What is the best green manure for a potato field? Green manure for potatoes in the spring. Green manure for sowing in spring

Potatoes are a very labor-intensive crop to grow. The soil on the site for it should be nutritious, loose and enriched with microelements.

Due to photosynthesis and atmospheric gases, green manure increases tenfold the nutrients that they take from the ground. And then the nutrition is returned in a form that is most easily absorbed by cultivated plants, in particular potatoes.

Green manure from the legume family is best suited for preparing soil for potatoes. They provide the soil with nitrogen and phosphorus. These include peas, lupine, sweet clover, alfalfa, and sardella.

Oats, wheat, rye, and mustard are also suitable for potatoes. They protect the soil from drying out just as well as legumes and enrich it with vitamins.

But there is a small minus, cereals attract wireworms and this is perhaps one of the main pests of potatoes, but there is also an important plus: cereals help in the fight against potato scab.

Rye heals the soil after root vegetables such as garlic and onions, beets and carrots. Both bulbs and root vegetables are essentially “roots” that develop in the ground.

Therefore, pests such as nematodes and rot accumulate in places where they grow. Winter rye effectively cleanses the soil of these pests and infections.

About 2 kg of seeds are planted per hundred square meters of land. winter rye. The seed material is simply scattered over the surface of the soil and then deepened with a rake a few centimeters. Any seeds are suitable for sowing, even freshly collected ones.

If you plant rye or mustard in the fall, then in winter they will protect the soil from severe freezing. They also improve soil structure, but release much less nitrogen than others.

What kind of green manure is best to sow under potatoes in the fall?

If the area is heavy clay soil or loam with too much acidity, then it is worth sowing phacelia, and in addition it would not hurt to reduce the acidity of the soil by introducing ameliorants, the most common of which is limestone flour.

With acceptable acidity, you can plant legumes - lupine, peas, sweet clover, red clover, vetch, and so on. In addition to loosening the soil, legumes saturate it with nitrogen, which is especially important.

If you choose green manure for potatoes in order to get rid of diseases and pests, then you should plant:

• flax (scares away Colorado potato beetle), flax leaves emit tannin, the smell of which repels the pest;
• mustard (repels wireworms, nematodes, slugs and other pests);
• lupine of alkaloid varieties;
• phacelia.

These same plants also help destroy pathogenic bacteria and viruses in the soil.

Helpful against weeds: phacelia, mustard, buckwheat, peas.

As you know, green manures are plants that, under certain growing conditions, can increase the fertility of the land. Therefore, they are often sown after the main crop is harvested to replenish the soil's loss of nutrients and restore the area for the next season. Potatoes are no exception, after which it is also advisable to plant green manure in the fall.

Why sow green manure after potatoes in the fall?

After the potato harvest, the soil becomes depleted and loses most useful minerals. The amount of phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen in the fertile soil layer is reduced. If you do nothing, then next year You shouldn’t expect big harvests in this place.

Also, the bare area becomes vulnerable to wind and water erosion processes, negative impact cold weather

All these disadvantages can be minimized if, after harvesting the potatoes, green manure is sown in this place.

What kind of green manure can be sown after potatoes?

In principle, almost any green manure is suitable for this purpose. But there are some nuances that we will discuss below:

• A good choice would be legumes: lupine, vetch, alfalfa, peas, sweet clover. Their humus is rich in micro- and macroelements: phosphorus, nitrogen, protein components.
• cereal plants, such as wheat and timothy, also release useful microelements into the soil, but in addition to nitrogen. Therefore, the effectiveness of cereals is not as high as that of legume green manures. In addition, unlike mustard, they can, on the contrary, attract pests such as wireworms.
• sown on green manure cruciferous plants– , radish, they help reduce, enrich it upper layer phosphorus and potassium. White mustard and phacelia also effectively repel many soil-dwelling pests - wireworms, onion and carrot flies. Therefore, if you are planning here next year, or, then it makes sense to opt for these crops.

Sowing green manure and caring for them

You can sow green manure after potatoes in the fall immediately after harvesting. The seedlings will have enough time before frost to gain green mass, which can either be mowed before winter or left as is under the snow.

