Hilling potatoes is a laborious task that could have taken several days in the past. Today this issue is being resolved faster, but it also requires a careful and correct approach. Everyone knows that such a procedure is necessary in the agricultural technology of the "second bread", but few can explain exactly why. And they don't even think about making a manual potato hiller with their own hands.
We suggest looking at the procedure from a different angle.
Correctly hilled potatoes
Why do they spud potatoes, or features of the main root crop
Potatoes are one of the irreplaceable agricultural crops that have not only food, but also technical value. Its main secret lies in its pleasant taste and versatility of use. It is not for nothing that once the popular name “second bread” was firmly attached to a vegetable, which still does not lose its relevance.
As a rule, the cultivation of potatoes consists of several stages:
- Planting in prepared soil (some gardeners prefer to treat future tubers with special solutions for late blight and pests before that);
- Hilling and weeding;
- Digging up a ripe crop.
For many, the second stage is the most difficult. Indeed, it requires a lot of effort and passes in the hottest summer season, which significantly increases physical activity... But the point is also that many simply do not understand why hilling contributes to an increase in potato yield, therefore they do not see much sense in the laborious procedure. And he is, and rather big.
Important! Over the past few years, it has become fashionable to grow culture without hilling it. Gardeners claim that even without this, the harvest is good. And yet, if you are really interested in large second bread harvests, you will have to process the tubers. There are several reasons for this.
The potato grows not only in depth, but also in width
Potato root system - pivotal, however, edible roots ripen not only in the soil, but also on the sides, closer to the surface. Hilling allows them to prepare comfortable conditions for formation. By processing the tuber, you give extra space for growth and, therefore, increased yields.
The sprinkled tuber is not hot, but comfortable
Usually potatoes grow on open areaspractically unprotected from sunlight. Although it is an unpretentious culture, it easily tolerates various unfavorable conditions, nevertheless, excess heat has a bad effect on the formation of tubers. They turn out to be small, flabby. When hilling, an optimal environment is created in which the roots do not overheat.
Hilling protects against sudden frost
In regions with unstable weather, when frosts can hit even in summer, hilling is probably the only way protect the future crop from freezing. Potatoes that have suffered from the cold turn green, become sweet and unsuitable for food.
Previously, hoes were the main tool for this procedure. Traditionally, hilling was carried out one-time and was combined with weeding.
Today they look at it differently. The task is facilitated by potato ridgers - devices created with the aim of maximum automation of labor. Often they are used as additional attachments to a motor cultivator that work quickly and efficiently. The manufacturing technology is so simple that many gardeners make potato hillers for the walk-behind tractor with their own hands. Such inventions are very helpful in the cultivation of root crops. In addition, they preserve the harvest, practically without damaging it.
Homemade potato hiller at work
Important! However, whatever you use in solving the issue - an ordinary hoe, disc hillers for potatoes or your own hand-made product - hilling will only be effective if carried out correctly. To do everything according to agricultural technology, it is important to know the secrets and features of the procedure.
Sharing experience, or how to spud
There are not so many rules, and even fewer secrets, but they will definitely help in the formation of a rich and healthy potato crop.
- It is best to carry out hilling on loose and moist soil, perfect option - after the rain. If you work on dry soil, you can damage the bush;
- The main task is to do everything on time. The first time, huddle the tubers when the tops reach about 5-8 cm. And here one more point is important: if frosts are expected, you can cover almost the entire green part of the plant with soil. This will slow down growth a little, but will help protect the crop from freezing.
- Experienced gardeners and agronomists advise to carry out the procedure three times. The second time - about 15-20 days after the first, during the period of active formation of tubers. The third - after the plants reach 25 cm in height. The earth should be padded to the base without lifting the lump too much.
Which tool should you use? Any convenient one will do: from a hoe to a homemade potato hiller. The main thing is that it is convenient to use it and does not require excessive efforts. We wish you an excellent harvest!
Hilling potatoes with a hoeDo I need to huddle potatoes
Potato roots, like others cultivated plants, oxygen and moisture are required for good development and fruit growth. Hilling provides air access to the soil, loose soil allows water to pass through better, and sprinkled stems form additional tuberous roots. Another plus is the destruction of the superficial root system of weeds during the hilling process.
