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POTATOES ARE LARGE AND ... SQUARE!

It is not in vain that the people say: that potato will not be born, who is lazy to work. The author of this letter was obviously not too lazy and got an amazing result! Which? Let's see.

SWAMP SOILS AND HIGH BEDS

I am 40 years old, and we live as a friendly family in the Moscow region. My parents, avid gardeners, also live with us.

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Whatever they tried to grow on our difficult Barybinsk soils! I say we tried because we got a very difficult section. However, quite typical for the lands in Barybino. Over time, and in connection with the construction of carriageways, our land began to become swampy. Many of the neighbors decided that now no cultivated plants could be grown on such soils. But we, active gardeners, did not want to give up.

They began to look for information on how to grow a good crop on marshy soil, but, as it turned out, this topic is not very popular. However, we still found a recommendation that high beds should be made on such types of soils.

Of course, our first priority was to grow potatoes. After all, as you know, bread is the head of everything, which means potatoes too. The beds were organized at the highest point of the site. The height turned out to be 20-25 cm, the width is 50 cm (plus it took 40 cm for the aisle).

Before planting, as expected, compost was introduced into the beds by deepening into the groove by 1 shovel bayonet.

Then the compost was dug up, returning the beds to their former appearance. But the most important thing here is what the compost was like. After all, we have made a special, one might say, developed by us specifically for these types of soils. Although, as is typical of all great discoveries, we came to the technology of making this compost by accident.

Reference by topic: Growing potatoes in high beds - preparation of tubers, planting and care (Leningrad region)

WHY POTATO BECOME SQUARE

First, we bought a classic composter in the store and installed it (photo 1). Then we thought that it would be nice to add special bacteria to the compost, but we remembered that our neighbors keep indoutok.

I will say a few words about these wonderful birds. There is no noise from them, not to be compared with turkeys screaming at the top of their voices. There is no smell either, although the duckling stands literally next to our fence.

And we thought that miraculous duck fertilizer was just what we needed. It decomposes organic matter very well.

They brought a couple of buckets of finely chopped vegetables for ducks. A neighbor, without hesitation, gave us a couple of buckets of duck fertilizer for our composter. We added this fertilizer to organic waste and grass, and we got the perfect fertilizer for growing potatoes.

Planted potatoes with an interval of 30 cm in a checkerboard pattern. I note that we do not cut the tubers so as not to introduce an infection into them. Better not risk the harvest!

It is important to clarify that in each well we added a strip of ash and 1 tsp. superphosphate. Then the potatoes were mixed and planted. Ash prevents the development of the wireworm.

We planted potatoes under a shovel, and in the fall we dug up as many as never before! On each bush, 10-12 tubers were counted, and so large that they lay close to each other. Therefore, many potatoes turned out to be square. Mom jokes: they grew a quadratic potato.

I happened to be in the Chernozem region, namely in the Krasnodar Territory, to participate in the collection of potatoes. It doesn't grow well in hot weather. It is worth noting that chernozem is one of the most fertile types of soil, but even there I have not seen large quadratic potatoes.

In photo 2, potatoes from two bushes, which we collected already in August. Unfortunately, there is no quadratic potato in the photo, we harvested it already in September.

So that the high beds do not sag, we regularly fill up the earth little by little. We keep the best potatoes in the winter in old duck nests. They are made of wood, and the lid opens on top, as in a secretary. We cover the front of the box with a piece of oilcloth so that air passes through, but light does not get in. And we give potato peelings to ducks as a thank you for the excellent fertilizer provided.

I would be glad to read other articles on this topic: about potatoes and especially about gardening on marshy soils.

Reference by topic: Growing potatoes in a damp place on high ridges (Udmurtia)