The soil needs to be loosened a little, the seeds scattered around the area in accordance with the consumption rates, and then planted to a depth of 2-3 cm.

If there is little rain and the autumn is dry, then it is advisable to water the crops to speed up the emergence of seedlings.

any further care no longer needed. Let the green manure grow, and all processes will happen in the most natural way.

To achieve high yield potatoes, you need to spend a lot of effort on increasing soil fertility. It should be loose, nutritious, containing various useful microelements. Of course, nutritional value can be increased by chemical fertilizers. But then potatoes will not be considered an environmentally friendly product. Another, healthier way of obtaining a large harvest of potatoes - growing green manure - does not conflict with the environment.

Green manure is useful plants, which are sown separately or mixed with other herbs. They are grown to be plowed into the soil. The goal is to significantly increase the fertility of poor lands, improve the structure of the plant layer, and enrich it with active microflora. The greatest effect is obtained from vegetation planted in late summer and embedded in the fertile layer in late autumn, just before the onset of cold weather.

Green manures are useful plants that are sown separately or mixed with other herbs.

It’s not for nothing that green manure is called “green manure”. They actually plow into the ground like manure, peat and other organic matter. As green organic matter decomposes, it adds various macro and microelements to the loosened layer. First of all, these are potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and other substances, needed by potatoes for growth and development. Humus reserves in the fertile layer can be increased literally in one season using green organic matter. But there is one caveat. It is important to monitor the amount of growing green mass. If its volume is too large, then the plowed stems will begin to sour rather than decompose.

Green manure crops from the cruciferous group naturally relieve tubers from common diseases: late blight, fusarium, scab and all types of rot. Potato pests: wireworms, nematodes and slugs cannot tolerate oilseed radish, rapeseed, rapeseed and especially white mustard.

Green manure crops from the cruciferous group naturally relieve tubers from common diseases

Undesirable green manure for potato plant- sunflower. For its development, it itself takes too much nutritious organic matter from the soil, so it is more likely to deplete the fertile layer than to benefit it. In addition, its stem quickly becomes rough and decomposes slowly in the soil.

Methods of using green manure

There are three ways to use green fertilizer:

• full application means embedding the entire grown mass of green manure into the soil of the potato garden to a depth of 10 cm;
• mowing is the placement of mowed green material from green manure grown elsewhere into a potato field;
• External use is plowing only the roots of green manure grown in place of potatoes; The mown stems are collected and taken to other areas for mowing fertilizer.

The best green manure for potatoes are legumes: alfalfa, vetch, peas, lupine, sweet clover. They enrich the soil with nitrogen and phosphorus, which potatoes need for rapid growth.

The best green manure for potatoes are legumes

Humus has the same effect on potatoes, but it decomposes in the soil much longer than green manure. And the rate of application of manure per unit area is much higher than that of legumes.

Other green manures for potatoes provide less return: rapeseed, wheat, oats, rye, mustard, phacelia. However, their powerful root system perfectly protects the fertile layer from wind and water erosion and enriches it with many microelements. But when decomposed, these green fertilizers do not release nitrogen, so their use will not increase the potato yield as much as legume predecessors.

How to plant green manure under potatoes in the fall

Experienced gardeners have been convinced many times in practice that sowing plants as organic fertilizer in the fall after potatoes is the most productive, efficient, and effective. Productive - because it has a beneficial effect on increasing productivity. Effective - because it enriches the soil with useful nutrients, improves its structure, suppresses weeds, repels and reduces the number harmful insects. Effective - because the land is protected from erosion spring waters, weathering, overheating from the scorching rays of the sun.

When growing green organic matter, it is important to follow agricultural practices, seeding rates, and take into account the composition and fertility of the top layer of soil. Gardeners must understand that before the onset of winter, green manure plants must sprout and increase the required volume of green mass. Therefore, the seeding depth should be small, the crops should be sparse (no more than 2 kg per 100 square meters); fed with mineral and organic fertilizers.