Before you start, you need to take into account the climatic features of your area. Potatoes do not tolerate drought and high temperatures, but cold and excess moisture can lead to the death of the plant.
Culture develops best at +25 degrees Celsius. In conditions of growing in northern regions with a cool and humid climate, hilling will only benefit. An additional layer of soil will increase the temperature of the root system, and an increase in the area of \u200b\u200bland around the bush (formation of high slopes) will increase evaporation, reducing soil moisture.
IN southern regions hilling can only harm the potato, as an increase in the near-surface soil temperature can reduce yields. In this case, it is necessary to carry out only surface aeration to access oxygen, and to fight weeds.
When and how to spud potatoes correctly
In the northern regions, it is recommended to start spudding potatoes immediately after the first shoots appear on the surface. They are covered with soil from row spacings, forming low ridges. This procedure will protect potatoes from possible frost and destroy some of the weeds. The height of the additional soil layer should not exceed 10 cm.
IN middle lane In Russia, hilling is carried out when the sprouts reach a height of 15 cm, the procedure must be repeated after 3 weeks. On a dry, hot day, do not do this. The planting must first be watered, or choose a cloudy day after rain, and only then loosen. Upon completion of the procedures, the garden bed is watered with water by sprinkling. It is necessary to huddle potatoes early in the morning or in the evening.
Methods for hilling potatoes, a necessary tool
The hilling procedure can be carried out using various instruments and accessories:
- by hand: with a hoe, hoe or shovel;
- manual mechanical hiller;
- plow;
- walk-behind tractor or minitractor.
For processing large fields, mini tractors or walk-behind tractors with special nozzles for hilling potatoes are used.
Hilling by hand with a hoe or shovel
This method is used on small ridges, since it is laborious and time-consuming. For hilling, you can use a flat-blade or toothed hoe.
Hilling potatoes with a hoe video
It is necessary to sprinkle each bush separately from all sides with soil from the aisles, creating an elevation around the plant. In the course of work, weeds should be trimmed and pulled out. It is important not to damage the root system of the potato, just raise the soil layer and form a hill around the bush.
Hilling with a shovel video
Hilling with a shovel involves digging the row spacing to a shallow depth (1/3 of the shovel blade) and sprinkling the bushes with soil. This method takes less time, but, like all manual methods, it requires more physical effort.
How to huddle potatoes with a manual hiller video
Such a device allows short time to process large areas land. The working mechanism consists of two metal discs spaced from each other and tapering on one side. To huddle with a disc hiller, you will need 2 people: the first pulls the mechanism in front, the second guides the structure from the back with the help of handles.
Hilling potatoes with a hand plow video
The special hand plow allows you to cover both sides of the soil at the same time. The metal tip loosens the soil in the aisles and swings it back 2 adjacent rows. The hand plow is driven by pushing force, and for the horse by pulling force. Nozzles for a walk-behind tractor and a mini-tractor are structurally practically the same.
Hilling potatoes with a walk-behind tractor video
The use of a walk-behind tractor allows you to significantly speed up the process without using physical strength... The distance between the wheels should correspond to the width of the potato planting row, thus adjusting the additional equipment that is used for hilling.
There is nothing difficult in growing potatoes, but the culture requires care and attention. One of necessary procedures for getting excellent result is hilling. Thanks to it, the root system develops better and the plant receives more minerals and moisture from the soil, and as a result, you will collect strong and large potato tubers.
Potatoes are the second bread, a vegetable without which we can no longer imagine our life. Literally in every dish there is a potato in one form or another, and literally in every area, a hundred or two is allotted for it. Alas, not everyone knows how to grow potatoes correctly, they are not aware of the basic rules of agricultural technology of this crop, therefore, the yields are sometimes more than modest.
Today we will open the veil of secrecy over one important agricultural technique for caring for potatoes - hilling. As the name suggests, this event consists in dusting the base of potato bushes with soil in a soft and loose state. Sometimes to get high yields, all that potatoes need is the fight against weeds, pests and correct hilling, which sometimes reliably protect against negative climatic factors.
