Early potato variety Red Scarlet
The potato variety Red Scarlet appeared on the domestic market not so long ago, but it is already successfully grown by gardeners in private summer cottages. Unpretentious, resistant to many diseases, with good storage performance, it has rightfully occupied its niche among potato hybrid varieties in Russian agriculture.
Early potato variety Red Scarlet
Description of Red Scarlet potatoes
The potato Red Scarlet got its name due to the external description: red - in translation red, scarlet - bright scarlet. And if you get acquainted with the external characteristics of the description of the variety, then there will be no doubt that this name corresponds to vegetables. They have a characteristic distinctive feature - a potato skin with a reddish, sometimes even closer to raspberry, shade.
Bred in Dutch agriculture, the red Scarlett migrated to the European economy and then found its consumer in Russia. Today, early potatoes are grown on the lands of the central regions and in the Russian south.
The characteristic of the description of the Red Scarlett potato includes the main external signs by which you can distinguish this type of vegetable crop from others:
- tubers are oval in shape, elongated, with a characteristic color for the variety,
- velvety texture of the peel,
- yellow potato pulp,
- small, almost invisible, yellow eyes.
Potato bushes are distinguished by their rapid growth and development, with low tops and light green foliage. Red Scarlett blooms with dark or light pink inflorescences.
Taste qualities determine the optimal indicators of starch contained in potatoes - 10-15%. During the cooking process, the vegetables crumble slightly.
Quality and yield of vegetable products
Belonging to the premium potato hybrid varieties, it stands out for its excellent taste, in many respects surpassing some similar varieties in characteristics and description. Grown vegetables are well stored in cool rooms for at least six months and tolerate transportation. The commercial quality of Red Scarlet potatoes during storage in winter is ensured due to the resistance of vegetables to rot.
The average size of the tubers of the Red Scarlett potato variety, according to the description, is 60 - 120 grams of weight.
The characteristic of Red Scarlet in terms of fruiting rates classifies this hybrid as high-yielding with early ripening. In some cases, the number of vegetables on one potato bush can have a yield of about 20-25 pieces. Up to 6 tons of potatoes can be harvested from 1 hectare of planting area. For comparison:
- The gingerbread man brings up to 2.5 tons per hectare,
- Jubilee - up to 2.38 tons per hectare,
- Rosara - up to 3 tons per hectare, Gala - up to 4 tons per hectare.
Only the Belarusian Skarb, which produces the same indicators, can compete with the yield records that Scarlet has.
Early ripening red Scarlet brings its first potato crop in July - early August.From the moment of the first emerging shoots to the date of technical ripening of vegetables, no more than 45-55 days pass.
The largest yields in terms of quantity, judging by the reviews of gardeners who grow this potato, are noted in warm Russian regions, where sufficient humidity is maintained, because this hybrid does not tolerate dry periods poorly.
Preparing for landing
You need to germinate seeds in good lighting.
The cultivation of this potato hybrid is most often and best done by the eye method. Reviews of gardeners who practice growing the Scarlet potato variety on their site note that before planting tubers in open soil, it is recommended to transfer the planting seed material from the dark basements where they are stored to light ones and keep them for at least 30 days. This is enough time for the potato eyes to sprout.
When storing vegetables for germination of sprouts from the eyes of potato tubers, it is required to maintain a temperature regime at a level not lower than 10-15 '.
An important condition for the future rich harvest of vegetable crops is the provision of sufficient illumination in the room during the germination of the eyes. Its deficiency affects the intensity of the subsequent growth and development of the plant.
When the first shoots appear from the potato eyes, it is possible to plan the planting of planting material, if weather conditions permit, for which large tubers are cut into pieces, in each of which there must be a sprout sprouted from the eye. They are slightly dried before planting.
How to grow properly
Among the main features in planting potatoes of the Red Scarlet variety is the planting of its sprouted, cut into pieces, tubers in an earthen ridge. Judging by the reviews of summer residents, such a planting provides the vegetable crop with the maximum possible development and, as a result, good yield.
Do not forget in the process of planting potatoes to fertilize the ridges prepared for it with nitrogen-containing fertilizer.
It is recommended to plant parts of tubers every 35 cm from each other at a depth of no more than 6-7 cm. Furrows are made with 0.6-0.7 meter intervals. Wood ash is laid in the earth holes intended for planting material. Many gardeners are advised to put onion peels, designed to repel pests and against fungal diseases. The tuberous parts are planted in the holes with the sprout upward, which ensures rapid growth. The height of the embankment above the seeds is up to 12 cm.
When the first green shoots appear, the size of the earthen ridge rises to 0.2 m.
For a potato variety, three watering times are enough:
- the first in a row is carried out until flowering,
- watering a second time when the potato bushes are blooming
- the third, final watering falls on the time after flowering, namely on the eighth day after it.
Hilling seedlings at least three times during the entire process of growing a vegetable crop will become an additional stimulus for the intensity of potato development, which directly affects its yield.
Gardeners note that they get the most productive potato elite only in the fourth year of vegetable planting, and in the fifth gardening season, the first reproduction is collected - planting material in a balanced price - quality variant.