Moreover, the approach to growing green manure crops planted in the fall should be comprehensive, competent, and sound.

1. Complex - because it is necessary, if possible, to mechanize labor-intensive processes if the potato field occupies several hectares. Tractors and agricultural machines are driven pre-sowing preparation Soils, sowing, apply fertilizers.
2. Competent - because you need to take into account the timing of sowing, the choice of the right crop for green organic matter, the type and composition of the soil. Peas love neutral soil, lupine will grow everywhere except barren clay, sainfoin will grow even in a field with heavy soil containing a large number of stones.
3. Healthy - because the amount of costs for growing green manure should not be much greater than the profit from increasing potato yields.

Sowing green manure in the fall after potatoes - step-by-step instructions

1. Prepare the soil for sowing by loosening the top layer with a rake.
2. You need to sow green manure after potatoes in August 2-3 days after the end of harvesting. To do this, scatter the seeds according to the instructions, which are set out in the markings on the bag (about 1.5-2 kg/100 square meters).
3. Flatten the sown area back side shovel or roll with a hand roller.
4. The area with grown plants should be dug up when they have gained sufficient weight, but no later than a few days before the onset of stable frosts. For large areas, it is recommended to use a cultivator or flat cutter. Pre-scattered ash, as a fertilizer for the garden, will enhance the beneficial effect of using green organic matter.

Features of using green manure

Beginner gardeners need to know how to properly use green manure crops in order to avoid mistakes that will ruin all the efforts expended. There are voluminous scientific works that describe in detail, but rather boringly, the method of enriching the fertile layer with “green fertilizers”. Is there simple recommendations, including easy-to-follow rules:

1. If the stems of green manure plants begin to coarse and turn into powerful shoots - excess green mass becomes visible to the eye - the overgrown ground part must be mowed in time. Because biomass that has not had time to decompose during winter period, will become a source of all kinds of fungal and viral diseases potato fruits.
2. If green manure crops are sown in small areas, it is better to scatter them by hand rather than sow them using hand seeders. Scattered seedlings will more reliably protect potato beds from weeds.

Plants for organic matter cannot be planted after related plants. garden crops. For example, the predecessor of potatoes was peas. This area cannot be sown with leguminous plants after harvesting peas: clover, vetch, lupine. They have common pests and diseases that can multiply wildly on a newly planted crop.

Green manure, in the absence of manure, there is no alternative

Once the most valuable organic fertilizer was considered to be manure, which was stored in huge quantities near cattle farms. And humus was used to fertilize all the fallow lands on collective farms, as well as the gardens of summer residents and subsidiary plots. For this purpose, a set of special agricultural machines was created, and the process was completely mechanized. But those times have sunk into oblivion. There has been no public herd for a long time, and with it the mountains of humus disappeared. Manure has become the scarcest and rather expensive organic fertilizer. And then they began to sow green manure more actively. After all, without organic feeding, not a single cultivated plant will not bear fruit normally. Hope for mineral fertilizers groundless, unpromising, groundless. Soilless - because mineral fertilizers have become much more expensive and not every gardener can afford to fertilize several acres with them. Unpromising - because the production of fertilizers in Russia is focused on the foreign market. Unfounded - because every gardener strives to grow healthy, environmentally friendly vegetables, berries and fruits on his plot.

Vika

Vetch or mouse pea is a fast-growing plant with short term growing season. Such attractive features allow vetch to be included in a mixture with other green manure plants. These include rye, rapeseed, white mustard, oats and ryegrass. The legume family of plants, which includes vetch, is capable of accumulating nitrogen in the nodules of the root system. When vetch roots rot, nitrogen saturates the top layer, and is consumed from it by potatoes. Acting as an element of the green manure mixture, vetch contributes to the production optimal composition humus, which is formed after the decomposition of green biomass.

When vetch roots rot, nitrogen saturates the top layer, and is consumed from it by potatoes.

