How to plant potatoes under the hay. A step-by-step description of the method for growing potatoes under hay or straw. How potatoes are planted under the straw

For many summer residents, the beginning of the season begins in late April-early May with the planting of various plants and crops. A pressing question for most people, what needs to be done when planting and growing potatoes in order to increase the amount of the crop? The method known in the old days is becoming popular again - this is planting potatoes under straw... Those growers who have applied this method in practice note its advantage. talk about its advantages. Firstly, it is simplicity and cost-effectiveness, and secondly, it is the high productivity of this method. It has been proven that straw mulch creates a special climate that increases soil fertility. Accordingly, the amount of the harvest increases. under the straw - a great option for summer residents, which does not take much time and effort.

Advantages and disadvantages of the method

Ordinary summer residents and vegetable growers began to take an active interest in the method of growing potatoes under straw, since many want to keep garden without hassle... But due to the fact that this method is new for them, not everyone dares to embody this idea on their site.

To undoubtedly use a new way of growing tubers, you need to be aware of its pros and cons.

Let's first look at the benefits of planting potatoes under straw:

Advice! After harvesting, the straw can not be removed, but dug up on the land. Then in the spring you will get even more fertile soil for growing vegetables.

The method of growing potatoes has the following disadvantages:

Not every gardener can find and order the right amount of straw or hay. It is extremely painstaking and time-consuming to make blanks on your own, since a separate room and dry storage conditions are needed to store hay;
If the sun hits the tubers where there is little straw, the potatoes turn green;
Hay or straw can provide shelter for small rodents. They cause irreparable damage to the crop.

Worth watching the video how to plant potatoes correctly under hay or straw.

Watch the video! Potatoes in the hay

Preparing tubers for planting

High-quality planting material significantly increases the quantity and quality of the crop. It is very important to carry out preparatory work before planting potatoes under the straw. The first step is to sort the tubers: separate the whole potatoes from the damaged ones.

Advice! For planting under straw, it is best to use medium sized tubers, like a chicken egg. In the absence of such, you can divide large potatoes in half.

A few days before planting, it is advisable to expose the tubers to the sun so that they warm up - this ensures earlier shoots. To get an early harvest, it is worth warming up the seed potatoes for 3-4 weeks. If you put the tubers in boxes and sprinkle with sawdust and peat and leave in a warm place, then after 3 weeks it will be an ideal planting material. To protect the potatoes from microorganisms and various pests, sprinkle the tubers with wood ash before planting.

Landing conditions

Before planting tubers, you need to check that the soil is moderately loose and moist. It will be good if you plant potatoes after the rain. But if there is heavy rainfall, then it is better to postpone the landing for a few days. Let the ground dry out a little.

After winter, the soil remains moist for a long time, therefore, even in hot weather, the top layer of the soil can only be slightly moistened. Before planting tubers, you should take care of a sufficient amount of dry grass. Cover the potatoes tightly, but so that the tubers can sprout easily. It is necessary to monitor the subsidence of the straw and add it at the right time.

Landing technology

It is very easy to plant potatoes, as you can save time as much as possible at some events. Landing technology very simple:

It is allowed to sprinkle fertilized soil on top of the tubers (soil mixed with rotted manure or ash). In hot weather, it is worth periodically watering the garden bed.

Harvest

This process has solid advantages over the traditional method, as it is very simple and time-saving. You do not need to use a shovel and is constantly bent, looking for potatoes. When the tops are dry, then with the help of a rake it is necessary to remove the straw and collect the roots.

Do not throw away dry grass - it can be used next year as fertilizer. If during planting the tubers were sprinkled with earth, then at the end of the season you just need to pull the tops and the roots will be on the surface. Potatoes can now be easily collected in buckets, bags or in boxes under the straw.

Conclusion

The season is over and the harvest has already been collected. It is a very pleasant moment that potatoes grow large, even and clean under the hay.

