Traditional and unusual ways of planting potatoes

The beginning of May in our area is the traditional time for planting potatoes. So it's time to think about how to plant it this time, because recently new, original methods have been added to the usual methods - there are plenty to choose from.

Traditional ways of planting potatoes

There are three common methods: smooth fit, ridge And into the trenches. Moreover, this is just the case when an arbitrary choice does not give the best results, because each of the options is intended for very specific conditions and in others it simply may not justify itself. Only the basic requirements remain common: to arrange plantings in the direction from south to north, so that the plants are illuminated evenly and receive a sufficient amount of light; keep distances. Also, do not forget about fertilization (I usually use ashes and compost); it is useful to add onion peel to the holes or trenches, which protects the plantings from the Colorado potato beetle. Between rows of tubers:

for early varieties - 60 cm
for late varieties - 70 cm.

Between tubers in a row:

for early varieties - 25-30 cm
for late varieties - 30-35 cm.

Here it is worth bearing in mind that the distances are indicated for tubers standard seat size- about the size of a chicken egg; I often plant with small tubers - for them, of course, the distance in the row is proportionally reduced; the distance between rows does not depend on the size of planting tubers.

The distance between plants is important to observe. A photo

It is considered optimal planting depth:

on light soils - 10-12 cm
on heavy and loam - 8-10 cm
on clay soils - 4-5 cm.

Again, small tubers should not be planted as deep as large ones (but in any case, deviations from the recommended parameters by more than 3 cm are not recommended).

In this video, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Head of the Department of Potato Genetic Resources of VIR named after V.I. Vavilova Kiru Stepan Dmitrievich talks about how to determine the correct planting dates and how to plant potatoes correctly.

ridge planting

This is a method in which ridges about 15 cm high with a distance of about 70 cm between them are made in the area intended for planting potatoes, and then tubers are planted in them.

This technology will be expedient where they lie close to the surface, the soil suffers from waterlogging. The method will also be useful on heavy soils, which are quickly compacted, preventing air exchange. In practice, combs are sometimes used simply because there is a tractor :)

For example, in the village where I had a dacha, everyone plowed plots for potatoes with a tractor. And since the tractor driver also had the necessary devices for hilling, they put them in ridges - in order to minimize manual labor. I refused this idea, even though we have loams: in dry years, moisture leaves such ridges very quickly, and abundant watering is required. And where I live now, there is sandy soil at all - here even the beds have to be made with sides, because the earth crumbles. Yes, and moisture does not linger in such soil, so another method is more suitable for us.

Planting potatoes in trenches

These are, in fact, the ridges on the contrary: on sandy soils that do not retain moisture well, as well as in arid climates, we do not raise the tubers above ground level, but on the contrary, we deepen them, laying them in trenches laid taking into account all recommended distances.

Naturally, if we use this method in areas with high humidity or very dense soil, there is a risk that our potatoes will simply suffocate or rot in the damp soil.

Smooth fit

If you got a site on the southern slope, where the soil warms up quickly, and the soil is quite loose and moderately moisture-intensive, you can plant it using the “under a shovel” method. This is best done with two people. Rows of future plantings are outlined, then one of the participants in the process, moving along the intended line, makes small holes (someone simply lifts a layer of earth to lay a tuber under it, someone prefers the holes - then the soil from the next "landing point" is covered previous). The second one follows and lays out the tubers.

We once used this method when planting potatoes in the first year on newly plowed virgin soil. The tractor left behind huge layers of earth - it would not have been possible to depict any ridges or trenches there in any case. Somehow they broke large clods with a hoe and put tubers under the shovel - just as they are, as it turns out. By autumn, the site had changed - thanks to loosening, hilling, there were noticeably fewer weeds, and there were almost no large clods left. The method paid off, I used it in the future.

Unusual ways of planting potatoes

I think that I will not list all the options in any case - the ingenuity of our summer residents knows no bounds. Usually, a new method is invented to solve a specific problem (task). For example, they got a plot overgrown with grass, but they don’t have the strength to raise virgin soil. Or there is not enough space, but you want to grow potatoes. Then, if the idea justified itself, you can develop it.

And planting material and botanical potato seeds for growing your own seed tubers can be selected in our catalog, which combines the offers of large garden online stores. .

Perhaps you know other ways to plant potatoes? Or have you experienced one of the new methods in practice? Tell us in the comments - how do you plant potatoes, are you planning any experiment this season?