The cultivation of potatoes is the main thing for thousands of Kuban farmers, tens of thousands of homeowners. Kuban, Krasnodar Territory is not the best region for potatoes. In a hot, dry summer, this culture does not feel comfortable - record harvests are not to be expected here. But nobody is going to refuse this culture.
Potatoes for normal development require moderate temperatures, moisture. And high summer temperatures have a depressing effect on the development of tubers.
With a heat of 35 degrees, all the processes of tuber development are stopped, and the mass does not increase.
Soil, its preparation for planting potatoes
The soil of the north-eastern part of the Krasnodar Territory, where my Novokubansky district is located, is low-carbonated leached chernozems of heavy mechanical composition, with a relatively high humus content and high density.
Soil is of great importance for growing potatoes. However, it must be borne in mind that young tubers have little power to push apart heavy dense soils, such as the chernozems of the Krasnodar Territory. This feature suggests that the soil should be loose all the time. Dense soil prevents the growth of the root system, it develops weakly, deformed, clumsy tubers form.
Even if you have a small plot, it is advisable to observe crop rotation anyway. The best predecessors are legumes, carrots, lettuce, spinach, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, except for nightshade ones. And the ideal ones are legumes, clover, alfalfa. It would be nice if, of course, the area of your site allows you to plant it with peas or clover in the previous year of planting potatoes. After harvesting the green mass for hay (it is useful to you even if you do not have any living creatures - it can be used as mulch), they dig a plot for planting potatoes in the fall. This contributes to better moisture accumulation, air flow - tubers develop better in a moist, loose layer of earth.
Perennial herbs, for example, alfalfa, leave the largest amount of organic matter for the development of garden plants. The study of Kuban chernozems by scientists-agrarians revealed the positive role of alfalfa in improving the agrophysical properties of the soil and increasing its fertility.
It is necessary to prepare the soil for planting potatoes in the fall. The first thing to do is to add organic fertilizers. The best - rotted cow, horse, bird droppings. Pure fresh manure is best avoided. Only bring the rotten! Overripe cow manure - 4-5 kg per 1 sq. m. Horse - 4-6 kg per 1 square. The dose of dry chicken droppings is 0.2 - 0.3 kg / m2.
With regular (1 time in 2-3 years) spreading of rotted manure, heavy soils after a few years become loose, structural (finely crumpled), which contributes to better penetration of air and moisture to the roots of plants. The fertilizing effect of manure lasts several years: the more manure is introduced, the longer. Many gardeners warn: with rotten manure, you can bring to the site of such a malicious pest as a bear.
If you are late in the autumn, fertilize the soil with organic matter, then rotted manure can be applied during planting. But there is one obligatory rule: put 150-200 g of rotted manure on the bottom of the dug hole. Be sure to cover it with a thin layer of earth to protect the tubers from burns. If possible, you can add 5-10 g of wood ash (tablespoon) and 10 g of bird droppings. Siderata is an excellent fertilizer for black soil. Firstly, they enrich the soil with organic matter and nitrogen, and secondly, siderates can very well replace the use of manure (3 kg of green mass can replace 1-1.5 kg of manure). Overbearing, siderates make the soil more loose. They inhibit weed growth. Some siderates, such as mustard, scare the wireworm. And in the area sown with lupine, the Colorado potato beetle does not winter.
Experienced potato growers advise planting potatoes in cultivated, fertilized, “ripe” soil. What land can be considered ripe? Squeeze a handful of earth with your hand, throw it down from the height of the belt. Ripe earth will crumble upon impact on the ground. If so, you can plant potatoes.
What varieties of potatoes are best suited for planting in the Kuban
In any region, varieties that are divided into early, mid-early, mid-ripening, mid-late and late are of great importance for growing potatoes. Their attribution to one or another species depends on how many days after planting, you can start digging tubers:
- early - in 50–65 days;
- mid-early - after 65-80 days; and
- mid-season - after 80–95 days;
- mid-late - after 95-110 days;
- later - after 110 days or more.
Kuban farmers plant mainly early varieties for sale in late May-June. This is Impala, Zhukovsky early, Luck, Red Scarlet, Dita, Roco, Romano, Picasso, others. Among gardeners, they also proved to be quite good.
I always plant several varieties with different ripening dates. It is difficult to predict what the upcoming spring or summer will be. That is why one cannot be planted. Early planting only for young potatoes. We eat almost all of it young. There is almost no storage left.
I will tell you about those varieties that I was engaged in growing myself - I have something to tell about them.
Variety Impala
For example, I really like the Impala. This variety never let me down. Every year she will give birth well. I think that it is very suitable for growing in the Kuban. Very early. Bushes are tall (up to 70 cm), flowers are white. You can dig in the bushes 40-45 days after planting. This is a Dutch selection. The tubers are large, small are not. Tubers quickly gain weight. It gives a stable crop even in dry, hot summers. Tubers manage to gain weight before the heat begins. The tubers are large, beautiful, smooth, oval, all about the same size. The peel is yellow, the flesh is light yellow. Eyes are small. The number of tubers is 7-8, sometimes more. It boils well. You cannot call it particularly crumbly, but during cooking, the surface of the potatoes slightly crack, as it were, and looks appetizing. It is very tasty in mashed potatoes, soup, fried. After cooking, it does not darken. Impala is resistant to some viruses, to a potato nematode, medium resistant to late blight of tubers, tops, and scab.
