Dutch method of growing potatoes: proper care

In many gardens, owners grow potatoes. This is an unpretentious culture, but there are certain barriers. Various reasons influence poor-quality harvest. To collect good fruits in large quantities, it is recommended to use the Dutch growing method potatoes. It has its own characteristics and rules.

Content:

• When to plant, how to prepare the soil?
• Required watering, lighting, temperature
• Care immediately after landing
• Features of cultivation and care

When to plant, how to prepare the soil?

Many people today are engaged in growing potatoes using this method. To do this, you need to acquire planting material of special varieties that are intended for Dutch cultivation. To get an excellent harvest, you need to properly prepare the soil for planting. It is also worth systematically caring for the beds.

There are these main rules:

• Owners must adhere to a certain planting pattern
• Fruit crops must be rotated
• To improve the harvest, different fertilizers
• It is necessary to collect the harvest on time, which is used for planting material

The soil must be constantly cultivated; special equipment is used for this. The Dutch technique involves following a certain planting pattern. There should be at least 0.75 m between rows.Also, the main rule is to change the landing site every year. In one area, potatoes are allowed to be grown once every 3-4 years. This crop develops well in beds where wheat, beans, and peas previously grew.

It is recommended to take a closer look at the site. It should be smooth. If there are slopes, then they need to be leveled. The soil is prepared for planting in advance. In the fall, the ground is dug up and markings are made. If you follow the rules of the Dutch method, then you should not moisten the soil too much.

Loose soil is ideal for growing. For this reason, even in the autumn, the owners are preparing. In the spring, you will have to dig up the soil a little and walk around the garden bed with a pitchfork. Before harmful insects appear, it is worth starting to cultivate the land. To do this, the vegetation is treated with pesticides that protect against the Colorado potato beetle.

To ensure an excellent harvest, it is recommended to plant several varieties of potatoes at once. They should differ from each other in terms of ripening. Overripe compost must be added to all holes. To make your work easier, you should choose varieties that are resistant to many diseases.

In order for the green mass to begin to grow intensively, and also to quickly form tubers, it’s worth doing early planting. Do not forget that there should be about 0.75 m between each planting.

Required watering, lighting, temperature

If you follow the Dutch method, then you need to water the planting about 5 times throughout the entire season. Plants especially need additional moisture during the following periods:

• Before flowering begins
• Ten days after the flowers fade
• Two dozen days after the previous watering

But you shouldn’t flood the planting either. Otherwise, the root system will simply begin to rot, and with it the young tubers. It is worth making beds whose row spacing is from north to south. This will ensure normal lighting for all bushes.

Video about growing potatoes using the latest technologies:

Before you get started landing, it is worth germinating the planting material. All potatoes are placed in a room where the temperature is 18 degrees. After this, sprouts will begin to appear, after which the temperature drops to 8 degrees. Potatoes are ready for planting when the sprouts grow to 2 cm.

Care immediately after landing

According to the Dutch method, it is necessary to cultivate the soil between the rows no earlier than 14 days after the crop was planted. During this period, weeds and potatoes will already begin to grow. It is at this time that the culture is earthed up.

For this, special equipment is used, called a milling cultivator, which will remove all unnecessary plants in a short period. It also allows moisture to be evenly distributed around the potatoes. When a couple more days have passed, then it is worth re-hilling the soil so that high beds are formed. The Dutch method involves frequent loosening of the soil.

Features of cultivation and care

In order not to encounter annoying diseases, it is worth using chemicals. They are used approximately 5 times per season. Plants process, when the first signal about the development of late blight appears. If the bush is sick, it is removed from the garden.

Harvesting is also carried out according to a certain pattern. Initially, the tops of the crop are removed.It is mowed or removed using special equipment if the beds are too large. After this, the tubers are still left in the ground for 2 weeks. During this time, they will become stronger, and during digging they will not be damaged. And in the future, the potatoes will last longer and have a long period of presentation.

So, the Dutch method is not much different from conventional potato growing. But it has certain features.

The main thing is that the owners loosen priming, during planting, they made a large distance between the rows. As a result, from each bush you can collect about 2 kg of large potatoes, which can be stored all winter. To achieve this result, it is enough to remember a few rules.