How to choose siderata for potatoes

High potato yields can only be obtained on loose and nutrient-rich soil. To get this soil, fertilizers alone are not enough. Saturate the soil with plant nutrients, which in agricultural technology are called siderates. They give the soil friability. Let’s consider which siderates for potatoes to use, how and when to plant them.

Potato siderates

Benefit from siderata

Siderata under potatoes are fertilizers, in addition to siderata, or, as they are also called ü, green fertilizers, saturate the soil with nutrients, they also prevent the appearance of some weeds and pests, reduce the acidity of the soil.

As for micronutrients, potatoes need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, so you should choose green fertilizers :

• alfalfa;
• peas;
• rape;
• vika;
• colza;
• sweet clover;
• lupine.

You can also use mustard, rye, oats or wheat. The best siderates for potatoes are legumes, because they, unlike cereals, produce nitrogen when decomposed. On the other hand, white mustard repels the wireworm, which can cause significant damage to the crop.

Since it is not possible to sow the site with all possible crops, siderata for potatoes is selected based on the characteristics of the land. With good soil composition, the choice is stopped on pest repellent crops.

Sowing green manure correctly

Since each crop depletes the soil, one should not forget to use green manure after potatoes. Shoots should appear before the first frost. Accordingly, sowing siderates under potatoes in autumn should be done at least 30 days before the thermometer drops below 0 ° С. After sowing and before the first seedlings, the soil is systematically watered.

You can sow siderates for potatoes in the spring. This should be done no later than at the beginning of May. If the spring is early, then sowing green fertilizers are engaged in the second half of April. Sowing is carried out in warm soil.

You can still sow green manure for potatoes in parallel with the cultivation of the main crop. Most often during this period, plants that repel pests (mustard, for example) are used. You can also use plants that improve the soil structure, allow you to retain moisture longer, prevent erosion.

It is recommended to sow from 1 to 2 kg of high-quality seeds on a plot of 1 hundred parts of agricultural equipment. If the seeds are planted in rows, the depth of the furrows should be on average 6 cm. Without waiting for the flowering of crops planted to improve the composition of the soil, the green mass, which should rot in the ground, is cut off.As a rule, the green mass is mowed at 6-7 weeks of growing green manure or after the plant reaches a height of 35 cm. After mowing, the green mass is laid out on the site so that all the soil is covered. It takes at least 14 days to rot green mass. Some plants mow during flowering or bud formation.

Before planting green manure under potatoes, you should properly prepare the site. The desired result is obtained if the plants give a large amount of green mass. Otherwise, it will not be possible to significantly improve the soil composition with environmental fertilizers.

Sowing technology

There are two ways to sow siderates under potatoes. The first involves the use of wide furrows in which the seeds are laid. It turns out that the planted crop emerges in wide rows. According to the second method, the seeds are randomly scattered around the site, after which they are treated with a rake so that the seeds are not on the surface of the earth.

The first method is used to plant green manure under spring potatoes. In the second way, green manure is sown for potatoes in the fall.

An important point

Which green manure is best sown in the fall for potatoes, and which spring? Cultures require constant alternation.It is impossible for 4-5 years to sow bean or cereal crops alone. Agrotechnicians recommend alternating the types of green fertilizers annually.

All green manats suitable for growing potatoes are representatives of legumes, cereals, or sacral crops. If sacred mustard is used in one year, clover or wheat should be sown next year.

Several crops can be used simultaneously. So, for example, you can combine peas and mustard. The first culture will saturate the soil with useful substances, the second one will prevent the appearance of wireworm.

It is impossible to use flowered crops as green fertilizers, therefore it is important to mow the green mass in a timely manner.

Selection of siderates

The choice of environmental fertilizer depends on several factors. Let us dwell on the main points that should be considered when choosing environmental fertilizers.

Season

Spring is an unpredictable season in terms of weather. The temperature in the spring can drop to 0 ° C, so frost-resistant crops are preferred. These include white mustard, oats, phacelia.

In the summer, legumes are planted, which fill the soil with nutrients. In the first summer month, you can plant a vetch, in July it is advisable to plant a radish, and August is the best time to plant mustard.By preserving this sequence, it will be possible to fill the soil with absolutely all the nutrients necessary for potatoes.

Sowing green manure in the fall after potatoes involves the use of crops that enrich the soil with useful substances. Oat or rye is good. Also, green fertilizers are used as mulch during this period.

