Potato in our latitudes is considered the main vegetable crop. It can be found in every garden plot. But few people pay due attention to this vegetable. But, as the famous saying goes, you reap what you sow. In order for the harvest to be of high quality, you need to correctly select good potato seeds.
How to choose the right seed potatoes
When choosing seed potatoes, you need to carefully consider the appearance of the tuber. The correct potato should look like this:
- The tuber should be the size of a chicken egg, but you can take a little larger.
- There should be no damage.
- Potato seeds should be disease free.
- Potatoes that have already sprouted are allowed to be planted. This will help him climb faster.
It is also worth correctly calculating the number of seeds. It is customary to take about 20-30 kg per one hundred square meters of land. If the potatoes are too large, then before planting it is divided in half. So, if you figured out the quantity, it is worth considering all the most famous varieties, their features and characteristics.
VarietyCarlena
Karlen's potato is a mid-season crop. Suitable for boiling, frying and storage. Regular tubers grow round-oval, with a thin skin. It tastes soft and pleasant. When planting potato tubers are protected from the nematode. About 45 tons of such potatoes can be obtained from one hectare of land. One tuber in weight can reach 100 grams. The peel and flesh of the ripe fruit are yellow. Carlen potatoes in the bush can be tall. It is recommended to plant at a distance of about 40 cm from each other. During the period of tuberization, constant and plentiful watering is required. Before planting, in order to avoid various putrefactive diseases, seed potatoes of the Karlena variety are required to pickle.
Variety Romance
Next, let's look at the Romance variety. Potatoes grow oval red in color. The peel is thin, the flesh inside is yellow. The eyes are not deep on the surface of the tuber. One fruit weighs about 130 grams. Seed potatoes are unpretentious. In the ground, this species is resistant to all diseases and viruses. This variety is suitable for long term storage. It is recommended to plant tubers from each other at a distance of 30-35 cm. It is the Romanze variety that is suitable for early planting. Potatoes take root and grow in any climatic latitudes. Before planting, the tubers can not be processed. This potato variety belongs to the early ripening species, it ripens in about 90-95 days. The tops grow quickly into a tall bush with lilac flowers. From one such root, you can get from 35 to 40 pieces of tubers. He is pleasant totaste. Suitable for cooking in any form.
Riviera variety
This potato variety is considered early. It is suitable for cooking and short storage. The tuber may be round or oval. His skin is red in small scales. The color of the pulp is pale yellow. The weight of one potato fruit can reach 150-170 grams. Riviera seed potatoes are rated by breeders for taste at 5 points out of 5. Its bush grows of medium height, with a large number of lilac flowers. Tubers of this variety are not susceptible to diseases such as cancer, golden nematode, rot, and various viral infections. Potatoes are resistant to long droughts, so you can not be afraid for the quality of the crop.
Vega variety
This is another early potato. Its tuber is round-oval in shape with yellow skin and flesh. There are practically no eyes on the fruit. Suitable for cooking in any form. Vega potatoes love moisture, so the bushes need to be watered before flowering. The weight of one tuber reaches 85-100 grams. From one hectare of sown area, you can dig up to 400 centners of crops. The tubers are able to resist cancer and the golden nematode. Potato tops are high. Its flowers are large and white. Potatoes are resistant to drought and excessive dampness. This variety can be stored for a long time. Like any other variety, potatoes need to be processed before planting in order to increase the protective properties.
Variety Inara
This varietypotatoes appeared quite recently - in 2013. Refers to the early maturing species. It takes 95-100 days to mature. Until some time, it was used only in the central part of Russia, but gradually the variety began to gain popularity in other regions. The weight of one tuber reaches 120 grams. The tuber is long oval with small eyes. The skin and flesh are yellow. From one bush you can get 10-12 pieces. The shape of the potato is oval, with yellow skin and flesh. Suitable for storage, and also has excellent taste. This species is considered the fastest growing. The potato variety Inara is resistant to various pathogens. The bushes grow to medium length, are bright green in color and have white flowers.
The varieties reviewed are relatively new. In order for the harvest to bring joy, you need to know how to plant potatoes and care for them.