What is the correctness of hilling? It is determined not only based on the rules for carrying out this technique, but also on the correct determination of the time for hilling. At the same time, sometimes the success of the business is determined by the very first hilling, then, the second stage is the definition the required amount hilling and third - the time of day at which hilling is most safe for potato plants.
It is important, when hilling potatoes using a hoe, not to damage the young shoots of the plant and roots. This is the most common mistake: after all, if they are seriously (and sometimes slightly) damaged, then this can have an extremely negative effect on the development of plants, and if the shoots are severely damaged, there is a risk of the complete death of the bush or most of it.
As for the timing, then the opinions of both experts and "ordinary" gardeners differ. The only thing here is, perhaps, only that the period for hilling should be chosen, focusing on the height of the potato shoots, but the specific figures sometimes vary quite a lot. For example, some argue that the first hilling can be carried out when the height of the stems is 13 cm, others - at 15, the third - at 18, and so on up to 20 cm.Sometimes there is information that the very first hilling should be carried out as soon as the stems stretch out to 6-8 cm or in general be guided by intuition (depending on the weather, soil, etc.).
Indeed, you can get confused, but we will still focus on the advice of "experienced", and so they advise the potatoes to spud early, not to delay with this, since hilling may well reduce the number of weeding and loosening of the soil. In cold regions, among other things, hilling can also protect (sometimes literally save) plants from late recurrent frosts.
In addition, the timing of the very first hilling also depends on the time when you planted the potatoes. For example, if you planted potatoes on the traditional dates, that is, in early May, then in the middle of this month, when the seedlings are already actively developing, it is quite possible to carry out the initial hilling. IN this moment hilling will play a double role - including as a protection.
First hilling of potatoes
Despite the many various recommendations, nevertheless, let's listen to the professionals: they recommend the first hilling to be carried out when the height of the stems will be in the range of six to eight to nine centimeters from the ground. At the same time, if a strong cold snap is expected, up to frost, then it is quite acceptable to cover the bushes with soil entirely, "head first". In the event that frosts are not expected, then there is no need to completely cover the bushes, since such a cover can slow down the development of plants. In this case, it will be quite enough if you lift the soil around the potato plants literally a couple of centimeters. The very first hilling can be carried out both with a walk-behind tractor and manually, that is, with a hoe, then it is advisable to use a hoe, that is hand tool, although if you professionally own a walk-behind tractor, then it is quite acceptable to use it. The main thing is to try to take the soil from the rows and evenly huddle the plants so that the soil is from all sides, and not from one or two.
Second hilling of potatoes
Further, disputes flare up not about the timing of the first hilling, but about the number of hilling. But here most gardeners are still similar in one thing: the number of hilling should be equal to three or four and not less than two.
So, after the first hilling, it is advisable to carry out the second when the potato tubers have already begun to form. This usually happens 15-18 days after the first hilling, that is, when planting in early May and carrying out the first hilling in mid-May, the second can be carried out in early June. The main thing is to be in time before flowering, because during flowering, experts advise not to huddle potato plants, and in general try not to touch them once again.
The second hilling is a slightly more complicated and time-consuming process, here it will not work to run through the rows and slightly heat the soil, as in the first hilling. When carrying out the second hilling, it is important to make sure that the height of the ridge near each potato plant is 15-17 cm, otherwise tubers may bulge out of the soil and, under the influence of sunlight, accumulation of solanine poison in them, which will be indicated by an atypical one, green color tubers.
Third and subsequent hilling of potatoes
Further, the third hilling, it is usually carried out after the height of the potato shoots reaches 23-26 cm.When carrying out this hilling with a hoe, you need to work carefully, you should not fall asleep most plants, as many do; this is a mistake, however, a little soil should still be thrown between the shoots. This technique will allow the potatoes to start growing wide. As a result, at the end of the third hilling, the height of the ridge should be at the level of 17-19 cm.
The third hilling is not carried out by everyone, however, it has been proven that its implementation can still increase the yield of potatoes, so if you have such an opportunity, then you should not ignore the third hilling.
