I think everyone who grows potatoes on their plots wants to find a variety with perfectly white flesh that does not darken. Ideally, you don't have to wait long for the harvest. The good news is that there is such a variety, and today I will introduce you to it.
It is called Nandina, below I will talk about its features and nuances of growing. The variety appeared just a few years ago, but has already become one of my favorites.
General description of the variety
Nandina belongs to the early maturing varieties. The first crop can be harvested after a couple of months from the moment the sprouts appear. It is noteworthy that in one season you can get up to three harvests of beautiful potatoes. Straight powerful bushes stretch up to a meter in height. Each can ripen up to twelve tubers weighing about 150 grams each. Light yellow tubers have a fairly dense skin with many small eyes.
Among the main advantages of the variety, I would list:
- early maturation;
- the ability to harvest repeatedly, by the way, and the yield is quite high;
- the variety has good immunity to most common diseases affecting potatoes;
- the pulp does not darken even after cooking;
- due to their excellent keeping quality, potatoes can be stored until spring without losing their characteristics.
The only negative point can be considered not too good resistance of tops and tubers to late blight.
Features of planting and growing
As I already noted, the variety is unpretentious, therefore, there should be no problems in growing. To grow a quality crop, adhere to the following rules:
- Prepare the tubers properly. The variety must be planted exclusively in a germinated form. This will allow the plant to acclimate faster and yield earlier crops. I choose tubers rather large, with sprouted eyes. I begin their preparation a couple of weeks before the planned landing. In order for the sprouts in the eyes to grow evenly, the tubers should be laid out in a dry place with good lighting and turned over daily. It is desirable that the temperature be no higher than 15 degrees. Do everything very carefully so as not to damage the delicate sprouts.
- Prepare the soil. Nandina loves light soils, peat bogs or sandy loam. I start to prepare the soil in the fall. Such preparation includes digging, harrowing and loosening the soil layers. You can enrich the soil by applying organic fertilizers. It is no less useful to sow green manures, and a month later to embed them in the ground. So the soil will receive the necessary nitrogen, and the pathogenic microflora will not develop so actively.
- Choose the right time to plant. The exact timing will vary depending on the climatic conditions of a particular region. In general recommendations, we can say that it is beneficial to plant potatoes in a soil warmed up to at least eight degrees.
- Follow the planting technology: the ideal depth for the variety is no more than 12 centimeters, between the holes is maintain a minimum gap of 30 centimeters, the row spacing should be within 80 centimeters. Before planting, wood ash and nitrophosphate should be added to the holes.
How to care for a variety
For successful cultivation, it is enough to adhere to standard agrotechnical measures:
- Watering mode. Everything is quite simple here: if there is no particular drought, the variety does not require regular watering. If the weather is hot outside, it is worth watering the bushes every 10 days, preferably in the morning and evening hours, in order to prevent burns of the green mass.
- Systematic loosening of the soil. This measure is necessary to ensure normal air exchange in the root system. In addition, after watering in hot weather, a crust may form on the ground, which prevents air circulation, just loosening helps prevent this situation.
- Weeding for the purpose of timely disposal of weeds.
- Hilling. The procedure should be repeated twice: as soon as the sprouts stretch up to at least 10 centimeters and at the time of flowering. Hilling can strengthen roots, protect against low night temperatures and stimulate tuberization.
- Competent feeding. In the process of growing, potatoes do not really need organic matter. A portion of fertilizer applied for the autumn digging will be quite enough. Too much nitrogen will provoke excessive growth of green mass, but the fruits will form small. If you notice yellowing of the tops, a month before harvesting the potatoes, the bushes can be treated with a solution of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate diluted in water.
- Do not forget to mulch the soil, so the soil will retain moisture much longer, and the weeds will not grow so actively.
- It is imperative to carry out preventive treatments for late blight, since this ailment is the weak point of the variety.
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