Sweet clover

This plant has remarkable qualities: it is unpretentious to soil and weather, hardy, grows and develops quickly. The powerful root system accumulates nitrogen well and goes deep into the ground a meter or more. This circumstance makes it possible not to dig up the fertile layer after cutting and removing the stems. It will already be loose without additional cultivation. It is used as a drainage method of using green fertilizer, since its roots are much more useful for potatoes than the above-ground part.

White mustard

White mustard is planted in the fall several weeks before the season. persistent frosts. This frost-resistant plant with long roots not only fertilizes the soil, but also improves conditions for the development of soil microflora and worms. As a result, the structure of the fertile layer becomes loose, saturated with air and nutrients. After mustard, the potato yield is guaranteed to increase. Also possessing a powerful above-ground part, white mustard grows and develops quickly. Excellent results To feed potatoes with organic matter, a mixture of mustard and vetch is given. To speed up the rotting of the mown green mass, it is recommended to spray it with an aqueous solution of a biostimulant, for example Baikal. Mustard rids the fertile layer of harmful insects (wireworms, beetle larvae) and inhibits weeds.

This frost-resistant plant with long roots not only fertilizes the soil, but also improves conditions for the development of soil microflora and worms.

Radish

Oilseed radish is characterized by fast-growing tops. In one and a half to two months, it is capable of increasing its ground part by 4-5 times. It is also famous for its ability to choke out all weeds, including the indestructible creeping wheatgrass. Radish also successfully cleans the fertile layer from putrefactive bacteria and insect pests.

This root crop requires soft soil, so the area for potatoes must first be loosened. The seeding rate is 300 grams per hundred square meters. A month after entry, the radish along with the tops is dug up with a shovel or flat cutter.

Cereal green manure for potatoes

Oats

Oats are a grain crop that tolerates cold and loves wet soil. Green organic matter from oats is rich in elements (potassium and nitrogen) that potatoes need. With the help of this cereal you can create a loose fertile layer with good air and water supply on heavy soils. The effectiveness of oats is significantly enhanced by a mixture of its seeds with vetch or peas, as well as ammonium nitrate added to them in small doses. In this case, plowing the green mass into the ground should be done when vetch or peas begin to form buds.

Rye

Winter rye is considered a good soil health worker. It successfully fights nematodes and late blight. With the help of rye, you can improve the health of your potato plot by combating harmful bacteria and insects. This cereal is famous for its good green mass - tender and juicy, quickly decomposing and saturating the soil with phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. Powerful roots destroy the compacted structure of the soil, making it loose, absorbing a lot of moisture and air. One of the most important advantages of rye is the conversion of phosphorus into a form that is easily absorbed by potatoes. This grain is sown at the end of August. Embedded in the ground in early spring, when the growth of its crops reaches 20-25 centimeters in height. This usually happens in early May. And after two weeks you can plant potatoes.

Experienced gardeners “feed” potato root crops with green manure in spring and summer. So, white mustard is planted between the rows, which will protect the earth from the scorching sun, retain moisture, and drive away harmful insects.

In August and September, after harvesting some crops, the vacant beds are sown with green manure. In a short period of time, growing, they produce a large amount of green mass. As green manure decomposes, it enriches the soil with humus and nutrients, prevents the growth of weeds, loosens the soil with its roots, and prevents pathogens and pests from developing in the soil. The roots of green manure are good food for earthworms and other soil animals. In general, green manure helps restore soil fertility and is the most effective and environmentally friendly way to revitalize tired land.

On household plots and summer cottages White mustard, phacelia, rye, oats, rapeseed, lupine, and oilseed radish are most often sown as green manure. The choice of green manure depends on what crop is planned to be sown on the site next year and on the soil conditions. You cannot sow green manures of the same family as the main crop, because they have the same diseases and pests, and also because of soil fatigue. For example, you cannot sow rapeseed under cabbage, radish, turnips, daikon, radish (cruciferous family), and lupine under peas, beans and lentils (legume family).

From personal experience, I have only been able to test the effect of mustard as a green manure crop. For several years in a row, we have been sowing mustard on the plot immediately after we dig up the potatoes. In terms of timing, this is the end of August - beginning of September. In a month or a month and a half, the mustard manages to grow a lot of green mass, which we do not mow and leave to overwinter in the garden bed. In spring, not a trace of green manure remains, but the effect is obvious. The soil is much looser, there are simply teeming with worms, and the potatoes don’t get sick.

