The right time for planting potatoes and how to cut the tubers

When planting potatoes, it is very important not only to choose the right site with fertile soil, but also to prepare the planting material. This procedure is responsible, requires great attention and dedication. Nevertheless, it is the prepared material and the correctly chosen planting dates that play almost the key role in the subsequent harvesting of the rich crop. In the article we will tell you whether you need to cut potatoes before planting and which crops can be planted for the next year.

Potato planting dates

Traditional

A rich harvest of potatoesdirectly depends on the correct timing of planting

As a rule, we have these procedures timed to the May holidays: thanks to the weekends, people have free time, so necessary for working in the garden.

However, one should not start from this factor only, because it may not be in time for this period warming the soil, there is a threat of nocturnal frosts, which adversely affects germination tubers.

In case of early planting, due to insufficient warming up of the soil, the development of the plant will be slowed down, but when the belated water comes out of the ground, moisture evaporates. All this will negatively affect the yield.

It is better to start work at a time when the soil is warming upup to 8 degrees to a depth of 10 centimeters. As a rule, at this time there is no threat of strong frosts and the plant begins to develop fully. But the time when the earth will be warmed up to the necessary temperature, directly depends on the climatic conditions of this or that region.

When to plant potatoes in the middle belt and Bashkortostan

The optimal potato planting period in the middle band is, as a rule,end of the first ten days of May. It can continue until the beginning of June. But the experience of truck farmers shows that even at late dates it was possible to collect an excellent crop, but for this, the accompanying weather conditions are necessary.

In Bashkiria in the spring in early May, as a rule, there are sharp cooling, so hurry to plant the tubers in the ground is not worth it. It is recommended to wait for the onset of stable heat, which comes after the May holidays. Based on this, the potato planting period in this region isin the middle of May, the last - for June.

Deadlines

The latest deadlines for planting sprouted tubers of potatoes into the earth vary depending on the region. In some areas, climatic conditionsallow you to harvest two crops each, but this is a separate topic.

In order to collect an excellent harvest and not waste energy, they try to plant the planting material until mid-June. But in practice cases of a later landing are known. You can do this in the event that it is possible to provide plants with irrigation. Otherwise, in the over-dried soil no more good tubers will grow.

But with a late planting because of a lack of moisture tubers can not normally develop and reach large sizes.

Preparing for planting

It is necessary to cut the tubers before planting

For planting, it is ideal to pick up tubersmedium size. But it often happens that you have to plant quite a large potato.

The question arises: should it be cut or better used as a whole? If you use too large planting material, the result will be a little tubers in the future harvest, but they will be the same large.

The fact is that sprouts can for a long time feed on the reserves of nutrients of mother potato. Only such an option is unprofitable. In order to optimize the future harvest and reduce the costs of planting materialit is better to cut large potatoes.

With the use of fine material, the future crop will turn out to be just as small, since in the mother tuber there will be few nutrients and the plants will not be able to fully develop.

How to cut correctly

The procedure will look like this:

1. Immediately before the landing, a healthy material is selected;
2. The tuber is cut along or across in such a way that at least one eye-sprout remains on each part (it is better, if there are 2-3 eyelets);
3. Immediately after cutting, the potatoes are sent to the ground.

Before planting, you can cut awaynot all grades. Some of them simply can not reproduce in this way.

In order to prevent the development of diseases, the knife that cuts the tubers is recommended to periodically disinfect.

There are also opponents of the fact that the tubers are worthcut on the day of planting. These people argue that in this way, through a raw open wound, viruses and pathogens can penetrate.

In addition, basal buds will not have time to awaken and such a plant will lag behind in its development from those whose planting material was cut beforehand. But here on personal experience it was not possible to check it yet: in our village nobody does this procedure beforehand.

How to plant properly

Planting cut potatoes in its scheme does not differ from the planting of ordinary small potatoes. The only thing to consider is that some lobules can not give germs, so it's betterto make some thickening(5-10 percent). Even in this case, the consumption of seeds will be much less than using whole potatoes.

Plants grown from lobules develop somewhat weaker. That's why they need special care. The soil must be fertile, well warmed, loose. In time, weeds should be cleaned, fertilizing and fertilizing carried out.

It would be advisable to plant the siderates on the site. Landing should be carried out only when the soil warms up a minimumup to +7 degrees. Depth of planting is selected slightly less than for whole tubers and is 6-8 centimeters.

Why it is necessary to alternate crops in the garden

Why should the earth rest after a potato?

Practicing truck farmers have already noticed that if you plant potatoes on the same bed every year, thenyield significantly decreases, and the size of the tubers gradually leaves much to be desired. This can be explained by the fact that this plant consumes a lot of nutrients and trace elements of a certain type.

Naturally, after each season the amount of these substances decreases, and next year's harvest there is less nutrition. That is why it is recommended that after 1-2 years of cultivation of potatoes planting in this place such crops, which for their development use a slightly different set of trace elements. It is important that the land has time to rest.

Subsequently, a significant part of the harvest will be spoiled. If the cultures alternate periodically, then such negative factors come to naught.

What crops can be planted after potatoes

Practice shows that after potatoes the next year you can sow far awaynot all cultures. The best for these purposes are suitable for:

• pumpkin;
• beet;
• spinach;
• radish;
• turnip;
• cucumbers;
• zucchini;
• pumpkin;
• bow;
• patissons;
• beans.

It is also important that it grows in the neighborhood of the root crop. The best is to take the neighboring bedscabbage, corn, garlic, beans, horseradish or eggplant. It is also not bad to grow greens nearby.

What can not be landed

That's why you can not land them at the same place where they harvested this root crop last season. Such cultures include:

• tomatoes;
• pepper;
• eggplants.

All other plants normally develop on the areas previously occupied by potatoes. More details in the table above.

Cultivation of potatoes, obtaining a rich and healthy harvest is a whole science. After all, for this you need to be able to accurately determine the time of planting, select quality material and properly cultivate the soil. From the cut tubers get the finished products with the same indicators, as well as from the whole with the correct approach.

Also, it is necessary to periodically rotate crop rotation on its plot, the effectiveness of which has been proved by more than one generation of practicing truck farmers.