Many gardeners for growing potatoes in household plots use the method of planting "under the shovel." This is the basic option for sowing tubers, as all work can be done manually without the use of special equipment. What is the essence of this method, and how to plant potatoes correctly, we will find out further.
The essence of the method
If you want to plant tubers in small beds, many gardeners use the method of planting "under the shovel." This means that when planting in open ground, potatoes are embedded almost to the depth of the spade bayonet.
This method of planting is often used on light and loose soils, where groundwater is quite deep. After such a planting of potatoes, many gardeners create small earthen mounds around the stems of the plant, because the bulk of the productive trunks are located deep in the ground, and there is no need to rake a lot of land onto the plant.
Choosing a landing place
Before choosing this method of planting, you need to make sure that the site is acceptable for growing this vegetable crop:
- Nature of the soil. Black soil soils are great because they will supply the plant with all the necessary nutrients. In addition, such soils are characterized by good water and air permeability. Potatoes can also be planted on clay and sandy soils. To improve the quality of clay soil, it is worth adding sand or peat to it, but sandy soil can be improved with peat.
- Soil reaction. If a buttercup or plantain grows on a bed of weeds, then the soil is acidic, and if a birch or sow thistle is neutral. Acidic soil must be turned into neutral, and for this it is enough to add chalk, ash or lime from a ratio of 1-2 kg per 1 sq. Km. m. plot.
- Previous cultures. Potatoes should be planted on a site where crops such as sunflowers, beets, corn, cucumbers or pumpkins were previously grown. If the potato previously grew on the site, then it does not need to be planted in this place for another 4-5 years. In case of violation of this rule, potatoes will be susceptible to disease, and may also be affected by wireworms.
In general, the site should be small, since this method of planting is classified as labor-intensive. It is desirable that it is well lit by the sun's rays and be available for irrigation. In addition, it is recommended to choose a place near which groundwater does not accumulate, and there are no other reasons for stagnation.
How to prepare the ground?
To plant potatoes, you first need to prepare the ground, which can be done in two ways. In any case, the preparation is carried out in the fall, since in the spring the potato is planted itself.
Continuous fertilizer application
Gardeners scatter manure, bird droppings or compost in the garden, and after that they dig up the earth and loosen it with a rake. At the same time, it is recommended to remove weed roots found in the area.
To prepare an excellent fertilizer for potatoes, you can use this method:
- Remove all unnecessary mass from the garden in the form of various residues of plants, weeds, roots and other plant components.
- Put all this in a compost heap or pit - a specially designated place where the compost collected will overheat.
- Over time, you will get excellent fertilizer.
There is another way to get organic fertilizer - in the fall, plant green crops on the site, and in the spring, mow everything and manually bury it in the ground. Soon, crops will begin to rot, fertilizing the soil, so after 2 weeks you can plant potatoes with a shovel.
If it was not possible to prepare organic compost, you can use mineral fertilizers, which are sold in stores.
Fertilizing in rows
If you need to dig up the earth and fertilize at the same time, you can use this method:
- Just dig a plot with a bayonet shovel, removing all weed roots so that they do not germinate further, otherwise in the summer it will take a lot of time to weed.
- Fertilize in the dug row, distributing everything evenly with a shovel so that there are no gaps.
- When digging the next row, close the first with earth, so that the fertilizer remains in the bed, and not on the surface, and nourishes the potatoes during its growth and germination.
- In the spring, when digging the site, mix everything well again.
To ensure the active growth of potatoes, you can use a mixture of fertilizers, for the preparation of which mix 5 kg of manure and not more than 30 g of potassium phosphate.
Preparing planting material
Potato yield depends entirely on which tubers were planted in the spring. So, you should buy good varieties of plants, and then proceed to the processing of tubers, which is done in three stages:
- Fall. Sort planting material, removing small tubers or with damage. After pouring the potatoes in one layer and keeping them in the light for 2-3 weeks, but not in direct sunlight. Soon the tubers will turn green and be resistant to disease. It should be remembered that for the planting of one hundred parts, from 500 to 700 tubers will be required.
- In the spring. 1 month before planting, review the tubers and remove those that show signs of rotting or disease. Move the good potatoes to a cool, moist place where the sun's rays penetrate. If the room is low humidity, tubers should be sprinkled moderately with water. They can be kept on the street if the air temperature is not lower than 10 degrees.
- Just before landing. Potatoes can be kept for 20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate or boric acid, which will make it more resistant to pests. To stimulate plant growth, tubers can be sprinkled with biostimulants.
Popular methods of presowing processing of potatoes can be found in the table below:
Processing method | Benefit | Technology features |
Gibberellin or Heteroauxin | Increases productivity by 65 kg per hundred square meters. | A few days before planting, sprinkle the tubers with a solution of the drug in a ratio of 7 mg per 1 liter of water. |
Chloric Iron | It protects the crop from scab, which reduces the presentation of potatoes and shortens its shelf life. | Sprinkle potatoes with a weak solution of ferric chloride 2-3 days before planting. |
Succinic acid | Helps nutrients stay in root crops, which improves their biochemical composition and taste. | Treat the tubers with 1% succinic acid a few hours before planting. |
Wood ash | Increases starchiness and nourishes the plant. | To process tubers before planting by dusting with ash from the ratio of 1 kg of ash to 50 kg of potatoes. |
Trace elements | It nourishes potatoes with healthy elements. | A few hours before planting, spray the tubers with a solution of macronutrients containing boron, manganese copper in a ratio of 0.5 tsp. solution per half a bucket of water. |
Before planting, large tubers can be cut, but in any case they should have strong and not too long shoots that will not break off during planting.
