To get a rich harvest, you need to properly cultivate the land. Potatoes are a capricious crop and require deep plowing of the soil before planting. On the methods and techniques of plowing, as well as the timing of digging potatoes learn in the article.
Table of contents
When to dig potatoes
A certain amount of time must pass from the moment of planting to the moment of harvesting.And this time depends on several factors: the selected variety, planting time of the crop, weather conditions. It is difficult to say for sure the exact time.
There is some dependence of the harvest: if the potato was planted in the end of April, then you need to dig it until the beginning of August. However, according to statistics, a favorable time for planting is the month of May and you need to dig up potatoes in early September. Although on average, the harvest begins in mid-August.
So when digging up potatoes one should know for what purposes the vegetable will be used. If you need new potatoes immediately for cooking, then you need to dig it already at the end of July.
If the root must be kept all winter, early collection is not recommended. The rind should become more coarse, otherwise the potato will quickly deteriorate and rot.
External signs of potato ripening
Potatoes are plants that are grown in large quantities relative to other crops. It is important not to miss the harvest time and time to dig a root vegetable. It is important to be able by external signs to understand that the vegetable is ripe.
The main signs of potato ripening include:
- shrubs dry up, wither and turn yellow;
- the skin of a dug potato grows coarse, becomes thicker and badly stripped (unlike new potatoes);
- tubers have accumulated enough starch to persist for a long time and survive the winter period. This is easy to learn, you need to drop iodine on the pulp. If the flesh is lilac, the potatoes are ready for storage;
- tubers at harvest easily detached from the stalk and root.
Why harvest on time
To keep the tubers for a long time, the peel should coarsen. Perederzhivat vegetable in the ground as it is impossible for the following reasons:
- harmful insects or diseases damage potatoes;
- tubers dry out and lose weight;
- fruits rot from moist soil;
- the vegetable is frozen from a sudden cold snap.
How to dig potatoes
There are several ways to dig potatoes.To do this, often use either ordinary gardening equipment - a shovel or pitchfork, or a special agricultural techniques.
At the same time, digging by hand is quite a laborious process, especially for those who have health problems. For the treatment of large areas is better to use the motorblock.
Motoblock
Cleaning with agricultural equipment can be carried out after all tops on the plot will be cut off. After 2-3 days, you can begin to dig up the root.
Equipment is prepared in advance. To do this, it is recommended to pay attention to the elements of rotation. They need to be carefully lubricated with special oil, and parts of the motoblock that will loosen the soil should be cleaned of earth, clay, and stones.
Using a tiller or digging with a motor cultivator means following the instructions:
- shrubs should be planted in advance in one straight row, so as not to have to maneuver equipment throughout the site;
- the distance between the rows should be 70-80 cmso that the walker does not damage the neighboring ridge with wheels;
- when harvesting it is better to use additional nozzles to regulate the depth;
- you need to adjust the technique beforehand so that it digs up easily;
- in order for the wheels of the motoblock to move evenly, it is recommended to dig up potatoes through the ridge.
Manually
You can dig a potato by hand with a shovel or a jigger. However, such work is suitable no more than 5 acres of land. If the garden is larger, it is better to use the equipment - it is faster and more practical. Manual digging of potatoes is done as follows:
- one person digs under the tuber. To do this, you need to drive a shovel near the tuber and raise it to the surface;
- the second person picks up the potatoes, going behind.
With manual labor, you can do two things at once - to collect potatoes and sort them. You can leave the tubers to dry on the surface of the rows.
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- Manual digging of potatoes is done with a shovel or pitchfork
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- It is more convenient when one person digs up potatoes, and the second gets him out of the ground and sorts
Soil preparation for plowing
To prepare the land for planting the crop, you need to process it well, saturate it with oxygen. For this you need deep tillageso that the roots and tubers develop well.
There are several methods of land preparation and cultivation:
- deep with the help of cultivators and planers;
- plowing with a plow;
- with a deepening of the arable horizon.
How to prepare the soil in spring
First of all, you should understand what kind of soil is best for potatoes. Clay are not suitable wet. You can not plant potatoes in the lowlands, where there is a likelihood of water accumulation.
The most suitable land is light, sandy, loose. Ideal if chernozem, peat ground. If the soil is oxidized, it is necessary to treat it with a wood hall, sand with manure or compost before planting.
Plowing depth
The choice of processing method depends on the land and geographic location. In almost all regions, autumn plowing for depth is suitable. 30 cm.
What to cultivate the land before planting
The first step for a rich harvest is enrich the soil with oxygen. Therefore, it is necessary to loosen it. Loosening is carried out in dry weather. To do this, dig the soil to a depth 15 cm.
Before planting potatoes, you need to carry out a number of procedures:
- dig the soil in advance 15-20 cmto destroy pests;
- process the soil with special solutions for the prevention of late blight;
- enrich the soil with minerals and organic matter;
- a year before the planned planting of potatoes to land on the site sideraty.
How and what to work the land in spring and autumn
In the spring, you need to wait for the snow to melt completely, and the soil warms to a depth of 10cm. Processing of land is made depending on its composition:
When planting potatoes need clear the ground of weeds, insects, diseases. Fertilize and level the soil with a rake.
To enrich the soil with minerals and organic matter, you can use one of the following mixtures:
- on 1 sq.m.5 kg of humus, 100 grams of ash and 50 grams of nitrophoska mix and add to the ground before planting;
- 5 kg of compost, 30g of nitrophosphate, and between rows to feed 20g of ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate.
If the soil is heavily contaminated, then better. do without organics. When using siderates, the earth is saturated with nutrients and is a preventive method against pests.
For autumn processing, you can use the method autumn plowing. It improves the arable layer of the soil, increases its ability to maintain useful properties.
To increase the fertility of the land immediately after the harvest, manure can be scattered around the garden. Also, together with manure, you can feed the soil with superphosphate 30g and potassium sulfate 15g per 1 sq.m. After harvesting, the tops are recommended to be harvested and burned behind the garden plots.
To harvest a rich harvest of potatoes, you should follow all the above recommendations. Have a good harvest!