In the event that the bushes begin to fall apart and nests along the ridge are not observed, then the third hilling must be carried out.
If the potato planting grows very strongly, which happens on nutritious and moisture-rich soil, when the bushes are actively growing across and in breadth and the tubers sometimes bulge out of the ground even after three hilling, then it is quite acceptable to carry out the fourth hilling.
What is the best time for hilling potatoes?
So, when to carry out hilling on a calendar and how many of them to do, we have already understood, now let's talk specifically about the time of these hilling. This is very often asked by novice gardeners who plant potatoes for the first time in their plots and this question, despite its apparent simplicity, is quite important.
Each of us, especially in the dachas, saw gardeners working on potatoes literally in the middle of the day. Indeed, people get up early, get to the dacha, eat and go out with hoes to the site at noon, a little earlier or a little later. Is this true if at noon and the next hours towards noon the sun, as a rule, literally burns and it is most active? In fact, no, it is not true: many gardeners, after hilling potatoes at noon, noticed how the bushes literally wither in the evening. The thing is that in the hottest hours of the day, plants are especially sensitive to all kinds of work with them, and we also throw very hot soil over the bushes, which sometimes leads to severe moisture loss and a decrease in turgor. Given this, the optimal period for carrying out operations for hilling potatoes is morning or evening. You need to complete the operations at 10-11 o'clock in the afternoon and continue them after six in the evening. Of course, if the weather is cloudy, then it is quite possible to carry out hilling at any time of the day.
By the way, after the rain, hilling is considered the most favorable for potatoes, this is due to the fact that the soil is well moistened and does not crumble after hilling, which will save you time and effort in the future. In addition, moistened soil sprinkled on the shoots will stimulate the formation of underground stalks (stolons), on which tubers will form in the future, and, therefore, this will increase the yield from one plant and from the site as a whole.
In the event that you have no other choice but to carry out hilling at noon, we strongly recommend that you thoroughly water the site before hilling, this will cool the topsoil and increase the turgor of the plants.
Is hilling of potatoes always necessary?
So, disputes among gardeners, especially in last years, flare up not only because of the timing, the amount of hilling, but in general because of the expediency of this event. Many frankly argue that hilling only adds labor costs to the difficult agricultural technology of growing potatoes, which implies weeding, pest control, and the planting and harvesting processes themselves are also quite laborious.
So, let's look at the obvious advantages of hilling potatoes and give a couple of examples of growing this vegetable crops using other technologies, when hilling is not necessary at all, and you decide whether it is worth doing it or not.
The obvious and indisputable advantages of hilling potatoes are acceleration of growth and development, both above-ground and underground (roots and tubers), of course, if you do not exceed the hilling height indicated by us and do not cover the plants "headlong", except for the very first time, if protection from frost is needed. The next plus is improving air and water exchange in the soil, due to the fact that a soil crust does not form on its surface. Another reason for hilling is protection of the plant not only from cold, but also from drying out, which is extremely important for summer cottages, where we visit from time to time and, if on the site located near the place of residence, we can carry out additional soil moisture and watering the plants, if it is very dry and hot, then we can return to the country house already to the dried up sprouts. In the case of hilling, which, as we already wrote, is great to carry out after rain, moisture, as with mulching the soil, will linger, flow to the roots and not evaporate. Further, hilling allows you to simultaneously fight weeds, because we literally cover the soil with another layer, thereby inhibiting the growth of weeds, which means that the potatoes will have no competitors and will receive more nutrition and moisture. In addition, thanks to hilling, the bushes become slimmer, resemble a bouquet of flowers in a vase, they do not fall apart, do not grow unnecessarily, which means do not shade neighboring plants... With skillful planning of the site and the use of hilling on the same area, it can be placed by 10-15% more plantsthan when grown without hilling, and harvest a larger yield.
Naturally, in order for hilling to give all the advantages, plants must be treated carefully. When hilling, it is important to try to avoid all kinds of injuries to the aboveground mass of potatoes and its root system, otherwise it is possible not to improve the condition of the plants, but to worsen. Remember that you should not rush here, if you have little time, then it is better to stretch the hilling for two or three days.
