Planting potatoes using the Meatlider method increases potato yields by 15-20%. When using it, 2 prerequisites must be observed: daily watering and the use of specially prepared nutrient mixtures as fertilizers.
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Method advantages
Using this technique, potatoes are planted in narrow beds. Its author believes that with a high content of necessary elements in the soil composition, the distance between plants can be reduced.
Natural soil is artificially saturated with nutritional supplements. For this reason, there is no need to observe crop rotation for 3-4 years.
In the southern regions, growing potatoes using this method, you can get 2 crops per season. This method is also applicable for greenhouses, which means that it can be used in any climate and at any time of the year.
The device of the beds
For potatoes, you need to choose an illuminated area. With a lack of light, tubers will accumulate nitrates. The surface must be level so that the water spreads evenly during watering. If the plot has a slope, then it must be terraced.
The beds are located strictly in the direction from north to south. The width of each of them should be 45 cm, and the distance between them is maintained from 90 to 110 cm, depending on the bushiness of the variety.
A trench is dug at the base of each bed. It is filled with a hygroscopic composition, which is covered from above with soil enriched with humus and special mixtures:
- Option number 1 is needed to neutralize the soil. For an acidic environment, 40 g of boric acid are stirred in 5 kg of dolomite (you can use chalk or lime). A composition of 5 kg of gypsum and 60 g of borax (or 40 g of boric acid) is added to the alkaline soil. Consumption of funds - 100 g per 1 m².
- Mixture No. 2 is required to saturate the soil with nutrients. For its preparation, take 3 kg of nitroammophos and mix with 400 g of magnesium sulfate, 10 g of boric acid and 1.5 g of ammonium molybdate. Or 0.5 kg of magnesium sulfate combine 1.4 kg of ammonium nitrate, 0.6 kg of ammophos, 5 g of molybdic acid, 1.1 kg of potassium sulfate, 5 g of boric acid. Consumption - 50 g per 1 m².
In waterlogged areas or in greenhouses, it is best to arrange high beds. To do this, you need to build special boxes 50-100 cm high and 30 cm wide. Their length is determined by the size of the site. About 1/3 of the box is filled with a hygroscopic substrate, which is filled with soil mixture from above.
Seed selection and planting
This method is suitable for growing all types of potatoes. Medium-sized specimens with a large number of eyes are selected as planting material. In the spring, they are transferred from the basement to a warm, well-lit room.
To make the eyes wake up faster, the tubers are immersed in water at a temperature of + 50ºC for 15 minutes and treated with a fungicide solution. Then they are placed in 1 layer in boxes filled with wet sawdust and sprayed with a growth stimulant solution. During the entire period of germination, the sawdust is moistened with warm water, and the tubers are sprayed once a week with a superphosphate solution.
Potatoes are planted in open ground when the average daily air temperature does not drop below + 15ºC, and the soil at a depth of 10-15 cm warms up to + 10ºC.
Small sides are made on both sides of the beds, which will retain water during irrigation. The tubers are planted in holes 10-12 cm deep in 2 rows in a checkerboard pattern. The distance between the holes should be 30 cm. Tubers are placed in them together with sawdust so as not to damage the formed roots, and they are carefully covered with soil.
The aisles are covered with a layer of straw or rotted hay. Such mulching material retains heat and moisture, protects the beds from weeds.
Care rules
Water the potatoes every day. For 1 rm. m consume 2 buckets of water. Under such conditions, fertilizers will be absorbed faster by plants.
Mixture No. 1 is applied 1 time before planting, after checking the pH of the soil and choosing the correct option. Composition No. 2 is used for the soil weekly. In this case, it is necessary to comply with the established irrigation regime, otherwise the high concentration of minerals will harm the plants.
Did you plant potatoes using the Meatlider method?
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I wrote about the methods of planting potatoes in the following article:12 ways to plant potatoes: traditional and new