Planting potatoes under hay or straw is a long-forgotten growing technology that is being revived today. There are many conflicting reviews about this method, but most of them are positive. Vegetable growers who have been getting good harvests without much trouble for several years now generously share their experience.

The method fits well with the concept of "natural farming" and corresponds to one of its principles - not to dig the soil. When planting under hay and straw, there is no need to: dig, fertilize, weed, water. And the hilling process is fundamentally different from the traditional one.

Harvest of potatoes grown under straw

The essence of the method is that the potatoes are laid out on the surface of the ground, and the top is covered with straw or hay. Many have already become convinced of the benefits of mulch, and here it can be fully traced. With a layer of 15–20 cm, weeds do not break through the mulch, moisture remains in the soil, temperature fluctuations are minimized, the lower layer is processed by earthworms, and the potatoes receive valuable food - humus. Moreover, when planting, even on virgin soil, the turf and dense earth, according to gardeners, turn into fluff.

Video: potatoes grown on virgin soil

There are different ways of planting under straw, they are being improved and supplemented with useful nuances. If you are afraid of disastrous results, then arrange an experimental bed under straw, plant the rest of the potatoes in the traditional way: in the ground, with hilling, watering and feeding. In the fall, compare the results and labor costs, draw conclusions for yourself.

How to plant potatoes under straw

First of all, you need to find a lot of straw or hay. Experienced farmers offer several options:

buy by ad;

in the spring, go to the forest or field and collect last year's fallen leaves and yellowed grass (without seeds);

in the summer, mow the grass in the meadow and dry it;

grow it yourself: sow green manure in spring (oats, rye, vetch, peas), leave to winter, next spring an even layer of hay will lie on this plot, plant potatoes under it.

Dry grass (hay) can be borrowed from nature

Boarding times and seat selection

In the middle lane, they start planting potatoes in mid-May. There is an opinion that hay can be planted 1-2 weeks earlier, but at the beginning of May the ground is still cold. It turns out that the potatoes are laid out on cold soil and covered with a thick layer of straw. The tubers seem to be in the refrigerator and germinate for a long time. Therefore, it is better to plant at the usual time. The sprouts will make their way for a long time, their path through the dry stems will be winding, but then they will overtake the potatoes that are planted in the ground.

Choose the same place as for an ordinary potato field - well-lit and warmed up by the sun. If you plant it under a fence or among trees, and then compare it with a crop harvested in a sunny area, then, of course, the experiment will be a failure.

Video: how not to plant potatoes - detailed instructions

Planting material preparation and step-by-step process

One month before planting, transfer the seed potatoes to a warm (+18 ⁰C… +22 ⁰C) place.

Moisten (spray) with drugs for diseases: Fitosporin - 4 tbsp. l. paste concentrate for 300 ml of water, copper sulfate - 10 g per 1 liter of water, potassium permanganate - 1 g per 10 liters of water.

Spread out in a thin layer in a bright place.

Transfer to a dark room a week before planting. Can be covered with damp burlap or sawdust. Roots are formed at the base of the shoots, shoots will appear faster.

On the day of planting, treat pests with solutions: Turbo - 8 ml per 1 liter of water, Prestige - 10 ml per 100 ml of water.

In a week in a dark and humid environment, the sprouts will turn white and grow overgrown with roots.

For the first planting under straw, the worst tubers are often taken, which are a pity to throw away. In most cases, in the fall, surprised by a good harvest, vegetable growers regret that they did not plant the seeds of the best varieties using this technology.

Suitable for growing under straw:

a leveled piece of land in the garden, not dug and unfertilized;

virgin land, that is, potatoes are laid out on top of the turf, grass. But it is better to mow the grass, cover it with newspapers;

furrows cut in the turf.

