Fertilization rules for potatoes in spring and autumn

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Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetable crops in the world. However, for high yields, sometimes there is not enough stable watering and pruning of bushes. Not every soil is ideal for growing this crop, so farmers apply additional fertilizer for potatoes in the spring and fall.

Fertilization rules for potatoes

There are many types of dressings that will allow you to get a bountiful harvest and improve its quality. However, there are restrictions on fertilization in terms of timing and quantity, since an excess of nutrients can negatively affect plants.

Feeding rules in the fall

Soil preparation

Virgin soil in the first year of development is suitable as an ideal soil. But you can also use plots where they grew a year earlier:

• legumes;
• roots;
• cucumbers.

It is not recommended to use the soil after planting nightshades or sunflowers. These crops consume more of the minerals that potatoes require.

Top dressing is applied to the soil not only throughout the growing season, but also during soil preparation.

Organic fertilizers

For fertilization, it combines different types of fertilizing. Most often, the soil is enriched with a mixture of agrochemicals and nutrients of organic origin. For the autumn processing of 1 m² of the field, it is recommended to use the following components:

• 6 five-liter buckets of manure or compost;
• 30 g superphosphate;
• 15 g of potassium sulfate.

Pure agrochemicals can also be used as fertilizer. This enrichment method is suitable for contaminated land. Manure and droppings can become a favorable habitat for harmful insects, in particular, the bear and the Colorado potato beetle.

Minerals and siderates

It is also recommended to add potassium and superphosphate to the ground in a double amount in the fall. Potatoes consume these minerals in large quantities.

In the fall, you need to fertilize the soil

After harvesting, it is advisable to sow green manures in the field.

The best planting option is white mustard. This plant reaches the desired height in three weeks, after which the cold will prevent the mustard from spreading over the field. During digging, this plant mixes with the soil and becomes a natural fertilizer for potatoes.

Digging

Digging is an important part of soil preparation, which allows the top dressing to be absorbed into the ground as much as possible. If a tractor was used to cultivate the soil, then the soil must be plowed next. With the help of a walk-behind tractor, the clay soil is cultivated twice, and the sand type - once.

The manual method is used to the depth of the bayonet of the middle shovel. It is not necessary to break up clods of soil - this will increase the chance of frostbite of weeds and larvae of harmful insects.

Normalization of acidity

The increased acidity in the ground is also normalized during the autumn soil preparation.To balance the microelements, the following components are used:

• ash;
• dolomite flour;
• limestone.

Substances should be applied in the amount of 200 g per 1 m². The acidity level can be checked by the color of the soil or the plants.

Soil acidity is expressed in the blue color of the earth. In addition, sorrel and moss actively grow on such soil.

Spring feeding rules

First of all, a good outflow of melt water should be ensured, since their stagnation has a bad effect on potatoes. Also, excess moisture can cause the breakdown of minerals and nutrients that this culture needs. That is why, in the presence of a high level of groundwater, the plant is recommended to be planted on the ridge.

The best fertilizer for potatoes in spring is nitrogen fertilization. The largest amount of nitrogen is found in animal manure, but for the best yield it should be mixed with mineral supplements.

Mixes

There are several methods for combining mixtures. Among them are the most popular:

1. 8 kg of humus, 250 g of ash, 30 g of nitrophoska;
2. 20 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of potassium sulfate, add the mixture after the spring digging of the field;
3. 5 liters of compost, 25 g of nitrophoska, in parallel with this, inter-row soil enrichment with 20 g of ammonium nitrate and 20 g of potassium sulfate;
4. Mix 8 kg of manure with 20 g of ammonium nitrate and 20 g of potassium sulfate. After application, the soil should be treated with superphosphate (35 g) and dolomite flour (400 g).

If there is no organic fertilizer available, then you can limit yourself to the use of agrochemicals. In this case, the norm per site is 5 kg of nitrophoska and 3 kg of nitroammophoska.

How to choose a mixture

Fertilize with minerals

Mixtures for enriching the soil in spring depend on the potato variety. It is recommended to fertilize early varieties with pure mineral components, since the plants will not have time to get the complex of necessary substances from organic feeding before harvest. Nitrophoska contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, so the soil using this fertilizer is ideal for varieties with early yields.

For high quality vegetables, copper or molybdenum substances can be included in the top dressing. They help plants in the assimilation of useful components, which is reflected in the size and taste of the fruit.

Off-season feeding

There is a type of fertilizer that is applied to the soil throughout the entire agricultural process. Such dressings can be used to fertilize potatoes directly during the growing season, however, farmers recommend using them also for preparing the soil in spring and autumn.

Types of off-season fertilizers

There are several types of off-season fertilizers. These include:

1. Bird droppings. It is a potent organic ingredient that can be used fresh. The dilution ratio is 1: 8.
2. Mullein. This mixture uses water and cow dung. The dilution ratio is 1:10.
3. Infusion of herbs. This type of feeding is prepared from weed crops. 3-4 kg of weeds should be soaked in water and left to ferment for two weeks.

It should be noted that such methods of soil enrichment during the growth of bushes should be applied in accordance with normalization. Otherwise, the potatoes can become sick due to the large amount of moisture.

Mineral solutions for soil

There are also several solutions available to improve the mineral balance in the earth. They are made on the basis of such chemicals:

1. Carbide solution. 100 g of carbide, 5 g of orthoboric acid and 150 g of potassium dihydrogen phosphate are dissolved in 5 l of water. The solution should be applied to the soil once in the spring just before planting, and the beds should be treated every week after the emergence of the shoots until the first flowering.
2. Phosphoric mixture. For this solution, use 120 g of superphosphate per 10 l of water. With this mixture, potato leaves are treated a month before harvest and the soil after harvesting.
3. Nettle infusion.This fertilizer contains large amounts of zinc, nitrogen and calcium. For cooking, take 2 kg of nettle stalks and soak them in water. After two weeks, the solution should be filtered and the soil should be treated.

In general, these fertilizers have a greater positive effect on plants during the growing season. However, experts recommend fertilizing the site with these substances during the preparatory process.

This will increase the amount of necessary minerals for good potato growth. But it should be remembered that top dressing should be carried out in accordance with the normalization and timing.

Conclusion

Preparing the land before planting potatoes includes a specific list of actions. Soil enrichment is not the last place in it.

Spring and autumn are favorable periods for improving the balance of minerals and nutrients in the area. Modern application of nitrogen and organic mixtures to the soil will have a beneficial effect on the quantity and quality of the crop.