Growing potatoes is a fairly lucrative business. When you get a high-quality and large harvest, you can earn good money. But in order to get a good profit, you need to know certain nuances of the potato business.
I recommend reading:Secrets of a Good Potato Harvest
Pros and cons of growing potatoes for sale
The main advantages of the potato business:
- You don't need a lot of start-up capital. If the land is fertile, then you don't even have to spend money on fertilizing it. In addition, the cost of planting material is low. For planting, seeds or tubers are used.
- Fast payback. You can beat off all costs in 3-4 months.
- The product is in good demand all year round.
- You don't have to quit your main job. You can do business in your free time or on weekends.
The main disadvantages of the entrepreneurial business:
- Adverse weather effects. Bad weather can seriously hinder business. For example, if the summer is too dry, then you will have to constantly monitor the condition of the soil in order to water the plantings in a timely manner. It takes time and a lot of effort.
- Proper care is needed to obtain a quality crop. In order for the tubers to have a marketable appearance, the aisles need to be weeded, the bushes should be spud, treated with insecticides and watered.
If these difficulties are not scary, then you can move on to creating a business plan. But it is necessary to take into account important points.
The nuances of growing
There are two main options for a business strategy:
- Grow early ripening varieties.
- Cultivate medium to late ripened potatoes that keep well.
The first option is the most profitable as the price of young potatoes is higher. In addition, people themselves are ready to overpay for this product.
But in order to harvest a large crop, it is most often necessary to grow potatoes in greenhouses or greenhouses. In this case, much more effort will be required during planting maintenance, especially during germination.
For mid-season and late varieties, the use of any special devices is not required when growing. This is a clear advantage. But the cost of such potatoes is lower, and there are much more competitors.
Therefore, in order to make a profit, it is best to engage in the cultivation of ultra-early and early varieties, which give a bountiful harvest, have a high resistance to diseases and good external characteristics. Among the most popular are the following varieties:
- Luck;
- Red Scarlett;
- Alliance;
- Zhukovsky early;
- Lileya;
- Uladar;
- Spark.
Site preparation
For early planting of potatoes, the site must be prepared in advance. Most of the procedures are carried out in the fall, in the first decade of September.
First of all, the soil is dug to the depth of the shovel bayonet and the ridges are cut. This method of digging allows the earth to warm up faster and dry out in early spring.
Also, in the autumn, organic fertilizers, such as compost, are applied to the site. For 1 sq. m of area, you need about 10 kg of organic matter. Minerals must be added separately, for each tuber, in a ratio of 10 g per 1 sq. m. In addition, early maturing varieties need magnesium feeding. To do this, dolomite flour is introduced into the ground (per 1 sq. m requires about 45 g of the substance).
To prevent the tubers from sprouting at the time of planting, they are stored in the cellar in winter. The temperature should be 2-3 degrees, not higher.
The early cultivation process
The most suitable planting material is annual seed-grown tubers. You can buy them in specialty stores or grow them yourself. 100 sq. m will require 20-30 kg of tubers.
It is undesirable to plant two-year-old potatoes, as there is a possibility that they are infected with some kind of disease. The disease can also be transmitted to other tubers. Healthy and high-quality potatoes always grow from seeds.
To get a harvest faster, the tubers should be germinated before planting in the ground. This will allow the eyes to wake up faster and begin to actively develop. Approximately 3-4 weeks before planting, the planting material must be removed from the basement. It is laid out in wooden boxes and placed in a well-lit place. At the same time, the air humidity should be about 90%, and the temperature should be about +15 degrees during the day, +8 at night. After the sprouts of 10 mm long appear on the potatoes, the night temperature is reduced to +5 degrees.
To create a suitable humidity, the air in the room must be constantly humidified by spraying with water.
Planting is carried out in loose and fertile soil. At the same time, it should warm up to at least +5 degrees. The tubers are placed in prepared grooves, which are at a distance of 20-30 cm from one another. The gap between the rows is maintained at about 60 cm.
Weeds will begin to sprout soon after the potatoes are planted. It is important to remove them regularly. Otherwise, it will negatively affect the harvest.
It is also necessary to constantly monitor the moisture content of the earth. If there is no precipitation, then the beds are watered 2 times a week. Before flowering, the soil must be well moistened, since it is at this time that the tubers grow most intensively.
It is also necessary to ensure that pests do not attack the tops. If the need arises, then the plantings are sprayed with insecticides.
Early potato varieties reach the stage of maturity within 1.5-2 months after germination. If potatoes are planted in April, then by the beginning of summer it will be possible to harvest young potatoes.
If the weather conditions in the region are rather harsh, and spring comes late, then you can grow the crop under film. This allows you to get seedlings almost 2 weeks earlier.
So that the tubers do not come out under the polyethylene, holes with a diameter of about 10 mm are made in it in a checkerboard pattern with an interval of 10-15 cm between them. The edges of the covering material are fixed on the garden bed with stones or metal staples.
During the cultivation of a vegetable crop under cover, maintenance remains standard. It is necessary to periodically lift the film and remove all weeds, and if necessary, spray the plantings with insecticides.
Using the recommendations described above, you can get a harvest already in early June. During this time, most people are just starting to plant potatoes. This will make a pretty good profit.
Do you plant early potatoes for sale?
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