When to plant potatoes
In order for the harvest to be good, you need to correctly determine the variety of potatoes. There are species that take root only in a certain area with a characteristic climate. As already known, all varieties are grouped by precocity. Based on this, determine the timing of planting seed potatoes:
- Early potatoes are planted in early April. Harvest takes an average of 55 days, but these varieties are not suitable for storage.
- Mid-early potatoes. Also planted in April. Dig up the crop after 60-65 days. But there is one small nuance in planting this variety - you need sprouted seed potatoes.
- Mid-season can be planted from April to May. Ripening occurs in early August. For this, potatoes need 85-90 days. The tubers of these varieties must be treated for diseases and viruses.
- Middle late and latest varieties. This species is planted from May to June. It takes 120 days to ripen such a crop. Such potatoes are harvested at the end of September.
Many gardeners, in order to get a good harvest, plant several varieties of potatoes at once, which will ripen gradually, for food and storage. It is not recommended to plant this crop until the soil temperature reaches 8 degrees above zero. The optimal depth for planting in the spring is no more than 10 cm.
Basic rules for planting potatoes
The presented rules will help to plant seed potatoes correctly, and eventually get a good harvest.
- Rule 1. The soil for planting potatoes must be prepared in advance. It is disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then dried.
- Rule 2. It is better to grow potatoes in a sunny place.
- Rule 3. Select the optimum depth for planting seed potatoes. It depends on the planting area. Potatoes are planted at a depth of 10 cm in northern cold areas, 20 cm in dry areas, and 8 cm in areas with clay soils.
- Rule 4. Planting density. It all depends on the variety: the early ones are planted more densely than the late and mid-late ones.
- Rule 5. Calculate the amount of seed potatoes. So, for example, per 100 square meters for planting wholemedium-sized tubers will need about 600 pieces, small tubers - about 750-800 pieces and planting potato seedlings - 1000 pieces.
Knowing the basic rules of landing, you still need to decide on the method. There are several.
Potato planting methods
You can proceed directly to planting by choosing seed potatoes. Varieties are different and need an individual approach. Consider several ways to plant potatoes:
- Method 1. The traditional square-nest method. To do this, they break a piece of land into squares measuring 50 x 50 cm and make rows in which seed potatoes are planted.
- Method 2. A kind of tape planting, it only happens in 2 rows at a distance of 30 and 100 cm. The tubers are not buried, but sprinkled on top with a layer of earth no more than 3 cm. A wide distance helps to properly care for potatoes. This method increases crop efficiency by an average of 30%.
- Method 3. trench method. They dig trenches 20-25 cm deep and 35 cm wide. Plant residues and weeds are laid at the bottom, covered with a layer of humus, ash and fertilizer from above. Sprouted tubers of seed potatoes are laid on top and sprinkled with soil. The distance between the trenches is about 70 cm.
- Method 4. Growing in separate flower beds. According to this method, each potato tuber is planted in a separate bed of tires or barrels. All the necessary nutrients are poured inside and potatoes are planted.
- Method 5. Planting under straw. In this way, you can plant anyseed potatoes. Any variety is suitable for this method. Straw helps retain moisture and keeps weeds from growing. Potatoes do not need hilling.
Cost and place to buy seed potatoes
Buy potatoes only from trusted suppliers. There are specialized stores that sell seed potatoes. Varieties are quite diverse, it is easy to get confused in them. Therefore, unknowing gardeners should first get quality advice. When buying on the market, you should be extremely careful, as they may give incorrect information about which seed potatoes are on sale. The price starts from 20 rubles per kilogram.
Potato is the most unpretentious vegetable crop that does not require additional care. Having bought seed potatoes, you can choose the method of planting you like. To date, there are a large number of types of this vegetable. The above is only part of the list of early and mid-season vegetable crops. If there is no possibility of additional watering and care, this seed material will give a good harvest anyway.
In the article we examined seed potatoes. The varieties presented above are adapted for planting in any territory of the Russian Federation. The considered methods and rules of planting will help you get a good and high-quality harvest.