In any case, the layer under the tubers should be moist. The harvest will be richer if you make a substrate of humus, peat, litter from a chicken coop, half-rotted leaves, compost, add ash, and deoxidize the soil with dolomite flour. Follow the same planting pattern as for traditional cultivation: between rows - 70–100 cm, in a row - 30–40 cm. If you are planting only two rows, for example in a garden bed, the row spacing can be reduced to 50 cm and the tubers can be staggered. Cover the top with a layer of straw or hay. To begin with, its thickness may be small - 5–10 cm, so that the seedlings appear faster, but the optimal layer that does not let the germination of weeds is 20 cm.

Video: one of the options for planting under straw - humus on top of tubers

If you put the tubers sprouted down, then a hilling effect will be created. The sprouts, bending around the seed potatoes, will grow longer and give more yield.

Growing and care

Growing under straw also has its drawbacks. Care is mainly about eliminating them. So, a large accumulation of hay attracts slugs, mice and rats.... To control rodents, place ultrasonic repellents around the perimeter of the straw field. For slugs, use the same remedies as for any area:

sprinkle spices (salt, pepper, cilantro, dry parsley), ash, eggshells, fluff lime around the perimeter of the beds;

place traps (bowls of beer) and clean them regularly;

use special drugs: Slug-Eater, Thunderstorm, Meta, Ferramol, etc.

Avoid planting potatoes next to cabbage that is very attractive to slugs.

Love for beer does not bring pests to good

Throughout the cultivation, especially at the beginning of germination, keep an eye on the moisture in the bottom layer. In regions with damp summers, the straw must be gently shaken (whipped) so that it does not rot from high humidity and is ventilated. In hot climates, on the contrary, you will have to water, otherwise earthworms will not want to make their way along dry soil to mulch and process it. The potatoes will dry out.

You need to help the sprouts that break through, but only when in the straw you clearly see the bumps - potatoes sticking out from under the dry grass. If you rake the straw at random, the seedlings can be broken.

Video: first shoots under straw

The only time-consuming technique that must be performed when growing using this technology is hilling, that is, adding straw, hay or cut grass as the tops grow. The mulch level can be increased to 50 cm. Fan hilling significantly increases the yield. When the sprouts are 10-15 cm above the straw, spread the stems apart and place mulch between them.

Video: correct fan hilling

You will also have to fight the wireworm, Colorado potato beetle and diseases. According to gardeners, there is less Colorado potato beetle on straw than on a regular field. Diseases also do not have time to accumulate, because potatoes are grown under one straw for no more than two years. Interestingly, the harvest in the second year is greater than in the first. Apparently, this is due to the fact that part of the mulch has already turned into humus, the soil structure has improved, and gardeners have taken into account the mistakes of the first year of cultivation.

Planting in a bucket under the straw

The method is good only as an experiment or in the case when there is no plot of land, and you want to grow potatoes, for example, on the balcony. Another plus is very early young potatoes, because a bucket can be kept in a greenhouse or at home and taken outside only on warm days. However, the yield with this method is several times lower than when grown on the site in the traditional way.

Assumed: the higher the bucket, the more potatoes will grow

First, prepare the container. Drill drainage holes in the bottom of the bucket, pour a layer of expanded clay (3-4 cm) on the bottom. These measures will eliminate stagnant water, otherwise the roots and potatoes will rot. Place a fertile cushion on top of the drain - 5–7 cm of damp earth, humus or compost. Now place 1–2 sprouted tubers and cover with a 5–10 cm layer of straw. As the stems grow, add straw until the bucket is full of it to the brim. Check the moisture under the mulch periodically, water if necessary. With this method, it is not clear how the straw will be processed into food available for potatoes. All hope is for the beneficial bacteria that got into the bucket and will survive in it. Therefore, the harvest grows very modest.

Instead of a bucket, you can use a box.

