Since those times when Tsar Peter 1 sent the first bag of potatoes from Holland to Russia and ordered them to be cultivated all over the country, a lot of time has passed. And during this time, people cultivating this crop, learned the features of this plant, and learned a lot of "tricks" of potato cultivation, including hilling.
Practically the basic “cunning” is considered to be the correct hilling. This process is one of the most important conditions. to achieve the best possible and healthy harvest.
Hilling is a sprinkling of wet soil in the lower part of the plant, and is an environmentally friendly substitute for herbicides.Why and in what time frame to carry out this procedure and what goals should be described below.
Table of contents
Why you need to spud potatoes
- Carefully sprinkling the bottom of the plant with soil, we prevent the growth of weeds on potato plantings. And the emerged weeds will be much easier to pull out of loose soil than from solid and compacted soil.
- 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 the moisture will easily reach the roots, and during the rains the water will not linger, and the tubers will not be subject to rotting.
- After the hilling process will easier to harvestwhat is required and digging potatoes out of the ground. Accordingly, the number of damaged tubers during digging will be much less. The chance of breakage of tools used in hilling is also reduced.
- Young plants become more resistant to wind and spring frosts. The "knoll" of the soil around the plant works like a thermos and does not allow frost deep into the soil. Also, this "knoll" is supported by the potato plant itself, which has not yet fully formed and strengthened.
- The bush of the plant, after pouring its bottom with soil, begins to grow and branch intensively, forming in its roots more good and high quality tubers.
The better the bushes of a plant grow, the more leaves grow on them. The more leaves a plant contains, the more sunlight it hits. Due to this process, photosynthesis is more intense.
When and how many times you need to spud a bed of potatoes
Processing of potato beds is best done in the evening or from early morningwhen there is no scorching sun. But be sure to do this on wet soil.
The first time you need to plant a pile when it grew more than 5 centimeters. The procedure will help to save it at an early stage from the influence of external factors.
There is a planting method in which hilling is performed immediately after planting, by scooping up a small hill over planted potatoes. The method is used mainly in those regions where the probability of spring frosts is greater than in the middle lane.
The next time they usually produce hilling potatoes in about two weeks, and when the bush has reached a height more than 15-20 centimeters. Make it necessary to try before the first inflorescences appear on the potatoes.
If the bushes begin to stretch very strongly and fall in different directions, then it is necessary unscheduled hilling. This will help the plant not to fall and break the stem. You should do the same if, for some reason, sunlight gets to the tubers.
If there is no rain for a long time, and it's time to spud, be sure to moisten the soil with water.
In what cases hilling is not required
- In hot regions, with low humidity and lack of possibility of watering, as in a dry land the plant may die.
- When the plant is grown under non-woven material blackbut. But you need to make sure that the material does not miss the light at 100%. Otherwise, the potato will turn green and become completely inedible.
- When the method of growing potatoes is that the potato stalks are laid out on the ground and covered with soil, leaving only the tops. When the bushes grow back, the procedure is repeated again. Instead of soil, straw or mowed grass is sometimes used. This method of cultivation requires a lot more land per bush than with the usual method.
Correct hilling with chipper manually
The manual method involves the use of an auxiliary tool, such as a chopper. There are two techniques for this procedure:
- raking the soil around the bush towards the center of the plant
- poured the soil in the center of the bush, while the branches of plants are bred a little to the side.
The soil ridge as a result of hilling should be high about 15-20 centimeters.
Potato roots grow in different directions 30-40 centimeters. When hilling, consider this in order not to injure the tubers of the plant.
Use of manual tucker
The device serves to facilitate physical labor, in the cultivation of potatoes, and save time. It consists of handles, handle and two discsaimed at the ground at an angle of 45 degrees. Using them is also not difficult.
You just need to pull the handle forward, guiding it along the border along the beds. Manual hiller can be bought in the store, and you can design your own hands.
Using the tiller
If the planting of potatoes is large, then you can not do without a motoblock in your farm. He can not only loosen the soil and spud, but also harvest potatoes. But the motoblock has a minus. When harvesting, it can damage some of the tubers.
In the case when using a walk-behind tractor with a plow-shaped hiller, you need adjust angle and depthon which the plow will dive. When using the tiller with a disk hiller, you need to adjust the required distance between the disks and their angle of inclination.
The distance depends on the potato variety and is approximately from 40 to 70 centimeters. And the disk tuning angle should be the same for both drives, and is approximately 45 degrees.
On the motoblock there are also rippers. They prepare the ground in front of the block, which the disc hiller, in turn, will use to powder potato bushes.
Before planting potatoes, it is necessary to take into account that the motoblock will spud and harvest. Therefore, the beds should be flat, and the distance between them should be such so that the walker can pass smoothly.
Regardless of the way in which the process of hilling potatoes occurs, manually or with the help of various devices, the results are visible literally after one or two weeks.Bushes grow, becoming stronger, and tubers under the ground become larger and healthier.