To plant potatoes, land is usually cooked in the fall. It is loosened by plowing or digging, and then fertilizers are introduced into the soil in order to get a good harvest for the next year. Most often, manure is applied as a fertilizer for potatoes, the application of which increases the yield of this vegetable almost twofold. However, there is a negative side to the use of manure - there may be diseases such as scab or potato cancer. In addition, the larvae of the May beetle can be introduced into the soil with manure: they eagerly eat tubers of young potatoes. Therefore, the use of organic fertilizer for this vegetable is not desirable. In extreme cases, you can use peat-manure compost or apply a sideration-smelling of fresh plant material of sweet clover, lupine, peas and other crops into the ground.
Which fertilizer is better for potatoes?
Let's find out the better the potatoes are when planting. Today, the stores have a fairly large selection of a variety of fertilizers that are used for potatoes when planting it.
Most often in autumn it is recommended to make complex mineral fertilizers for potatoes, such as nitroammophoska, nitrophoska or ammophos. All these fertilizers are applied during the autumn digging of the earth; they contribute to obtaining a good harvest of potatoes for the next year.
In the spring, too, a thorough loosening of the soil before planting is necessary. The best fertilizers for potatoes that are introduced during planting are wood ash, kemira, superphosphate and nitrophos. And it is much more effective to make top dressing directly in the holes when planting in the nesting way. Experienced horticulturists know that such a method of applying fertilizer to potatoes is much less costly compared to a solid fertilizer when digging up the soil. The norm of fertilizing nitrosfos for potatoes is 1 tablespoon per well.
The use of bone meal for potatoes promotes high-quality flowering, the development of a good root system. However, we must remember that bone meal acts very slowly and will feed the plant throughout the season. In addition to increasing the yield of potatoes, the flour will also improve its taste qualities.
Superphosphate is a universal balanced fertilizer for potatoes. It is produced in granules and contains calcium, nitrogen and sulfur. This fertilizer is less effective in the form of a powder. Thanks to superphosphate the potato develops a strong root system, yields increase. This fertilizer helps the plant regenerate faster after damage, accelerates the growth of tubers.
Another type of natural fertilizer popular among truck farmers is wood ash. Its composition includes magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, necessary for the normal growth of tubers. In addition, wood ash is able to protect the potato crop from many types of diseases. You can make it in two ways at a time. Fertilizer is poured into the hole at a rate of 300 g per square meter, and additionally each tuber falls into the ashes. Such feeding will have an excellent effect on the yield of potatoes, and on its taste. During the wet weather, it is possible to sprinkle potato tops with ashes, which will protect the leaves of plants from decay.
Kemir potato is also an effective kind of top dressing of this plant. It consists of everything necessary for potatoes
Processing of potatoes before planting
A good way to stimulate an increase in the content of vitamin C and starch in potatoes is the treatment of tubers with a special solution containing trace elements such as boric acid, sulfuric acid copper and manganese sulphate. Taking about 0.3-0.6 grams of each substance, they are dissolved in a liter of water. In this solution, you can soak about 10 kg of potato tubers, and then keep them covered with sackcloth for 2-3 hours, after which the potato tubers are ready for planting.