Video: potatoes in anything

Which is better: hay or straw

Hay is made up of whole grasses

Hay is meadow grass, mown green, before ripening, and dried. Straw is what remains after threshing cereals, legumes, that is, part of the plants that have completed their cycle, without leaves, inflorescences, seeds. The latter is an advantage over hay if we consider these materials as mulch. Hay can contain weed seeds, which is a problem for gardeners. Although the weeds that grow through the mulch break out easily, their roots are shallow. In addition, this is additional organic matter that can be placed under the potatoes.

Straw - dried stems without leaves, inflorescences and seeds

The hay contains more nutrients, it is looser, lighter, worms and bacteria will process it faster and more willingly into humus. Straw - heavier and denser, less ventilated. Therefore, in dry weather, the soil under the straw will stay moist longer, and the potatoes under the hay will have to be watered. It takes more straw than hay to create a layer of uniform thickness.

Video: comparison of the yield of potatoes without mulch and under mulch from different materials

During the summer, mulch is laid, therefore, most often a layer of a mixture of fallen leaves, straw, hay, weeds, and tops forms on the potatoes. And this is good, because potatoes receive all-round protection (from cold, drought, dampness), as well as a varied diet. It is not recommended to put cabbage leaves, they begin to rot, infect all mulch and potatoes with rot spores. Any other greens, especially weeds, first dry or lay on top with a thin layer of roots in the sun.

For harvesting, you do not need a pitchfork and a shovel; it is enough to rake the mulch with your hands. If, when planting, you sprinkled the tubers with earth or humus, then you have to dig in. A big plus of the method is also that it allows you to harvest young potatoes during the summer. You can gently rake the straw, pluck the largest tubers without damaging the bush, and cover it up again. The plant will continue to grow and develop.

Video: harvest of potatoes grown under hay

The method requires a lot of mulch, which needs to be added all summer long, so it is difficult to call it lazy. In addition, you will have to deal with rodents and pests, if necessary, water. But the method is justified by a richer and healthier harvest with much less labor costs. The difference between growing under hay and straw is only noticeable at the first stage. It is more difficult for sprouts to break through the heavier and denser straw. In the future, a mixture of different materials (hay, straw, leaves, weeds) accumulates on the beds. Each has its own advantages and compensates for the disadvantages of others.

There is no traditional way of growing potatoes under straw, where land plays a secondary role. Outdoor potatoes are easier to care for. But even this method of agricultural technology has its advantages and disadvantages.

Pros:

There is no need to dig deep and shake out all the weeds.
You can start growing potatoes even in a deserted area where nothing has been planted for a long time.
Straw is an excellent mulching layer. Weeds cannot break through the thick layer of straw. So you won't have to weed.
No need to spud. It will only be necessary to add hay / straw.
Hay-grown potatoes are rarely attacked by the Colorado potato beetle.
The method is good for arid regions. Watering is required only if drought and high temperatures persist for a long time.
There is no need to dig the crop. You need to move the layer and pull slightly on the bush.
The land under such agricultural technology is not depleted. Potatoes get all their nutrients from decomposed hay. On the contrary, the soil will be enriched with nutrients.
You can easily collect 10 buckets from one bucket of planted potatoes.

Minuses:

The classic way

Work on the future harvest begins in the fall. So. let's move on to the main stages:

Preparing the soil

Work begins in the fall. The scheme works both in the case of a well-groomed site, and in the case of cultivation of "virgin lands". We stick the shovel bayonet shallowly and turn the grass with the roots up. The green part of the grass is in contact with the ground. In winter, it will crush and serve as a fertilizer for the soil.

Suitable precursors for potatoes are:

mustard;
oats;
rye;
alfalfa;
phacelia.

Material preparation

For growing potatoes, it is preferable to use not fresh straw, but last year's, caked... Freshly cut grass will not work. It gives little nutrients to potatoes. Straw that has not rotted during the season can be reused. You just need to dry it well.

Planting potatoes

Note! Weed plants will not break through such a layer of straw, moisture evaporation will be excluded, and the formation of fruits will begin under ideal conditions for potatoes.

