Potatoes: terms of harvesting in the Leningrad region and in the suburbs. Terms of harvesting of early potatoes. How to determine the timing of potato harvesting?

Young potatoes get on the table of the summer resident long before its complete excavation. Selected bushes undermine and select several tubers. They are used for food throughout the summer season. In this way, the summer resident evaluates the degree of ripeness of root crops and determines the most appropriate time for digging them. It is known that the development of potato tubers occurs during the period from flowering to yellowing of the tops. It is during this time that he manages to form and gain the necessary mass. Once the stems begin to fade and turn yellow - you can dig up potatoes.

Terms of cleaning in different areas are different. If you harvest all the time at the same time, you can get poor-quality fruits. A sign that the tuber is ripe is the density of its peel. If it is scraped with a finger, it is poorly removed. Such tubers have accumulated enough starch and will remain well until next year.

Helpful Tips

1. It is better to choose a rainy day for harvesting . The air temperature should be at least four degrees. Under such weather conditions, clumps of earth do not stick to tools and complicate the process.
2. For the treatment of a small country plot suitable forks or shovels. If you want to collect potatoes from a large field, it is better to use special equipment.
3. Vegetables can not be thrown into the basket with force, they can be damaged. In this case, the mechanical defects obtained will not allow them to be stored in winter. Lost among others, a damaged or sick vegetable will spoil the entire crop.

Terms of harvesting potatoes of different varieties

The most optimal time for potato harvesting can be selected based on its grade. For example, the earliest varieties ripen in 60 days. That is, if the planting was carried out in the first days of May, then in early July, the root crop can be safely digged.

Middle-early varieties are harvested after two and a half months (approximately 70-80 days). The average - after three months (85-95 days), the middle and late - after 97-107 days. Early varieties are suitable only for consumption, for winter stocks they are not suitable (stored only until December-January). At the same time, the harvesting of early potatoes allows harvesting the entire crop before the onset of cold weather.

Late varieties do not ripen in all regions. After all, in the middle of September in the middle zone of Russia, as well as in the northeastern regions, the rainy season is already beginning.

When is it best to dig up potatoes in the Leningrad Region?

Basically, for planting in this region, tubers of early and mid-early varieties are chosen. After all, in the conditions of late spring and cold autumn, it is very difficult to grow late roots. Usually plants planted in May bloom in June. After two weeks from the end of flowering under the condition of warm sunny weather, they can be excavated. If the weather turned out to be cold, then the harvesting period for potatoes in the Leningrad Region is shifting closer to the second half of August. Agrarians determine the degree of maturity according to the state of the foliage.

Mid-ripening and medium-late varieties are more suitable for harvesting for the winter. But in severe climatic conditions potatoes, the harvesting time of which has not yet come, has to be dig up to the natural death of the tops. Usually, this process takes place in the middle of September, before the temperature drops at night below zero.

Caring for potatoes during ripening

In late July - early August, the lower leaves on the stems begin to dry. This means that the time for potato harvesting is approaching. At this time, watering the plants is stopped (with an overabundance of moisture, fungi will develop, and tubers can be affected by bacterial decay). The stems should change the color from green to yellow. Tubers will acquire the largest mass, their peel will harden, and the degree of starch content will increase. It's time to harvest. If the moment is missed - the early potatoes, lying in the ground, begin to lose the optimal mass, and is affected by blight, rot and other diseases.

When is it best to dig up potatoes in the Moscow region?

Just like in the Leningrad region, late varieties in the suburbs are very difficult to grow. They do not always manage to mature before the cold. If the first autumn frosts made themselves felt, the tubers can partially freeze. In this case, they can not be left for long-term storage. Therefore, many summer residents prefer early, medium and medium-sized varieties. The terms of harvesting potatoes in the Moscow region usually come in the second decade of August. To accelerate the process of ripening the root, it is recommended to mow the stems one week before digging. During this time the peel solidifies and the process of ripening of the tubers is completed. Also this method increases the time of winter storage.

How to accelerate the process of maturing tubers?

Experts know several ways how to grow potatoes faster, the harvesting time is tightened. This is the aforementioned method of mowing the tops a week before digging. In addition to it, the chemical treatment method is used. To do this, the stems are sprinkled with a solution of copper sulfate at a rate of 50 g per 1 liter of water. The greens dry up as a result of the treatment, the tubers are saturated with nutrients and are separated from the tops by an order of magnitude. At the same time, the increase in the yield level is fixed by an average of 10%.

You can also increase the yield by using fertilizers. 21 days before harvest, the tops are treated with a solution of superphosphate at a rate of 150-200 g per 1 liter of water. Due to this, the amount of chlorophyll increases in the leaves, the process of photosynthesis improves, the tubers receive more micronutrients and oxygen.

How to harvest correctly?

In order to choose tubers from a large field, you will need a potato digger or a motor block with a digger. If there is no such technique, use a plow or a shovel. Experts recommend forks - when using them, the percentage of damaged root crops is an order of magnitude smaller. If not a single variety of potatoes is planted, then they should be excavated separately. If necessary, seed samples are taken from each variety.

The entire harvest should be dried. To do this, it is poured on polyethylene in a dry, ventilated room, which does not penetrate direct sunlight. For a couple of weeks of curing, the vegetables will be prepared for wintering, their skin will grow stronger, imperfections and diseases will appear on some specimens. Next, the entire collection is sorted and sorted by size and placed in different containers. If seed samples were selected, they are placed in separate baskets or nets. After that they are labeled to know exactly the grade and time of collection. Damaged, diseased, cut potatoes are sorted separately or completely discarded. A dry material, cleared from the ground and the tops, is placed in storage.

How to prepare storage space?

Winter storage for vegetables can be a cellar or a cellar. By the new season it must be prepared in the middle of summer. For this, garbage, remains of last year's stocks, cobwebs, etc. are removed from it. The room is well ventilated. If necessary, the shelves are repaired, the ventilation system is checked. After carrying out repair work in the room make disinfection. All surfaces are treated with a solution of formalin, hydrated lime or a weak solution of chlorine. To the smell does not dissipate immediately, the cellar is closed for a day or a couple of days. Then air. If there are rats or mice in the repository, they are poisoned. The walls and ceiling of the cellar are whitewashed with a lime solution, after which they are dried. After these events, potatoes can be placed in the cellar, the cleaning time of which falls at the end of the summer.

How to harvest seed material?

Seed potatoes are selected specimens of early varieties weighing about 80 g, medium and late in weight of about 50 g, selected from healthy and productive bushes. If properly harvested seed material, you can achieve good results for the next year. Tubers are selected on this principle: from early shrubs - medium specimens, from later - the largest. Next, the selected roots are again sorted and placed for two weeks in a ventilated, shaded room. During this period, the future planting material must be provided with a high humidity (about 80%) and a temperature of about 18 ° C. After this, the tubers are again sorted and packaged in marked containers.

Knowing how to determine the timing of harvesting potatoes, how to properly harvest and store it, the summer resident will easily get a rich harvest. At the same time it will be able to save it until next year. After all, it is important not only to grow a large and beautiful root crop, it is important to dig it out in time, take a piece for food and harvest seeds for the spring.