Required fertilizers for potatoes when planting in a hole
A rich harvest of potatoes in the country is not a dream, but a reality. You just need to make a little effort for this. In this, the gardener will be helped by special feeding, which are best used when planting potatoes. The most optimal way to increase the yield is to fertilize potatoes when planting in a hole. The bulk of the plant is underground, so it is very important to fertilize the roots of the potato. First of all, potatoes draw nutrients from the top layer of the earth. And if every year you do not feed your plantings with new portions of mineral and organic fertilizers, the soil will quickly dry up. It is important to saturate the soil with fertilizers not only in the spring, but also in the fall, immediately after the harvest has been harvested.
Necessary fertilizers for potatoes when planting in a hole
Top dressing for potatoes
Potatoes grow well on loams, peaty soils and black soil. But even on good land, a meager harvest can turn out if it is not periodically replenished with useful elements. Depending on what kind of soil you have in your garden and how long you have been feeding it into it, a decision is made as to how best to fertilize the plantings at the moment.
In general, potatoes are quite unpretentious, but if the soil is more fertile, then you will harvest more.
Fertilizers for potatoes when planting in a hole, different fertilizers are required. Top dressing is divided by type (organic matter and minerals) and by the active element - nitrogen, potash, lime, phosphorus and micronutrient fertilizers. There are also simple and complex baits. In simple dressings, there is only one useful element, in complex ones there may be several.
Preparing for landing
Before you put various fertilizing into the hole, you need to properly prepare the seed for planting and choose a good and fertile place on your site. The landing site must be sunny. Purchase seed material only from trusted sellers. It is desirable that the seed potatoes are small in size and of the variety you need. Choose a variety that suits your climate.
Also, instead of small potatoes, you can plant lobes of large potatoes with "eyes", but this is an extreme measure, as they may not germinate. For germination, it is better to put the seed in a warm and sunny place for a couple of days and wait until the "eyes" begin to hatch at the tubers. Please note that the tubers do not need to be soaked in water, as there is enough moisture in the fruit itself. If you improperly prepare seed material, then no matter what kind of fertilizer you apply to the hole, planting may simply not give the desired yield.
Organics for potatoes
The advantage of organic dressings is their versatility. Organics for potatoes, it is better to pour when the potatoes are planted together with fertilizers in the hole. In organics, there are both macronutrients and microelements.For example, manure contains all the main macronutrients necessary for the development of potatoes. Manure is irreplaceable as a nitrogen source. In addition, the manure contains essential trace elements such as boron, sulfur, manganese, vanadium, cobalt and magnesium.
Organic dressings are also irreplaceable because they contain humus - a substance obtained during the decomposition of organic matter. Soils with a high humus content recover faster, they provide a quick influx of moisture and nutrients to the roots. The land is not swamped and at the same time the water is kept in it for a long time. Another indisputable plus is that in soil with a high humus content, ventilation of the roots occurs better. Such soil serves as a breeding ground for the development of beneficial bacteria, which have a positive effect on the quantity and quality of the crop.
Organic matter allows you to assimilate those minerals that were not previously assimilated by the plant, and vice versa - to neutralize harmful ones. For example, excessively saline soils with the introduction of organic fertilizing reduce their harmful effect, and heavy metals, reacting with some organic fertilizers, form compounds that are not assimilated by plants and will not harm either potatoes or your health. When organic matter decomposes, carbon dioxide is formed, which helps potato tubers to develop actively.
Bird droppings
The richest trace element is considered to be bird droppings. It is strictly forbidden to bring fresh bird droppings into the ground immediately, as you can burn the roots. Dilute bird droppings with water at a consistency of 1:15 and keep the resulting mass for 2-3 days in a warm place. The dose of the solution is one and a half liters for each bush.
Humus
Humus will increase the yield of plants
Humus is manure or compost that has rotted over the course of two, or even several years. Outwardly, humus looks like loose earth and smells like an earthy smell. It is used as a protective coating - mulch, as well as when filling holes after planting potatoes. Humus contains a large amount of minerals and organics, but it is absolutely safe. It is better to throw humus when planting potatoes in the spring directly into the hole. To compare the effectiveness of humus, you can plant several rows of potatoes without adding fertilizer, and in other rows with the addition of humus. When you harvest, you will immediately notice from the volume and number of tubers how well it is to put the necessary fertilizers into the hole.
Manure
Manure is the most popular organic feed. Manure is different and its effectiveness depends on which animal "produced" it. The best manure is considered to be rabbit, horse, elk, elephant, but the most common is cow. Manure is primarily nitrogen fertilization, but it also contains a lot of magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. Immediately after "leaving the cow", young manure is dangerous for planting. It is better to apply manure to the soil in spring before planting seed tubers. After you have applied manure to the soil, the earth can be dug up. You will not spoil your plantings with rotted manure.
Compost
Compost is a biomaterial that is obtained from food waste, haulm and straw. In order to properly prepare it, first add the compost to the pit with a lid and leave to rot. During the winter, compost turns into good fertilizer. Before planting potatoes, add a little compost to each hole. The future harvest with such a top dressing will be abundant and healthy.
Minerals for potatoes
Mineral dressings are valuable in that they bring the necessary macro and microelements in a concentrated form.
The main macronutrient that potatoes cannot live without is potassium. Therefore, the first and main mineral fertilizer that gardeners use in spring is wood ash. It contains a lot of potassium, moreover, with excessively acidic soil, ash reduces its acidity. Ash is also added to the compost.
In addition, potassium supplements are also potassium chloride, potassium salt and potassium sulfate.
Nitrogen fertilizing is, first of all, urea (carbamide) and saltpeter. There are also fertilizers in the complex, such as ammophos and nitrophoska, which allow you to saturate the soil with several elements at once. Trace elements such as iodine, boron, vanadium, zinc, sulfur, magnesium and manganese are also essential for potatoes. According to scientists, in order to grow 1 kg of ripe tubers, you need about 12.5 g of potassium, 5 g of nitrogen, 2 g of phosphoric acid and about 1.5 g of magnesium.
The amount of fertilizer needed
- If the soil is fertile enough, then 2.5 kg of compost or superphosphate and 1.5 kg of any potash fertilizer per one hundred square meters of soil.
- If the soil is a little leaner, then 3 kg of rotted manure, nitrogen fertilization - 3 kg, phosphorus 4 kg and 2.5 kg of potash.
- If the soil is very scarce, then you need to add humus to the soil in a proportion of 100 kg per hundred square meters of land.
Features of fertilizing the wells
Before applying top dressing, the soil is first dug up. After that, holes are made in the ground with a depth of a shovel's bayonet. It is in them that you need to plant the seed that you prepare in advance. We fertilize the hole with the selected top dressing before planting, for example, wood ash plus humus in a proportion of 5 tbsp. ash and 0.8-1 kg of humus. Ash can be replaced with a tablespoon of nitrophosphate and half a glass of bone meal.
We put the seed in the hole and fill it with soil. The dose of dressings must be calculated as accurately as possible so as not to harm the plantings. An oversupply of fertilizer, as well as its deficit, can lead to a decrease in yield indicators. We water the garden every week so that the plantings grow steadily and gain weight. Watering should be done abundantly during flowering, and after the flowering period, watering should be reduced.