Variety Rocco (Rocco)
I think this variety is successful, for cultivation in the Kuban only with a sufficient amount of rain in May or with sufficient watering during tuberization. A variety of Dutch breeding. Belongs to mid-season, therefore, tuberization in terms of time is later for him than, for example, for Impala. Therefore, it will grow well, and the tubers gain weight with sufficient moisture. You can dig in the bushes no earlier than 60-65 days, sometimes even later. It is believed that this variety reaches full ripening in 80-95 days. Roco's tubers are very beautiful in color, smooth, and their eyes are small. I just plant it because of the beautiful tubers. 😀 Bush of medium height. The flowers are purple, but I had few flowers. Creamy tuber flesh. The potato does not boil. Delicious in soups, good fried, with a crispy crust. Roco is resistant to cancer, a golden potato cyst-forming nematode, moderately resistant to late blight on tubers, toll leaves, and is resistant to wrinkled, banded mosaics.
Variety Romano
Middle-early variety of Dutch breeding. The ripening period is 65-80 days, but the initial development is slow, so I begin to dig it up 50 days after planting. Bushes are tall, straight, red-lilac flowers. The tubers are more rounded than Roco's. The skin color is pink. The color of the pulp is light cream. Productive enough. My number of tubers in the bush was 7-10 pieces. But not every bush could boast of such productivity. There were bushes with fewer tubers. Delicious. When cooking moderately boils. But good in soup or fried. The peel of this variety is quite dense. I really like the whole baked: the peel remains intact when baked, without cracks, and the flesh inside is friable. Good resistance to late blight on tubers, relative - on leaves, moderately resistant to scab, viral diseases, rhizoctonia, relatively resistant to mosaic types of viruses, cancer.
Sort Picasso
A variety of Dutch breeding. I read a lot of good reviews, heard from friends about him. I have long wanted to try to grow it. This spring I bought one last pack (5 kg). But, as I was with my friend, I had to share it. Planted 23 bushes (one potato each). Harvest pleased. Very productive, beautiful variety. The tubers are large, oval. 2 buckets (about 16-18 kg) were dug out of 2.5 kg of planting material. The color is unusual - the tuber is yellow with pink spots on the top and around the eyes. Creamy flesh. They dug a little for food. Boiled - the taste is excellent, boiled - you can even eat without oil. We decided to leave almost the entire crop for seeds. But probably will not work. She climbed into the cellar for potatoes - gasped. Rats made their way there - almost all the tubers are bitten. This has never happened before. So deep these pests did not climb before. And then ... they made such a rout ... Semennaya also suffered, although I greened it, but apparently weakly ...
Picasso is an excellent variety for Kuban growing conditions. The taste of boiled potatoes, its friability is a strong argument for him.
And I’ll deal with rats ...
Resistant to potato nematode, fusarium, scab, cancer. Medium tolerance to late blight of the tops, resistant to tuber damage. Somewhere I met information that Picasso gives good yields and excellent taste when planted after mustard or lupine siderata. I did not check this information.
In autumn, I usually scatter rotten cow or chicken droppings throughout the site. I scatter it every year, but less than the norm that they write about. I buy manure, so I don’t have much of it. She planted potatoes after a pumpkin, poured 1 tbsp in each hole. a spoonful of superphosphate + a handful of wood ash. From above it was covered with soil from a compost heap.
Pest and Potato Disease Control
Alas, growing potatoes is not without pests and diseases! I tried many ways to fight. It’s hard to say which one is better or worse. Year to year - not necessary. What was effective before can fail later. I will describe my impressions of the use of various drugs.
Against the Colorado potato beetle, the drug Bancol was used several years ago. Good drug. It was enough to spray one potato bushes. Adults and young individuals of the Colorado potato beetle died almost immediately. No reprocessing needed. But then, the potatoes left on the seeds gave weak springlike shoots in the spring. I had to buy seeds. I did not pay attention to this circumstance. Again the field was treated with Bankol - again left without seed. Only then did I realize that Bancol inhibits reproductive function. I didn’t use it anymore, since I always used my seeds, and it’s a pity ... - of such an effect, I mean its ability to deal with the Colorado potato beetle in one treatment, I have not yet met. The creators of the drug claim that a week after processing the crops, Bancol decomposes into components that are finally neutralized by soil bacteria. So, if you do not leave seed tubers, it is difficult to find the best drug against the Colorado potato beetle.
I used the means Commander, Confidor, Tantrek from the Colorado potato beetle. What can I say? ... Means are effective, but 3-4 treatments are required. And this is already laborious ...