Alternative to hilling
In conclusion, as we promised, a couple of examples of growing potatoes without hilling. The first method is to use a covering nonwoven fabric. black color. Here, not all and not always even dig up the soil. Usually on the ground, it is better still dug and leveled in advance, the covering material is laid in one layer and the usual scheme planting potatoes holes are made in it and tubers are planted. Then it remains only to water the plants, if it is hot and dry, and to fight pests and diseases.
The second way to reverse hilling is to unroll... Here, on the contrary, we do not collect the tops in a heap, but spread them over the soil surface. Further, the entire surface of each stalk must be sprinkled with soil a centimeter thick, leaving only its very top free. But this method provides additional weed control and soil loosening.
So, we told how, when, at what time of the day it is better to hilling. It is up to you to decide, based on the benefits of this event, whether it is worth hilling or using a black non-woven covering material or trying to grow potatoes using a different technology. The main thing is that if you have already decided to experiment, not to allocate the entire site for "experiments", but first to select only a part of it, and if the newfangled method proves its effectiveness and at once crosses out all the previously gained knowledge of potato agricultural technology, then next year it will be possible to give the whole area is dedicated to know-how, and if the method turns out to be ineffective or ineffective, well, you will not lose much.
A lot of time has passed since the time when Tsar Peter 1 sent the first sack of potatoes from Holland to Russia and ordered to cultivate them throughout the country. And during this time, people, cultivating this culture, learned the features of this plant, and learned many "tricks" of cultivating potatoes, including hilling.
Practically the main "trick" is correct hilling. This process is one of the most important conditions to achieve the best and healthiest harvest possible.
Hilling is a damp earth sprinkling on the bottom of the plant, and is an environmentally friendly replacement for herbicides. Why and in what time frame to carry out this procedure and what purposes it should be described below.
- Gently sprinkling lower part plants soil, we prevent the growth of weeds on potato plantings. And the emerging weeds will be much easier to pull out from loose soil than from hard and caked earth.
- This process loosens the soil, which means the roots of the plant will be more accessible to moisture and air. Loose soil is very important, because when watering, moisture will freely reach the roots, and during rains, water will not linger, and tubers will not rot.
- After the hilling process, there will be easier to harvest, which is what is required by digging potatoes from the ground. Accordingly, the number of tubers damaged during digging will be an order of magnitude less. It also reduces the chance of breakage of the tools used for hilling.
- Young plants become more resistant to winds and spring frosts... The "mound" of soil around the plant works like a thermos and does not let the frost penetrate deep into the soil. Also, this "mound" is supported by the potato plant itself, which has not yet fully formed and matured.
- The bush of the plant, after sprinkling its lower part with soil, begins to grow and branch intensively, forming more good and high-quality tubers in their roots.
The better the plant's bushes grow, the more leaves grow on them. The more leaves a plant contains, the more sunlight falls on them. As a result of this process, photosynthesis is more intense.
Soluble glucose is formed in the leaves and sent to the potato tubers. There it is deposited in the form of insoluble starch.
When and how many times you need to huddle a bed of potatoes
Potato beds are best cultivated in the evening or early in the morningwhen not scorching sun... But be sure to do this on wet soil.
The first time the plant needs to be spud when it has grown more than 5 centimeters... The procedure will help to save it on early stage from the influence of external factors.
There is a planting method in which hilling is carried out immediately after planting, raking a small hill over the planted potatoes. The method is used mainly in those regions where the probability of spring frosts is greater than in the middle lane.
IN next time usually hilling potatoes after about two weeks, and when the bush has reached height more than 15-20 centimeters... You need to try to do it before the first inflorescences appear on the potato.
If the bushes begin to stretch very strongly and fall in different directions, then it is necessary unplanned hilling... This will help the plant not to fall or break the stem. The same should be done if, for some reason, sunlight falls on the tubers.
The sunlight in the tubers begins the process of photosynthesis, which produces a poison called solanine. Such potatoes are not edible, but can be used as planting material for next year.
If there is no rain for a long time, but it's time to huddle, be sure to moisten the soil with water.
