The subwinter landing of potatoes practiced for quite some time now in regions of Russia has number of indisputable advantages. However, as it is paradoxical, chances of good harvest have only those areas where the hard, snow winter prevails.
Subwinter landing of potatoes – successful option of saving of time during the spring period when the kitchen garden requires the attention, maximum to itself and huge number of agricultural works. Besides, gardeners experimenters claim that potatoes bush planted before winter gives productivity 3 times bigger, than traditionally landed. But it is important to remember that subwinter landings will justify itself only in those regions where snow drops out in enough and there is in the winter no long thaw since the best defender from cold and deep freezing of the soil – good snow layer.
The choice of the place for ridges
The choice of the place for winter potato ridges has the defining value: the site has to be protected from blowing off by winds not to lose snow cover. Best of all places near fences, small buildings or wide bushes will approach. The soil is in these parts preferable sandy or sandy, not allowing to stand in the spring to melt water. If in the soil clay prevails, then it is necessary to plant potatoes on high beds since clay will detain water and tubers of plant can decay and die.
It is not recommended to arrange potato ridges in those places where other vegetables of family of nightshade family grew: pepper, tomatoes, eggplants since the risk is high to infect potatoes with the diseases inherent to this family. Radish, mustard, onions, carrots, fennel, beet can be the most favorable predecessors.
Preparation for landing
The most optimum orientation of beds – from the South on the North. It is possible to plant potatoes both on beds, and in row-spacing. Distance between ranks there have to be about 50-70 cm, distance between potato holes – about 30 cm. Each hole has to be fertilized by the humus or manure mixed with straw – this measure will allow not only to feed up plants during their growth, but also to protect from freezing. Preparation of seed material comes down to selection of tubers of the average size and their keeping in the sun before emergence of green color.
Subwinter disembarkation
The become green tubers are put in holes on depth about 6-8 cm if the soil easy, sandy – that depth can be 8-10 cm, are powdered with the earth and from above take cover mulch layer: it can be straw, leaves, grass or tops of vegetable from harvested. For protection of potatoes against mice of bed it is possible to cover with fir-tree fir twigs. The best time for subwinter landing – when small subzero temperatures are established at night, and in the afternoon the earth thaws. If to plant potatoes in earlier terms, then warm weather can force it to sprout, and the subsequent frosts will ruin all harvest. In order that in the winter under layer of mulch ice was not formed, the bed has to be covered by film before spring.