Time and methods of landing
Typically, potatoes are planted in the middle of April. Depending on whether it’s early or late spring, planting times may shift to the beginning or end of the month. In this case, you need to navigate the air temperature at night - it should be more than 10 degrees.
Potatoes can be planted in three patterns:
- Square nest. The bed is "divided" into squares, in the center of each of which a hole (nest) is made for a potato bush. The distance between the holes is from 50 to 70 cm.
- Chess. The holes are arranged like honeycombs, that is, each subsequent row must be started with a shift by half distance between the bushes.
- Two-line (according to Mittlider). Two rows (lines) are dug up, and it is close to each other. In each row, holes are made at a distance of about 30 cm. Between each two lines you can arrange a gap of up to 1 m for passage. The holes of two joint rows must be staggered, as in the previous diagram.
Square-nested method of planting potatoes
Chess potato planting method
Two-line method of planting potatoes according to the Mittlider
The bed should be placed from south to north in order to achieve maximum illumination of the potato, because it will warm up and develop faster.
Regardless of the chosen scheme, potatoes under the shovel should be planted according to the following instructions:
- Drive pegs into the ground and pull a rope or cord between them to dig out even rows.
- It is advisable that at least two people engage in planting: one should dig a hole, and the second should plant potatoes. The optimal depth of the hole is 10-15 cm. Initially, you need to pour a handful of humus into it, and after that lay out the tuber with sprouts. Some gardeners resort to this trick - they throw seed of bush beans along with potatoes, since this can not only enrich the earth, but also increase the yield of the plant. When working with potatoes, you need to be careful so as not to damage the sprouts.
- With the earth dug for the holes of the next row, bury the holes of the previous one. If there is a third assistant, he can level the ground with a rake after planting, which will reduce moisture loss.
In general, between rows it is worthwhile to withstand at least 50 cm, and between the holes - from 20 to 30 cm, so that each plant provides an optimal nutritional area. Of course, the distance between rows and holes can be adjusted according to the variety of potatoes and soil fertility.
If there are large tubers, you can prepare deeper holes for them, and the optimal distance between them is from 25 to 35 cm.
Potato care
To collect a good harvest, you need to competently approach the care of the plant, and from watering to dressing.
Watering
The plant is watered during the growing season:
- When the first shoots appear. As a rule, this happens a week after planting. Before this, watering is not required, since the tubers have enough moisture contained in the soil.
- At the budding stage.
- After flowering.
Potatoes are watered quite rarely: once a week, and in dry times - 2 times. If there is enough rainfall, watering can be canceled. It is completely interrupted 2 weeks before the harvest.
In no case should transfusion of the plant be allowed, since the soil should remain slightly moist and loose.
Loosening
10 days after planting potatoes, the first loosening should be carried out, since it allows you to remove excess moisture and prevent rotting of tubers. It is important to remove weeds along with the roots, as they thicken the soil, make it breathable and susceptible to infectious diseases. In addition, weeds prevent the full development of potatoes. Loosening should be carried out regularly.
Hilling
During the season, it is necessary to carry out 1-2 hills, as this provides normal conditions for the formation of tubers - it helps to get rid of earth crust, saturates the soil with air, allowing the plant to “breathe”, and protects it from frost.
The first hilling is carried out after the potato tops grow to a height of 10 cm, and the second after a week, when the tops of the tops are about 40 cm. For manual hilling, use a chopper with a long handle, a hoe or a cultivator. When hilling, you just need to raise the soil from bottom to top to the sprouts of potatoes, gradually forming grooves.
Fertilizer
For the entire ripening period of the plant, it is enough to add 2 top dressings according to this scheme:
- For the first time - a month after planting.
- The second time - as soon as the potatoes bloom, the dose of fertilizer should be doubled.
Before feeding, you need to water the potatoes so that the root system is not burned with chemical preparations. Of course, it is worth using natural fertilizers, since they allow you to get environmentally friendly vegetable products. So, as a top dressing, humus and wood ash are perfect. It should be remembered that an excessive amount of fertilizer can lead to excessive growth of tops, from which tubers can suffer.
To increase productivity, you can cover the row-spacings on the bed with a layer of leaves or straw, since these wastes are not only excellent fertilizers, but also prevent evaporation of moisture and germination of weeds.
Harvesting
Potatoes need to be harvested in dry weather. 2 weeks before that, it is recommended to mow all the tops so that the plant does not waste energy on growing greenery. So, such a simple method can accelerate the maturation of root crops and contribute to the thickening of their skin. Harvested crops can be stored for about 8 months, and it will not be exposed to rot and infections.
Pros and cons of the method
Each method of planting potatoes has its own strengths and weaknesses, which are worth paying special attention to.
Pros:
- planting potatoes under a shovel allows you to get a good harvest with minimal resources;
- potatoes grown by this method have high commercial qualities;
- Harvested crops can be stored for 8 months.
Minuses:
- involves high energy costs, because it is a time-consuming method;
- it is difficult to provide potatoes with the right amount of nutrients, light, moisture, and air.
Planting potatoes under a shovel is a method proven by many gardeners that helps to get a good harvest, subject to all the above recommendations. At the same time, it is important to water the plant in a timely manner, carry out weeding from weeds and hilling. To increase the yield of potatoes, it is worth remembering about fertilizers.