In this article we are happy to share personal experience, how easily and without unnecessary hassles you can sow mustard in the fall to improve the soil 😉

Mustard as green manure

Mustard with the specific epithet “white” is widely known as green manure, although in fact both its flowers and seeds are yellow. Mustard sown on the plot has enormous benefits:

• improves soil composition: saturates with organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur.
• mustard green mass, crushed and plowed into the soil, is 2 times more effective fertilizer than manure,
• releases sparingly soluble phosphates,
• loosens the soil,
• has fungicidal and bactericidal properties,
• suppresses the development of pathogenic microorganisms,
• suppresses the spread of weeds,
• cleans the soil of wireworms and nematodes,
• expels slugs and pea codling moth from the site,
• heals the soil,
• prevents the development of potato scab, fusarium, late blight, rhizoctoniosis,
• Mustard is also an excellent honey plant.

Mustard as a green manure is very easy to grow, germinates quickly and grows at lightning speed. Literally 30 - 45 days are enough for it to grow a lot of green mass. Grows well in any soil: from very acidic to alkaline.

Mustard seeds germinate at temperatures down to -3 degrees. The seedlings are cold-resistant: they can easily tolerate frosts down to -5 degrees.

If in the same season you plan to plant the main crop after mustard, it is better to mow the green manure before mass flowering, while the leaves are juicy. Grind and bury. At autumn planting You don’t have to mow the mustard - it will rot over the winter and give the soil maximum benefit.

It is especially useful to plant mustard as a green manure under potatoes, tomatoes and root vegetables. But it is better not to sow under related crops (the cruciferous family). The list of prohibited crops includes cabbage, radish, turnip, rutabaga, daikon, radish.

• peas and beans,
• strawberries and strawberries,
• potato,
• onions and garlic,
• carrots and beets,
• zucchini and pumpkin,
• tomatoes and cucumber,
• berries and grapes.

Seeding rate: 3-4 g per 1 square meter, or 300-400 g per hundred square meters. For protection against wireworms: up to 10 g per square meter.

Sowing time:

• in the spring before planting the main crop,
• in the summer after harvesting early crops,
• autumn into winter,
• from April to September (inclusive).

General “Golden” rules for sowing green manure:

1. Sow thickly.
2. Do not bury green manure deep into the soil (ideally, cut it with a flat cutter at a depth of 2-3 cm, then the roots will rot and the green mass will become mulch).
3. Allow 2 weeks between incorporating green manure into the soil and planting the main crop.
4. Do not allow green manure to become contaminated.
5. Do not plant green manures related to the crop that you plan to sow next.

Mustard can be planted on:

• poor soils containing little organic matter and nitrogen,
• on heavy, clay and loamy soils inhabited by weeds,
• on acidic soils It’s better not to sow mustard,
• mustard prefers slightly alkaline soils,
• mustard is excellent for sowing on a slope where the soil is washed away - to consolidate it.

In general, mustard is universal and suitable for sowing on all types of soil, unlike many other green manures.

Step by step: How to sow mustard

Preparation for sowing:

1. The vacated area is cleared of weeds and tops.
2. To sow mustard, it is enough to loosen the soil to a depth of 4-7 cm. But if autumn digging of the soil is practiced, then you need to dig it up before sowing green manure, to a depth of 20-25 cm.
3. Fertilizers are added to very depleted soil when digging or loosening (Gumi-Omi Autumn or Chicken droppings are suitable).

Sowing methods:

1. Mustard seeds are scattered thickly over the garden bed and lightly embedded in the soil.
2. Or you can: Make grooves 2-4 cm deep, sprinkle seeds and cover them with soil using a hoe, rake or flat cutter.
3. The sown mustard must be covered on top with mulch, film or spandbond so that the seeds are not pecked by birds.

