. Some summer residents who have already managed to try out this wonderful method even note the fact that potatoes planted in this way are much less likely to be damaged by the Colorado potato beetle.
Another advantage of this method can be called the fact that in the fall there will be practically no need to spend energy on harvesting. All that needs to be done is to remove the straw and cut the tops. The tubers themselves will be located almost on the surface of the earth.
What kind of mulch can I use yet
Growing potatoes under the straw can significantly reduce labor costs. However, this type of mulch is not in every household. Therefore, many gardeners replace it with another, more affordable one. For example, on ordinary grass. After mowing it needs to be dried a little. Otherwise, in a thick layer, it will begin to rot. Replacing straw with garden compost can also be a very good solution. Among other things, it will also enrich the earth with useful substances. Sawdust, wood chips and peat are also considered to be a very good type of mulch for potatoes. The latter, however, should be used with extreme caution. Firstly, it acidifies the soil, and secondly, it overheats in the sun very much.
How to grow potatoes from seeds
This method is somewhat complicated. However, it is an excellent answer to the question of how to grow a potato crop that is completely uninfected with late blight and other unpleasant diseases. Everything else, and such planting material is much cheaper. Potatoes are grown in this case by the seedling method:
- Seeds are soaked for three weeks in a rag (not gauze).
- Boxes are filled with very loose earth.
- Sprouted seeds are laid on the surface of the soil and sprinkled with sand.
- After the appearance of three true leaves, they are dived into small peat pots (seedlings will rot in large roots).
- In early May, plants are transferred to the ground. Pre-make holes with a depth of 10 cm and pour a little humus on their bottom. The distance between plants is 40-50 cm.
The question of how to grow potatoes from seeds already in the garden is completely uncomplicated. Take care of the planted seedlings in the same way as ordinary plants. That is, weed on time, watered and spud.
Growing seedlings
To get two crops of this crop per season is realistic even in central Russia. For this, for the first time, potatoes are planted according to a special technique. Using it, you can grow the first crop by the end of May - beginning of June. Next, we’ll see how to grow early potatoes and get two crops in one year. The work in this case is carried out in several stages:
- For planting, ultra-early varieties of potatoes are selected (Ariel, Timo, Riviera, etc.).
- Tubers germinate in a warm room. To do this, they are stacked in plastic trellised boxes, previously dusted with ash.
- After the appearance of sprouts, the tubers are transferred to a cardboard box, located at a small distance from each other, and covered with wet sawdust. The layer of the latter should not be too thick - about 5 cm above the planting material.
- Boxes are covered with foil and transferred to a cool room.
- After the sprouts over the sawdust exit, the box is rearranged in a bright place, and the film is removed.
Early potato
Seedlings are planted in the ground at the end of March, immediately after the snow melts. A plot for potatoes with this method of cultivation should be prepared in the fall. For this, they dig it up and arrange furrows on it. As a result, the ground in the grooves in the spring warms up very quickly. Tubers are laid in furrows, covered with earth and covered with spanbond. This material allows water to pass through from the outside and retain its vapors from the inside. In addition, it is also very light. Therefore, they lay it on the ground without a frame. Potatoes grow under a spanboard until harvest, just lifting it.
As you can see, the question of how to grow early potatoes is also not particularly difficult. At the end of May, the covering material is simply removed, and the potatoes are dug up. In a couple of days it will be possible to plant a new batch of this culture for the summer.
So, now you know how to grow potatoes in a bag, under straw or in seedlings. Having experimented a little, you can choose for yourself the most convenient and suitable technique.