The perfect size of potatoes for planting: tips for a rich harvest
Potatoes are a staple food. It is nutritious, well stored and can be turned into many delicious dishes. That is why summer residents devote so much effort and attention to growing this root crop.
Gardening experts say that it is time to start preparing for planting potatoes now. In particular, pay attention to which tubers should be chosen for laying the future harvest. OBOZ.UA asked about the main life hacks in this regard.
How to choose potatoes for planting
Before you buy planting material, pay attention to two factors: the soil in your garden and the variety of the root crop. It should be adapted to the climatic conditions in your area, so that it can withstand even unfavorable weather conditions and feel good in the soil where it will be planted.
Other important factors are the ripening time of the vegetable - the shorter the summer, the faster it should reach the condition, as well as the resistance of the variety to diseases and pests. In addition, early varieties are not suitable for long-term storage. Only medium and late varieties are suitable for winter stocks.
What to look for when selecting tubers
Horticultural experts say that the optimal weight of the fruit for planting in the ground should be between 40 and 100 grams. Smaller tubers lack nutrients, and larger ones germinate worse. Excessive nutrition makes the sprout lazy and low-yielding.
Also pay attention to the absence of signs of disease and damage, as well as the number of "eyes". Each of them is a bud, so it is better to choose those tubers that have the most of them. But these "eyes" should be small. Before planting, the potatoes are sprouted.
How to prepare the garden for planting potatoes
To create optimal conditions for growing this root vegetable, you need to make sure that the garden bed is in the sun and the soil is well warmed up. The soil will also need to be weeded, dug up, and fertilized with humus or compost at the rate of 8-10 kg per square meter.
The potatoes are planted in the ground to a depth of about 10 cm and placed with the sprouts facing up. The distance between the holes should be 30 cm, and between the rows - 70 cm. Caring for young plants involves regular watering, hilling every two weeks, and fertilizing. It is also important to protect potatoes from pests such as Colorado potato beetles, mole crickets, click beetles, etc.
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