Master class: How we sow mustard in the fall

Every year, after harvesting potatoes in late August - early September, we sow mustard as green manure. We have already written about the positive effect. Now he will do a short master class on how to easily sow mustard in the fall to improve the soil.

1. Having dug up the potatoes, we remove all plant debris from the site: tops, weeds, rotten seedlings.
2. Then we level the ground with a rake, simultaneously loosening its surface literally a couple of centimeters.
3. We scatter mustard seeds thickly on the surface of the soil.
4. We cover the crops with film or spandbond so that nimble sparrows do not peck them out. Tested: birds love mustard seeds. You can't wait for the shoots. Since the plot is large, we sow it in squares. They sowed, covered, sprouted, removed the cover, and went to sow the next square. It’s easier to sow in “portions”: it’s not so labor-intensive and there’s enough covering material (see photo below).
5. Before the onset of autumn frosts, mustard has time to grow green mass, partially blooms, but does not produce seeds. That's why we don't mow it down, but leave it to winter as is - right on the root. The literature confirms our conjectures: mustard left to overwinter in the garden overwinters in the winter, serves as mulch, and natural natural processes occur in the soil that improve it.
6. In the spring, before planting potatoes, we dig up the soil - not a trace remains of the green manure. We note: there is simply a colossal number of earthworms in the soil, it is very loose. And in the literature they advise: do not dig up the soil in the spring, but treat it with a flat cutter to a depth of 5-7 cm. This is probably correct. Digging up the soil, with pain in our hearts we chop down the worms that work to loosen it.

This is what our potato plot looks like during the autumn sowing of mustard in “squares”:

It is important not to leave the beds empty after harvesting. Don’t skimp on a bag of mustard, don’t be lazy to sow it in the fall - as you can see, it’s very simple - and the earth will thank you with a generous harvest 😉 Tested!

Potatoes belong to the nightshade crops, which are native to South America. It is one of the main vegetables on the table of every housewife, and the variety of dishes throughout the year depends on how correctly it is planted and grown.

To get a good potato harvest, you need to properly prepare the soil and create conditions for its growth. And also we must not forget about the rules of crop rotation and the selection of the best neighboring crops.

Potatoes can be planted in the same area after 3-4 years. If the area is small, then it can grow in one place, but not more than 3 years.

At the same time, organic and mineral fertilizers are introduced into the soil, compensating for all the beneficial substances taken from the soil by potatoes. In addition, we must not forget about soil disinfection, since diseases and pests will attack potatoes with renewed vigor every year.

After harvesting the potato crop, the soil is dug deep and the layer is completely turned over. This helps to freeze the ground and destroy diseases and pests.

In the spring, after the soil has warmed up, compost or humus is added and it is dug up again. Mineral supplements are added upon planting.

After harvesting early potatoes, green manure is sown in its place; they will improve the soil for subsequent plantings.

When choosing crops that can grow after potatoes, we must not forget about the rules of crop rotation.

According to the rules of rotation, crops are divided into 4 groups:

1. Root vegetables (potatoes, onions, beets, carrots). Givers good harvest with a high potassium content in the soil.
2. Fruits (cucumbers, pumpkin, peppers, eggplants, zucchini). Demanding on the presence of phosphorus in the soil.
3. Leafy (greens, cabbage, lettuce, spinach). Demanding on nitrogen content in the soil.
4. Legumes that saturate the soil with nitrogen. Most suitable for crop rotation.

Any crops are planted in accordance with their needs for nutrients, for example, leafy plants planted after legumes. And legumes, in turn, grow well after onions and garlic. And they give a good harvest after potatoes.

Vegetable crop rotation table

During crop rotation, you can alternate tops and roots, for example, in place of potatoes and tomatoes, greens, legumes, carrots, beets, lettuce, garlic, zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage and pumpkin are planted.

In the spring, former potato beds can be planted: onions, radishes, garlic, radishes, spinach, beets, lettuce, turnips, cabbage, daikon, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, legumes and melons.

In place of onions, garlic, legumes, you can sow and plant any crops. Planting them again in one place is undesirable.

It is not recommended to plant strawberries and wild strawberries in place of potatoes.