Soil type

Legumes are planted on clay and swampy soils. For rocky soils, sainfoin is planted as a green fertilizer. Alfalfa, like peas, is not suitable for acidic soil. Melilot is suitable for cultivation in sandy and loamy soil. Lupine is not suitable only for cultivation in clay soil. The best option for a wiki is neutral earth.

Plant Purpose

Each siderat has its own purpose

Each plant used as a green fertilizer has its own purpose. Let’s talk about those that are used most often.

• The most common green fertilizer for potatoes today is lupine. It should be planted before planting potatoes. It makes the soil loose and saturates it with nitrogen during decay. Despite the fact that lupine penetrates deep into the ground, it does not deprive the upper soil layer with nitrogen. Another plant, or rather its alkaloid, is struggling with wireworms.Its main advantages are ease of care and precocity. Cut the green mass until seeds appear (30-35 days) and drip it with earth.
• Rye is an equally common green fertilizer. It makes the soil loose, improving air exchange, and saturates it with potassium. Even rye prevents the appearance of weeds. The advantage of culture is its frost resistance, therefore, agricultural technicians recommend planting it in the fall. Like lupine, rye is unpretentious in leaving.
• White mustard is a universal green fertilizer. It can be planted throughout the year. This plant has many advantages. It cleans the soil from many bacteria, scab and late blight, helps fight pests, including wireworms. The crop is precocious, prevents the appearance of weeds, and traps nitrogen in the soil. If you plant mustard for the winter, you can save the maximum amount of moisture in the soil until spring. Another culture stimulates the growth of the main culture. Since mustard is growing rapidly, it is important to mow it in a timely manner.
• Oats, as a green fertilizer, saturate the soil with potassium. Young shoots contain much more of this trace element than old ones, so you should not linger on cutting green mass. Also, oats as a green fertilizer resists root rot, loosens the topsoil well, and inhibits the growth of weed grasses.The disadvantage of oats is that a wireworm is often planted in its roots, so this culture is planted together with mustard. The culture is not frost-resistant, therefore it is better to plant it in spring.
• Peas nourishes the soil with nitrogen and potassium, improves its structure. A feature of this environmental fertilizer is that it is cut after flowering. Sown it in parallel with the main culture, filling the free space between the rows. Peas demanding care. He needs a lot of moisture, especially the first time after planting.
• Vika as a green fertilizer prevents the weathering of the soil and improves its structure. It saturates the soil with phosphorus and nitrogen, prevents the growth of weeds. This culture is mowed during the flowering period. Together with the main culture, wikis are not grown. The plant is more suitable for spring planting. Vika forms a lot of green mass, demanding on soil.
• Clover is also popular. This plant does not form a large amount of green mass, but its roots are no less valuable than green mass. Melilot is valued for its ability to extract nutrients from the lower layers of the soil. It is used to combat nematodes and wireworms. Planting due to frost resistance of the plant is carried out in autumn.
• Clover is a good green fertilizer for many vegetable crops. During decay, it saturates the soil with nitrogen.Among all green fertilizers, when clover decays, the largest amount of this nutrient is formed. Another root system of clover prevents soil erosion. The green mass is mowed during the formation of the buds. As a green fertilizer, it is recommended to use the green mass of two-year-old plants. They give more nitrogen than annual plants. Clover enriches the soil with nitrogen for 2-3 years, but it is demanding on the type of soil. It does not grow in an acidic environment.

Some green manure for potatoes, planted in autumn or spring, gives a large amount of green mass, for which many summer residents like it.

Use all green mass as fertilizer is not always the best option. If you attach a lot of greenery, then it will be badly rot. Sometimes greenery, being in the ground, becomes acidic, so it is important to dose the amount of green manure. Excess green mass is added to the compost pit.

Plant potatoes after green manure

After the green manure has rotted in the ground, they begin to plant potatoes. If green fertilizers were planted in rows, then holes for potato tubers are made in areas where green manure grew. Aisles are subsequently planted with white mustard or peas. The depth of the holes is at least 5 cm when growing this crop without siderates, the minimum planting depth is 8 cm.

If mustard was planted in parallel with the main crop, it must be cut in a timely manner.The height of any auxiliary plantings should not exceed the height of the main crop. During the summer, mustard is planted several times, but replacing one green fertilizer with another is the best option for maximum yield.

Conclusion

Planting potatoes with green manure is always justified. Using green fertilizers helps to increase crop yields. Sowing plants does not take much time and In addition, the seeds of oats, mustard or any other plant used as a green fertilizer are much cheaper than fertilizers offered in specialized stores. spruce or bacteria, weeds. To achieve the desired result, it is necessary to chart the use of green fertilizers and strictly follow it.