If the bushes begin to fall in different directions, unplanned hilling is needed
In what cases hilling is not required
- In hot regions, with low humidity and lack of watering, as in dry soil, the plant may die.
- When the plant is grown under the non-woven fabric in blackand. But you need to ensure that the material does not transmit light to 100%. Otherwise, the potatoes will turn green and become completely inedible.
- When the method of growing potatoes is that the stalks of the potatoes are laid out on the ground and covered with soil, while leaving only the very tops. When the bushes grow again, the procedure is repeated again. Instead of soil, straw or mown grass is sometimes used. This growing method requires a lot more land per plant bush than with the usual method.
Correct hilling with a hoe manually
Hilling by hand is a very time consuming process, but does not require any special skills.
The manual method involves the use of an auxiliary tool, such as a hoe. There are two techniques for this procedure:
- raking the soil around the bush towards the center of the plant
- soil is poured into the center of the bush, while the branches of the plant are bred a little to the sides.
The soil ridge as a result of hilling should turn out to be high about 15-20 centimeters.
Potato roots grow in different directions 30-40 centimeters... Consider this when hilling so as not to injure the tubers of the plant.
Using the manual tiller
The device serves to facilitate physical labor when growing potatoes, and to save time. It consists of handle, handle and two discspointing towards the ground at an angle of 45 degrees. Using it is also not difficult.
You just need to pull the handle forward, guiding it along the boundary along the bed. A manual tiller can be bought in a store, or you can design it yourself.
Using a walk-behind tractor
If the plantings of potatoes are large, then you cannot do without a walk-behind tractor in your farm. He can not only loosen the soil and huddle, but also harvest potatoes. But the walk-behind tractor also has a minus. When harvesting, it can damage some part of the tubers.
In the case when a walk-behind tractor with a plow-shaped hiller is used, you need adjust angle and depthon which the plow will sink. When using a walk-behind tractor with a disc tiller, you need to adjust the required distance between the discs and their angle of inclination.
The distance depends on the type of potato and is approximately from 40 to 70 centimeters... And the angle of adjustment of the disks should be the same for both disks, and is approximately 45 degrees.
There are also rippers on the disc walk-behind tractor. They prepare the soil in front of the block, which the disc hiller will in turn use to cover the potato bushes.
Before planting potatoes, you need to take into account that the walk-behind tractor will spud and harvest. Therefore, the beds should be even, and the distance between them should be such so that the walk-behind tractor runs smoothly.
To avoid injuries and breakdowns, when working with a walk-behind tractor, first study the operating instructions, especially the section where safety rules are described.
Regardless of how the process of hilling potatoes takes place, manually or using various devices, the results are visible literally after one or two weeks. Bushes grow stronger and stronger, and tubers underground become larger and healthier.
Potatoes have become our second bread, almost every summer resident grows this crop on the site. Meanwhile, the process of growing potatoes is incredibly laborious, from planting to harvesting. But the most difficult, in my opinion, is hilling... It's time spud potatoes usually occurs in hot summer weather. Monotonous work with a hoe is exhausting. But ... it's inevitable. Potatoes usually spud twice a season. And here when and how is it right we will define it today. Our assistant in this matter is dacha literature (the book "Encyclopedia country life"And the magazine" My bed of abundance ").
In general, Why spud potatoes?
- Loosening and hilling makes the soil loose and free of weeds.
- Thanks to hilling, the supply of oxygen to the tubers improves, thereby creating comfortable conditions for their growth.
- Hilling, we roll the soil to the stem, as a result new nodules are formed on it - the yield from the bush increases!
Whatever one may say, but hilling is useful 😉
Loosening first
BEFORE POOLING, already 6-8 days after planting potatoes, the soil can be slightly rakeso that there is no dense crust. Oxygen access will increase, and seedlings will appear faster. The soil is carefully harrowed with a rake along the rows.
Loosening is repeated every 6-7 days. Ideally, you need to do 2 loosening before emergence and 2 loosening after emergence. When full-fledged shoots appear, the aisles and the soil around the bushes are loosened with hoes (hoes). In this case, you can also pull the weeds at the same time.