In 2012, I purchased Prestige seed dressing to treat seed tubers against the Colorado potato beetle. I must say that the drug is not cheap - I hesitated for a long time before I decided to buy. The instruction says that it effectively protects the planting of potatoes from wireworm, Colorado potato beetle, bear, aphid carriers of viruses, rhizoctoniosis, and common scab. Manufacturers of the Prestige dressing agent advise to process the tubers in boxes, nets, and then shake them so that the drug is evenly distributed over the tubers. But my seed tubers have already sprouted, it was not practical to shake them - the sprouts could break off. Processed, sprayed sprouted tubers already in the hole. The product is bright raspberry-colored; when preparing the solution for processing, the color of the solution becomes paler, but still I planted potato rosy. The protective period from pests is 50 days, and from diseases - 40 days from the date of treatment. After this, the drug decomposes into non-toxic compounds. The instruction warns that potatoes after processing can be eaten no earlier than 50 days after planting. This, of course, is alarming. But numerous information from various sources confirms that the preparation from the seed tuber rises along the stem, reaches the leaves, does not participate in the process of photosynthesis, and therefore cannot get inside young tubers.
So, I processed the seed when planting - and forgot about it. Then she saw that a neighbor in the country processes her potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle - she decided to check her own. What was my surprise when I saw a lot of dead adult Colorado beetles under the bushes!
This effect struck me.
There is always a lot of work in the garden - I found many other things for myself. Polola, spud, watered ...
Then came the time for the young potato. I counted not 50 days from the day of landing, as the instructions advise, but 60 - just in case. Imagine my surprise when I again saw Colorado beetles of different ages on the bushes. This meant that the action of the Prestige preparation had ended - the potato leaves again became edible for beetles, their larvae.
Of course, the potatoes had already grown, the tubers had started, they were full - the Colorado potato beetle did not represent any danger for her, but ... the sight was unpleasant. After all, these bugs will leave for the winter - then in the spring they will appear again. So, empirically, I came to the conclusion that the treater Prestige does not save potatoes from the second wave of the beetle. Had already grown bushes to handle another drug from the Colorado potato beetle.
Potato cultivation - which technology to choose
I must say that how many gardeners - so many technologies for growing potatoes. Every year I exchange impressions, observations with other amateur potato growers. Every time I learn something new, interesting. Someone will tell about the new variety, about its negative or positive properties, someone will share the seeds, someone will tell about the failures, someone will advise you to change the planting dates. Each such story is like a coin in my piggy bank of knowledge.
Whichever planting variety you choose, it is very useful before spraying the tubers with a solution of copper sulfate, boric acid, potassium permanganate (0.01-0.03%) and dusting the tubers with ash (20 kg / t or 20 g per kilogram of tubers - 2 matchboxes). Wood ash introduced during planting (a handful per hole) increases the starchiness of tubers (friability during cooking) by 1-1.5%. Copper sulfate accelerates tuberization, increases resistance to fungal diseases, boron increases productivity, as well as starchiness of tubers, resistance to rhizoctonia, manganese contributes to the accumulation of starch and vitamin C.
Usually we plant potatoes in the last decade of March. But, of course, the weather can adjust these terms.
This year, a neighbor in the country planted 10 holes during the February windows.Those who live in the Kuban know that we have such a concept - the February windows. There are very warm days when the air temperature warms up to 20 ° C, and sometimes it is even warmer. The sun shines brightly, the top layer of the earth also warms up quite well. So, my neighbor in the fall prepared a small piece of land for planting early potatoes. In the fall, he covered it with a spanbond, and on top with a layer of film. Of course, this piece of land warmed up well on the sunny days of February. After planting, when it was warm, he removed the film, leaving only the spanbond. And in the evening he covered again with a film. In March, when the bushes grew, he installed arcs. He covered the bushes only with a spanbond. And then even removed it. I planted my potatoes in the last days of March, and he already turned green in full, in some places there were buds. He dug these 10 bushes for food in the first half of April! He does not know the name of the variety, has been planting it for many years in a row, calls it “forty-day-old”. Ten seed tubers gave almost a bucket of young potatoes, although the tubers were medium in size, but maybe it depends on the variety. Here, please, I described to you the neighboring technology of growing early potatoes in the Kuban under cover (spanbond or film).
But not only gardeners grow early potatoes under a spanbond. Many farmers plant early varieties for shelter. In April they receive young potatoes for sale. I assure you, it is tastier than imported Turkish.
I believe that the favorable climate of the Krasnodar Territory makes it possible to get a crop using various cultivation technologies. I tried different ones: I grew them from eyes, I grew them from sprouts when there is not enough seed; grown in double rows with one ridge. I have not tried it under cardboard and mulch, but I will definitely try it. I think all these technologies are acceptable for the Kuban.
In irrigated fields, you can get potato crops twice a summer. Watch the video: growing potatoes and obtaining a double crop of farm “Arena” of the Gulkevichsky district of the Krasnodar Territory.