What you need to know about feeding potatoes after planting
It is difficult to harvest a good crop of potatoes if they are planted in areas with a complete lack of minerals. Despite its unpretentiousness, only one plant during the vegetative period assimilates from the soil a significant amount of substances necessary for setting buds and forming tubers. If a gardener plants potatoes in areas where no agricultural work has been carried out before, then he is fabulously lucky - for a couple of years you can not think about fertilizers at all. In all other cases, fertilizing after planting is indispensable, because one bush of this vegetable crop absorbs 50-60 g of nitrogen, 20-25 g of phosphorus and about 100 g of potassium from the soil during spring and summer.
The correct approach to feeding
When fertilizing potato beds after planting, experienced gardeners always take into account that some of the mineral compounds will soon become inaccessible to plants - they will evaporate from the soil or transform into forms that the vegetable crop will not assimilate. To correct the situation, you can increase the frequency of dressings or their volume. It is impossible to do without the introduction of complex, one-component and organic fertilizers when growing potatoes in the open field after planting.
Advice
Before fertilizing, you need to pay attention to the appearance of the plant. If the leaves turn yellow, then there are very few minerals with nitrogen in the soil, and the appearance of a purple color indicates the resulting phosphorus deficiency.
When choosing dressings, one should take into account not only their composition, but also the method of delivery of mineral compounds to the root system. Some of the gardeners prefer to plow the green mass of plants (green fertilizer) into the soil in order to enrich it with nitrogen and organic substances, others prefer to water the plants with herbal infusion.
Special preferences for vegetable crops
Micronutrient fertilizers are needed for potatoes to enhance biochemical processes on cellular damage, better assimilation of basic elements, and increase resistance to fungal diseases and garden pests. An increase in the starch content in tubers even after a single feeding is of great importance. Application of fertilizers after planting increases the shelf life of root crops - they do not deteriorate for a long time during wintering.
For good nutrition, potatoes, in addition to phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, need other trace elements:
- manganese;
- molybdenum;
- magnesium;
- boron;
- zinc.
The plant needs these nutrients in microscopic doses. Nevertheless, in the absence of them, one should not count on a rich harvest. The lack of trace elements makes potatoes defenseless against many diseases.
Fertilizing after planting brings many positive results:
- the fertilization process is enhanced;
- the number of tubers increases;
- the nutritional value increases.
If the plants are fed regularly after planting, then the content of biologically active and nutrients necessary for the human body will increase in the potatoes: easily digestible carbohydrates and vitamins.
Fertilization at the root
In order for the roots of potatoes to fully absorb mineral and organic fertilizers, they should be applied as deeply as possible after planting. When surface dressing is applied, most of the nutrients will be unclaimed. For small areas, the "under stake" method is practiced.A wooden stake is installed between the potato rows so that three plants are located around it. This method allows you to fertilize the bushes without fear of burning and damaging the stems and roots. After removing the cola, fertilizers dissolved in water are poured into the resulting recess, and after the hole in the ground, they are poured.
Advice
Hilling can be timed to the fertilization process - this will ensure the safety of unstable nutrients.
First feeding
The first application of fertilizers to the potato rows is done 1-2 weeks after planting the tubers in the holes. Gardeners are guided by the germination and appearance of young plants. If their growth slows down and the leaves turn pale green, then it's time to feed the potatoes with fertilizers with an increased nitrogen concentration. What can be used:
- cattle manure;
- poultry droppings.
To obtain a complete and safe fertilizer for plant roots, it is necessary to dilute 0.5 kg of mullein in 10 liters of warm water, adding 15-20 g of crystalline urea. Preparing bird droppings is even easier - a tablespoon of dry organic matter should be dissolved in 10 liters of water. In order for each bush to receive the required portion of nitrogen, about 0.5 liters of solution must be added under the plant.
Second feeding
During the application of the second portion of fertilizer after planting, nitrogen is no longer needed. The bush begins to form and grow tubers. To increase the yield, it is necessary to feed the potatoes with mineral or complex fertilizers with a high potassium content. In addition to this trace element, the plant needs an increased dose of phosphorus to form large tubers. To prepare a complete top dressing, mix 15 g of potassium sulfate with the same amount of double superphosphate and dissolve the mineral compounds in 10 liters of water.
Third feeding
You need to fertilize the potatoes for the last time three weeks before digging out the tubers. With the help of top dressing, roots will be enriched with nutrients and vitamins necessary for long storage. You can prepare a complex mineral-organic fertilizer from 0.25 liters of manure and 25-30 g of superphosphate, which should be dissolved in 10 liters of water.
Feeding with yeast
Yeast contains many minerals necessary for the growth of potatoes. They contain magnesium, zinc, boron, iron. To prepare the solution, you can use both raw and dry yeast. To make a useful solution, in addition to the main ingredient, sugar must be added to the mixture to activate live cultures. The fertilizer is prepared as follows: dissolve 10 g of dry yeast and 50 g of sugar in 10 liters of water, let it brew for 2-3 hours and dilute with water in a ratio of 1/5.
Foliar fertilization
One of the features of a vegetable crop is poor absorption of dressings after planting, despite the high need for mineral compounds. Frequent root fertilization sometimes does not justify the cost and time of growing. Recently, many gardeners are giving preference to foliar dressing, which is more effective and cost-effective. But, fertilizing potato bushes in this way, you should consider some features:
- the outer layer of a vegetable leaf consists of several layers;
- the epidermis of the leaf is protected by a biological wax film.
This can become a serious obstacle to the penetration of organic and mineral compounds into the plant when spraying the bush after planting. Surfactants are used not only in household chemicals, but also in the production of fertilizers in order to overcome the natural barrier of potato leaves. The widespread use of chemical compounds is based on their ability to increase the spreading area of the working solution on the sheet. Surfactants help nutrients to gain a foothold and penetrate into the plant.
Fertilize potatoes after planting according to the following algorithm.
- Urea. When the first green shoots appear, you need to fertilize the plants with urea. This mechanical mixture of one-part feeds contains a lot of nitrogen for fast growth. To prepare the solution, it is necessary to dilute 0.2 kg of urea and 10 g of boric acid in 10 liters of water and spray the potato bushes.
- Humates. Potatoes can be fertilized with solutions of salts of humic acids throughout the growing season, immediately after the appearance of several strong leaves. The solution is prepared in accordance with the instructions. As a rule, for its preparation, 2 g of the drug is dissolved in 10 liters of water.
- Phosphorus. Top dressing of potatoes with fertilizers with this chemical element is carried out at the final stage of the growing season to improve the taste of tubers. 0.1 kg of superphosphate should be dissolved in 10 liters of water and sprayed on the plants.
Advice
When choosing a foliar dressing in a store, you should pay attention to its composition. It must necessarily include surfactants or adjuvants. If they are absent, these chemical compounds can be purchased in a separate container, and then mixed with fertilizers according to the instructions.
Correct and regular application of fertilizing after planting will allow the gardener to make large reserves for the winter. The tubers will have excellent taste and optimal shelf life. The next year, such potatoes will grow earlier and form more root crops than grown unfermented.
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