From the video you will learn how to plant potatoes under the straw:

disadvantages

Large volume of straw that either needs to be purchased or harvested.
If you put it in a thin layer or it turns out that some holes are under a thin layer of straw, then the potatoes in them will turn green. Accordingly, it will be unfit for food.
Rodents can start in the straw. There are slugs in the hay.

Alternative method

This method involves lower costs for straw. Soil and straw resources are used immediately.

Potatoes are germinated in advance to achieve an earlier ripening.
Furrows are marked.
With a shovel or hoe, holes are marked with a depth of 6-7 cm.
The distance between the holes is 30 cm.
Next, you need to put the potatoes in the holes and sprinkle with soil.

Sprinkle the wells immediately with a layer of 25-30 cm of straw.
After the potatoes rise and grow to a height of 5-10 cm, cover it with a layer of loose straw 15-20 cm thick (if desired and possible, you can first mulch it with loose humus with a layer of 5-10 cm). The sprouts that emerged from the ground quickly pierce the straw. After that, you can again scoop up more straw from the row spacing to protect the tubers from light.

How to grow with cardboard?

If there is an opportunity to find or get cardboard from household appliances, then you can try another interesting way of growing potatoes.

Main components and tools for work:

Step-by-step actions:

The cardboard must be laid on a piece of land, leaving no gaps (overlap).
Secure it or press down with something heavy around the edges.
Next, mark the X-shaped cuts on the cardboard.
The spaces between the marks should be 30 cm.
The next stage also has two cultivation options.
- 1 way without straw:
  Under each cut in the cardboard, you need to make a hole about 15 cm deep. Place the potatoes in them. Sprinkle with earth. The mulching layer will be cardboard. Watering potatoes strictly in the holes. The cardboard does not allow weeds to germinate and does not allow moisture to quickly evaporate.
- Method 2 with straw:
  The potatoes are placed in the x-shaped holes directly on the ground. You need to put the potatoes so that at least one potato sprout looks out. Then you need to cover the cardboard sheets with a 20 cm layer of straw. As soon as the sprouts break through the layer, the holes need to be once again covered on top with a 15 cm layer of straw (hay).
  If there was no rain before planting the potatoes and is not expected in the near future, then you need to shed the soil in advance.
On a note. Harvesting for pleasure can be done in the first and second ways. To do this, you need to remove the straw and cardboard, pull slightly on the tops and collect clean, large potatoes.

Which is better - hay or dry cereal stalks?

Hay is dry grass in its pure form. In its composition, it may contain weeds and their seeds. In a humid environment, they germinate. But when rotting, hay can act as an additional source of soil enrichment with nutrients.
Straw - dry stalks of cereals. Does not contain weeds. But there are almost no nutrients in it either. When decaying, organic fertilizer will not work.
Hay protects potatoes better from sunlight. If there is no hay, then the straw should be stacked in a thicker layer.
Cardboard decomposes in one year. When choosing a method of growing potatoes under cardboard, cardboard stocks need to be constantly replenished.
Hay and straw rot in about 2 years.
Straw and hay are lightweight covering material. It can be carried away in strong winds. It will be necessary to replenish the losses.

Many gardeners are wary of everything new and do not want to hear about any new methods of growing potatoes. Then you can take note of the idea itself - to mulch the soil with straw. In arid regions and in hot summers, this will keep moisture in the soil for a long time. Also, the soil will be looser and enriched with nutrients.

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Planting method under straw or hay

The essence of the method is that the potatoes are laid out on the surface of the ground, and the top is covered with straw or hay. Many have already become convinced of the benefits of mulch, and here it can be fully traced. With a layer of 15-20 cm, weeds do not break through the mulch, moisture remains in the soil, temperature fluctuations are minimized, the lower layer is processed by earthworms, the potatoes receive valuable food - humus. Moreover, when planting, even on virgin soil, the turf and dense earth, according to gardeners, turn into fluff.