In place of melons, zucchini, squash, and cucumbers, the following grow well: potatoes, legumes, radishes, tomatoes, garlic, and cabbage.

Carrots are grown in place of cabbage.

What to plant in the fall?

In the fall, after harvesting potatoes, you can sow greens, winter grains, and peas. All these crops allow the restoration of deep layers of soil and grow well in the place of potatoes.

Before winter

To improve the soil composition, you can sow green manure:

• alfalfa
• lupine
• mustard
• peas
• phacelia

They not only improve the composition of the soil, but also loosen it and fight diseases and pests.

The larvae of the click beetle (wireworms) are distributed everywhere, not only in potato beds.

It is not advisable to control pests with pesticides. Toxic substances then enter the plants. In addition, they destroy not only larvae, but also living organisms useful to the soil.

Therefore, various agrotechnical control methods are more often used. Digging the soil in the fall reduces the number of insects. The larvae die from the cold.

• Early spring digging also helps in the fight against wireworms.
• Right organized crop rotation Helps get rid of wireworms.
• In heavily infested areas, green manure is sown after harvesting.
• The wireworm does not like such crops such as: buckwheat, mustard, rapeseed, rapeseed, sweet clover, oilseed radish, black beans, chickpeas, beans, soybeans, peas, soybeans and spinach.

These crops are sown on the site for 2-3 years. During this period, all wireworm larvae die or turn into beetles and leave.

Sown green manure attracts pests, after which the plants are dug up and removed from the site.

Marigolds and white mustard, sown between rows or along the edges of the beds, will also help fight wireworms.

Instead of pesticides, ammonia fertilizers are applied to the soil in the spring, which destroy the pest.

Green manure and onions after potatoes: video

After what crop should potatoes be planted?

The best predecessors for potatoes are various root vegetables, cabbage, and green crops.

You can alternate with potatoes onions, beets, carrots, peas, zucchini, beans, cucumbers and beans.

You can plant potatoes and other root vegetables and legumes on site; next year you can plant zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin, and then onions and tomatoes.

After watermelons, melons, celery, cucumbers, carrots and parsley, the following are planted: potatoes, tomatoes, legumes, onions and garlic.

During the growing season, potatoes take phosphorus and potassium from the soil. After harvesting, it is necessary to replenish the lack of these substances in the soil by introducing appropriate fertilizers.

Potatoes cannot be planted after tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, physalis and tobacco. They are related crops and have common pathogens and pests. At the same time, spores of late blight, macrosporiosis, various rots accumulate in the soil, and the plants begin to hurt.

What can't be planted after potatoes?

Potatoes as a predecessor are not suitable for strawberries. Strawberry beds in place of potatoes can grow no earlier than after 3 years.

It is strictly forbidden to grow potatoes in place of:

• sunflower,
• cucumbers,
• pumpkin,
• zucchini,
• squash,
• melons,
• raspberries

For the success of potato cultivation, you need to take into account the principles of healthy neighbors.

Potatoes go well with corn, white cabbage, beans, horseradish, spinach, mint, garlic and onions. They have a beneficial effect on potato plantings. Beans feed potatoes with nitrogen, protect them from the Colorado potato beetle, and it, in turn, protects it from the Bruchus pest.

Neighborhood with potatoes for cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, tomatoes, squash, peppers, physalis, eggplant and cabbage is undesirable for each other.

Planting strawberries and wild strawberries close to a potato bed attracts wireworms. In rainy weather, the berries are affected by black and gray rot. The infection eventually spreads to potato tubers.

Potato and strawberry plantings should be separated by strips of spinach, carrots, beets or radishes.

Potatoes also do not like proximity to cherries, apple trees, raspberries, sea buckthorn, chokeberry and grapes.

To prevent the appearance onion fly, weevil, cabbage whites, as well as damage to plants by fusarium in row-spacings You can plant marigolds.

• Calendula protects against the Colorado potato beetle.
• Nasturtium prevents the appearance of whiteflies and whiteflies.
• Pyrethrum chamomile keeps aphids and caterpillars away cabbage scoop, whites and rodents.
• Tansy - from many pests.
• Lavender - from aphids, ants.

