Rules for preparing soil for potatoes

In order to get a potato crop that is plentiful and excellent in taste, it’s not enough just to plant it in the ground. It is necessary to carry out a number of agrotechnical measures in advance that will help create ideal conditions for growing this vegetable in the garden or cottage. Soil preparation for potatoes is especially important.

Rules for preparing soil for potatoes

Preparing the soil

Professional agronomists believe that the process of soil preparation should begin in the fall-immediately after the harvest. Close attention should be paid to this issue. natural, just before the start of the sowing campaign. It is especially important in the autumn and spring to organize a digging of the soil. This will enrich it with oxygen, will get rid of rhizomes and weed seeds, help prepare the ground for the process of planting root crops. Soil features

Before how to plant this vegetable, it is necessary to take into account several important points related, first of all, with the choice of a place for placing beds with potatoes, soil features, fertilizer and loosening of the earth. Preparing the soil for planting potatoes is not a complicated process, but rather laborious. In order to do everything right you will need the advice of professionals.

1. Choosing a place to land. Take into account that potatoes are a light-loving vegetable.Therefore, for the cultivation of root crops, it is necessary to choose a well-lit area of ​​the garden. Having planted the fruits in the shade, you will make a big mistake, because the plant will not be able to get the substances it needs, it will turn yellow and wither, it will bloom poorly. As a result, you will get a very small and low-quality crop. In the process of sowing, it is necessary to adhere to a certain pattern, planting germinated fruits or seeds from the northwest to the southeast. Such placement will allow to maintain uniform illumination in the garden plot.
2. Type of soil. The most suitable for this vegetable is slightly acidic soil. According to the recommendation of experts, it is best to use black soil for growing potatoes. Fruits grown on this soil are distinguished by their excellent taste and beautiful presentation. Clay or sandy soil can be used only after measures have been taken to fertilize it. Dense types of soil are also not suitable for growing plants, since root crops need a sufficient amount of oxygen in order to develop normally. It is necessary to take into account such a factor as the humidity of the earth. Remember, excessive moisture can cause the plant to develop various diseases, and it will begin to rot.
3. Plowing. This procedure will help create a loose and oxygen-enriched earth that will only benefit the plant.During this process, as a rule, many parasite plants are destroyed that prevent root crops from developing normally and gaining strength. Please note that both autumn and spring plowing are equally important.
4. Siderata. So called plants that are planted before sowing the main vegetable, and enrich the earth with various useful trace elements. For potatoes, the most beneficial predecessors are cereals and legumes. As siderates, cabbage, cucumbers and onions can also be used. They will help to heal the land allocated for the cultivation of root crops, garlic and marigolds. Do not forget that this plant is not recommended to be planted in the same place for several years in a row. Root crops should not be planted where pepper, tomatoes and blue ones grew before that. If you simply do not have other areas in the garden suitable for growing potatoes, use fertilizers before planting them.

Processing process

Soil preparation for planting potatoes includes various processes for its processing. This is necessary in order to create the most favorable conditions for the ripening and development of the fruit.The procedure for pretreatment of the earth consists, as a rule, of such important measures as:

• loosening;
• leveling the earth compaction;
• enriching the earth with oxygen;
• fertilizing the garden;
• eliminating weeds;
• leveling the level of land cover;
• creating optimal conditions for mechanical harvesting.

Soil preparation for planting potatoes differs in the types of work, depending on what time of year is in the yard. Please note that in autumn and spring it is necessary to conduct completely different events.

Autumn processing

You need to start soil preparation in the fall

The preparatory work carried out in the fall is very important. If you are going to grow this vegetable yourself, and want to harvest a good crop, pay special attention to them. During this period, tillage includes digging, removing the remaining weeds and fertilizing with useful substances. It is best to use ordinary cow humus with the addition of supersulphates for these purposes.

If you do not want to dig the garden in the fall, you can plant siderat plants on it, which in the spring, before the start of the sowing campaign, you will need to remove it.Such a procedure will significantly enrich the soil with useful microelements without resorting to fertilizers.

In the event that the plot of the garden where you plan to plant potatoes in the future was very heavily clogged with weeds, make sure to peel the soil in the fall so that the seeds hidden deep in the ground germinate and the parasite plants are removed before root crops are planted. The same time is ideally suited to level the level of ground cover, and then in the spring the soil in these areas will not be flooded with rain water.

Spring treatment

In spring, soil preparation under the potato should start only after the frost subsides, and it warms up to 10˚C heat. You can do deep cultivation using forks and a rake, or simply dig the earth.

The first method will help maintain soil moisture, and the second will easily remove weeds that have sprouted after winter. Take time to level out large clumps of earth. If necessary, smooth them with a rake.

Fertilizer with useful substances

This issue should be given special attention. Take the time and take the time to supply the land with useful fertilizers. This must be done both in the autumn and spring. If you do not fertilize the soil, after several years of planting potatoes in the same place, the soil is depleted, and it becomes unsuitable for use.

Clay, sand and peat land need additional supplementary feeding. The most suitable and affordable mineral additives are peat, humus, compost, sawdust. Such trace elements as phosphorus, potassium and calcium will also be useful. Do not forget that using fresh manure to fertilize the soil for potatoes is still not worth it, because of this the fruits can lose their pleasant taste and become too watery. It is better to use humus for these purposes.

Another available fertilizer for any gardener is regular ash. Using it, you enrich the earth with useful substances that will help to grow an excellent crop. Please note that this fertilizer must be used in the calculation of 5 to 10 kg per 100 m2 of land.

Conclusion

Fertilizers purchased in special stores or on the market must be used according to the rules that the manufacturer indicated on the label. To get the maximum positive effect, it is best to use them during spring plowing.

All of the above tips on preparing land for planting potatoes will certainly help you grow and harvest a good and most importantly tasty crop.