It is convenient to loosen it after rain or watering, on wet soil. Work with a rake or a hoe carefully, without moving the soil. It is not worth covering the plants with earth at the stage of loosening. And if it happened to accidentally sprinkle the stems or leaves of seedlings with earth, they should be carefully shaken off.
It should be noted that regular loosening according to all the rules is relevant for small areas. Otherwise, we will only do this, right?
June - it's time to huddle potatoes! When to start?
The folk calendar says:
- June 15 - Nikifor. From this day, potatoes are spud.
In practice, we manage to huddle the potatoes just at this time or a little earlier. In preparing this article, I have looked through photographs from past years. It turned out that we huddled potatoes for the first time in early to mid June (when planting in early to mid May).
According to Lunar calendar for 2018, favorable dates for hilling potatoes in June will be:
- June 9, 12, 20, 23, 28, 29.
- For the first time - when the stem has reached 10-15 cm in height.
- Second time - 2-3 weeks after the first hilling, but you need to catch it before flowering (plant height is about 15-20 cm).
In the photo - our spudded potatoes (they even managed to beat them with rain):
First hilling - when the bush became as tall as a palm, about 15 cm:
It is convenient to hilling potatoes with whole hoes (hoes), without holes, so that the soil does not wake up between them. The earth is rolled against the bush so that there is a tubercle around it, and the lower part of the tops is closed. In the middle, the bush is also sprinkled with earth so that the stems do not come close. They write that the comb should be about 5-6 cm, and the sprout should rise about 5-7 cm above the ground.
Second hilling:
15-20 days after the first hilling, before flowering. The height of the plant during the second hilling is about 15-20 cm.
First, with a hoe (hoe), they slightly loosen the soil in the aisles and on the ridges, breaking the crust. And then the soil is rolled to the bush higher than it was. Higher ridges are obtained, which promote the formation of new tubers.
It is important to know:
- It is best to sprinkle potatoes after rain, sprinkling the lower part of the stems with damp earth.
- If the weather is hot and dry, in such conditions it is better to spud in the morning and evening so that the potatoes do not wither.
- Before hilling, it is effective to carry out top dressing, avoiding fertilization on plant leaves. And if this happens, they are washed off with water.
Hilling potatoes in schemes
How to huddle correctly
It is recommended to huddle potatoes on wet soil after rain. But if the summer turned out to be dry, hot, then it is better to do it in the morning or in the evening. Hoes (hoes) are used for hilling, but in our technological age, walk-behind tractors are increasingly used for this purpose.
In the first hilling, the earth is rolled against the bushes so that a low tubercle grows. It should cover the bottom of the tops. The middle is also sprinkled with earth so that the stems do not come into contact with each other.
The purpose of the second hilling is to loosen the soil in the aisles with a hoe, break the crust on the surface of the ridges. And only then they sprinkle the bush with earth. The tubercles are made higher, as a result of which new tubers are formed.
Personal experience: How many times during the summer do you need to spud potatoes?
To be honest, we never wondered how many times to spud potatoes... As it turned out, you need to do this twice a season, and in addition to that, you also need to loosen the soil. But we always spud potatoes once. We plant a large strip, we don't have a walk-behind tractor, so hilling is a very laborious process for us. With all this, yields are always good, with the exception of damp seasons. Here is our plantation:
After hilling:
Baba Tanya's potato plantation is sooo big, so we loosen it once, if the rain has hit the ground hard (even before the emergence of shoots) and we sprinkle it once, with hoes, with the whole family, for several days. That is why hilling potatoes causes melancholy and despondency in me
Baba Lucy has a smaller plot, so there are more frequent loosening of the soil, combined with weeding and hilling twice a season.
I must say that the harvests in both areas are approximately the same. Therefore, the question: is it worth it to often loosen potatoes and spud twice is very controversial.
We are sure that hilling is important stage in growing potatoes, it should not fall out. A case from life: a neighbor planted potatoes on a strip, but, for health reasons, could not take care of it, did not spud it. Result: the bag was planted - the bag was dug out. This example shows the best possible way why spud potatoes.