At correct selection neighboring crops can protect plants from diseases and pests, and increase yield.

This nightshade crop loves fertile, breathable, light soil, with a slightly acidic reaction, with a pH of 5-6.

Potatoes produce a good harvest on sandy, sod-podzolic, chernozem, peat, and gray forest soils.

Loose soil allows the root system to be saturated with oxygen and the tubers to develop well. Normal access of oxygen to the roots guarantees good taste qualities tubers.

Wet areas and beds with close passage groundwater Not suitable for planting potatoes.

Over-watering potatoes is highly undesirable. This leads to slower plant growth and promotes the development of diseases. When groundwater passes close, a drainage system is required.

1. Heavy sandy, clayey, podzolic soils require preliminary improvement.
2. In dense soil, small, deformed and tasteless tubers are formed.
3. In heavy clay, loamy soil based on square meter a bucket of humus (compost, peat) is added. A bucket of clay soil is brought into a sandy or sandy loam area.
4. In peat soil you need to add a bucket of compost or humus, a bucket of clay, a bucket of coarse sand.
5. At high acidity soil is mixed slaked lime or ash.

Fertilizing, watering, weeding and hilling potatoes can compensate for the lack of oxygen and nutrients, which allows you to grow a good harvest.

Shaded areas are not suitable for growing potatoes. The beds should be light and fully heated sun rays. Lack of light leads to elongated, lightened stems, poor flowering, and poor and small harvests.

Plowing or digging the soil for potatoes creates a loose, aerated layer of soil with a sufficient amount of moisture.

Potatoes are planted in an area dug up in advance, in the fall, to a depth of 25-30 centimeters.

Before digging begins, 5 kilograms of rotted manure or compost are added per square meter of land. On sandy or depleted soils, the amount of organic matter increases to 9 kilograms. Fresh manure and unripened compost are not suitable for these purposes.

• Together with organic matter, 200 grams are added per square meter of beds wood ash or slaked lime, 25 grams of potassium sulfate and 25 grams of double granulated superphosphate.
• In the absence of organic matter, mineral fertilizers are buried in the soil. Per square meter of future plantings, 50 grams of ammonium sulfate, 15 grams of urea or 50 grams of superphosphate are used.
• Intensive potassium-phosphorus nutrition increases potato resistance to low temperatures and diseases, and helps increase productivity.

All fertilizers are buried 12-15 centimeters into the ground.

1/2 normal nitrogen fertilizers applied in the spring, after plowing, and covered with a rake. The second part of the fertilizer is applied before hilling the potatoes.

Potatoes propagate vegetatively. To do this, take whole or cut in half healthy large tubers. The future harvest depends on the size of the tubers and the number of eyes on them. It is not possible to harvest a large harvest from small potatoes with a small number of eyes.

Tubers are prepared in the fall. They are selected and sent for storage in a well-ventilated area. Tubers are germinated 1-2 months before planting. For this purpose they are distributed thin layer in boxes and placed in a bright room at an air temperature of +15-20 degrees.

After germination, tubers with thread-like sprouts are removed.

It is better to plant potatoes from north to south or from northwest to southeast. Optimal temperature The soil for planting potatoes is +7-8° degrees.

For early potatoes, add a glass of humus, a tablespoon of ash and a teaspoon of superphosphate to each hole. The mixture is embedded in the soil to a depth of 10 centimeters. For mid-season varieties, the amount of fertilizing is increased twice and deepened by 15 centimeters.

The potatoes are laid out in holes and sprinkled with soil, and tubercles are formed on top of the holes. If the air temperature has not reached the required standards, the plantings are covered with film or non-woven material. When shoots appear, arcs are installed. In persistent warm weather, the shelter is removed.

How to cultivate the soil after potatoes: video

Potatoes are one of the main crops cultivated in garden beds. All subsequent plantings in this area depend on a healthy potato harvest; to avoid problems, everything must be done on time. agrotechnical measures, adhere to crop rotation and correctly combine neighboring plants.