This method is recommended for small summer cottages. It does not require thorough digging of the site, additional feeding and careful destruction of pests.
Advantages of the procedure:
- protection of root crops from parasites;
- protection from frost and temperature extremes;
- mulching, sheltering from the heat;
- moisture retention in the soil;
- reducing the risk of mechanical damage to root crops and bushes;
- less chance of developing diseases;
- energy saving;
- eco-friendly natural fertilizer.
The experience of carrying out such a procedure shows consistently good results.
Of the significant disadvantages, I can note the possible breeding of garden rodents, obtaining a special the taste of tubers, the possible formation of greenery on root crops and additional cash costs for materials.
The "straw" method is quite specific, I advise you to first try it on a small plot of the garden.
Process Features
Tubers are harvested from autumn, selecting large, whole and healthy root crops. In the spring, the calibrated planting material is disinfected and germinated.
I recommend the following varieties for this type of planting:
- Solar;
- Artemis;
- Nevsky;
- Sappho.
In autumn, on the prepared beds, I plant green manure - oats, mustard, alfalfa - they nourish the soil with both nitrogen and phosphorus, at the same time destroying weeds.
Potato plantings will also like organic top dressing: eggshells, wood ash, rotten compost or humus.
As a covering material, old straw, rotten hay, and dry grass cut in the area are suitable.
A suitable temperature to start planting is + 10 ° C, while the site should be well lit by the sun for enhanced heating.
Process steps:
- prepare pits or furrows up to 15 cm deep;
- the optimal interval between the bushes is 30 cm, in the aisle - 70 cm;
- pour plenty of water into the wells;
- pour a complex of fertilizers on the bottom;
- distribute the tubers in the pits with sprouts up;
- pour a layer of straw 50 cm thick on top.
The layer of hay should be light and airy, it is not necessary to nail it to the ground. Too dense a layer will make it difficult for the growth of bushes. Additional covering should be carried out when mature plants grow 20 cm from the previous mulch.
In rainy weather, I churn the hay periodically to keep the material from rotting.
Hot weather requires frequent watering and loosening the mulch to retain moisture longer.
If the procedure is carried out according to all the rules, then weeds will not grow in the beds.
Some gardeners modernize the method, first sprinkling the seed with earth, and only then laying out the straw.
Another option involves the initial shelter of the soil with thick cardboard, on which hay is laid out. Holes are cut in the leaf itself, into which the tubers are planted. It is believed that the use of cardboard enhances the protection of the soil from frost and weeds.
Harvesting with straw is easy: just rake off the mulch layer and collect the potatoes from the holes. At the same time, the remaining straw can be saved for the next season and reused when planting potatoes.
The "straw" method significantly saves strength and simplifies agricultural technology. At the same time, the quality and quantity of harvested root crops are preserved. Such specific options are worth using.
How do you plant potatoes?
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