Fertilizing the soil before planting. Fertilizing soil for various plants

Fertilizing the soil is the key to a rich harvest for many years to come. Any land becomes depleted over time, and therefore requires care and maintenance, like a living creature.

Relationship between soil and fertilizers

The type of fertilizers, the time and method of their application directly depend on the type of land, the duration of its operation, as well as the crops that grew on the site the previous season. For example, if the soil is heavy, fertilizers with nitrogen are applied to the garden in the spring, and all the rest - in the fall, during digging. So that the light soils do not give up everything useful material deep layers (or those that have not been washed), they are fertilized in the spring. Liquid or “green” fertilizers, which gardeners often make themselves, can be applied a little with each watering, carefully bypassing the delicate green leaves of the crops. We should not forget about foliar feeding, which is especially effective for shrubs and garden trees. Such spraying is carried out in the early morning or late evening, but not in bright sun.

Fertilizing the soil with nitrogen

Fertilizers rich in nitrogen are applied to plants in the first half of summer. This allows crops to quickly grow green mass and give a more powerful harvest. But from the beginning of August it is better to stop this procedure. Otherwise, perennials will not have time to prepare for winter, prolonging their “wakefulness” cycle until deep cold. On the other hand, later (for example in October) fertilizing young fruit trees with manure, droppings or mullein will stimulate the formation of a strong root system. As a result, make nitrogen fertilizers possible 4 times a year, according to the following scheme:

• at the beginning of planting, to gain green mass;
• in June, after the empty ovaries fall off;
• in July, for bookmarking fruit buds for next year;
• after the leaves fall, to grow roots.

Adding compost to the soil

Humus requires quite for a long time in order to turn into a complete nutritional supplement. Therefore, many owners prefer to bring it into the ground early. Namely, in the fall, so that the compost has time to further decompose and nourish the soil for a longer time. It is also beneficial to lay out the finished humus in early spring, one and a half to two months before the first shoots are planted. To prevent drying out, humus is introduced to a depth of 10-15 cm, covered with a layer of mulch on top. In autumn, it is preferable to add unripe compost to clay and sandy soils at a rate of 5 kg. substances per square meter of vegetable garden. The finished fertilizer is used more carefully - about a handful per hole, depending on the type of plant.

Other types of soil fertilizers

It is simply impossible to list all types of fertilizers with their characteristics in one article. Therefore, we will quickly touch on the most important ones:

• peat can be applied at any time of the year, even on top of snow, mixing it with lime;
• water-soluble phosphate fertilizers placed under any crops and soils, semi-soluble - on sour earth, sparingly soluble - on leached and degraded chernozems;
• In autumn, phosphorus is applied to early-sown crops;
• effective potassium compounds should be distinguished: potassium chloride is suitable for acidic soils and areas with heavy precipitation, potassium sulfate - for greenhouses;
• the most useful are complex fertilizers, for example potassium nitrate, ammophos, nitroammophoska, crystallin and so on.

Be careful about the dosage of fertilizers, closely monitoring the condition of the plants and soil. Exceeding the amount recommended by experts nutrients will negatively impact the quantity and quality of your harvest, as well as your health and plant well-being.

The area where potatoes are grown must be fertilized - only then is it possible to get a decent harvest.

Fertilizer for potatoes - manure

One of the best fertilizers that can be used effectively when growing is manure. But when fertilizing an area with it, be careful not to do more harm to the plants than good. It is especially dangerous to apply fresh manure immediately before planting planting material in the soil. Fresh manure negatively affects potato tubers, causing various diseases and fungus. In addition, if fresh manure is thrown into a hole with potatoes, the fertilizer can burn the sprouts. Therefore, it is advisable to apply manure late autumn, before the onset of frost. If in the spring, then only rotted ones.

It is better if the manure is mixed with peat and compost. This fertilizer can be called ideal. It will not only have a positive effect on soil fertility, but will also significantly improve its structure.

In order for the manure to rot faster, it is piled up in fairly large piles and covered with a layer of earth, as well as film. In the spring, heaps are scattered around the site, which is then dug up.

Fertilizer for potatoes - compost

In second place in popularity from organic fertilizers– compost. This is a substance made from well-rotted plant remains. To prepare it, large compost heaps are arranged (in special composting boxes or pits), into which vegetation and any plant and food waste are placed. The tops are used from the most different cultures, damaged or unripe fruits, weeds. It is advisable to sprinkle the layers with wood ash. Compost heaps are covered with a layer of earth and film on top.

After some time, the material in compost heaps will begin to decompose and turn into fertilizer. A sufficient amount of moisture helps speed up this process (heaps need to be watered from time to time), heat, as well as beneficial earthworms, which grow very quickly in such heaps. In the spring, before digging, compost is scattered around the site.

Fertilizer for potatoes - bird droppings

Many experienced gardeners they claim that it is bird droppings that are the best fertilizer of all possible. It is able to significantly increase the fertility of the land, and therefore the productivity. If there are no chickens on the farm, you can purchase litter in pellets. Packaging is convenient: bags of various capacities. That is, you can always buy as much chicken manure as you need.

Fertilizer can be used in different ways. If you use chicken coop manure, it must be rotted. The granules are either soaked in warm water, after which they water the soil with the resulting solution, or scatter it over the area followed by digging, or add it to each hole with planting material.

Fertilizer for potatoes - vermicompost

Vermicompost is a universal fertilizer that contains almost everything a plant needs for growth and development: beneficial microorganisms, nutrients, enzymes, natural growth hormones, microelements. Vermicompost does not contain harmful impurities, pathogens, or weed seeds. In addition, it is easy for plants to extract nutrients from it. They are well absorbed and digested.

The yield of a crop to which vermicompost is added increases by at least 20%.
Vermicompost is placed directly into the hole with planting material. However, if possible, you can purchase more of this fertilizer and apply it in the spring for digging, having first scattered it throughout the entire area.

Fertilizer for potatoes - river silt

River silt is a fatty, nutrient-rich mixture containing the rotted remains of coastal and aquatic plants, as well as many different microorganisms.

The sludge must be prepared in advance. It is mixed with soil and plant waste, and then placed in large piles. Two years later, the fertilizer is ready - it is scattered around the site before digging.

Mineral fertilizers for potatoes

In addition to organic fertilizers, the soil is also fertilized with mineral fertilizers. Particularly popular are potassium sulfate, superphosphate, potassium chloride and potassium salt.

Potassium is highly recommended for obtaining good harvests - it promotes rapid growth of tubers, protects plants from diseases, and even makes potatoes tastier.
Fertilize the soil with minerals better in autumn, or for digging.

Productivity of fruit and vegetable crops directly depends on the composition, physical properties soil and its fertility. Negative qualities soils, such as poor air permeability, stagnation of water, increased moisture permeability, lack of nutrients, can be neutralized by applying. Here we will consider the dependence of the composition and fertility of the soil on the type of fertilizer, what fertilizer is applied to specific soils and in what quantity. Fertilizers are the key to the future harvest, so you need to pay serious attention to this - what and how to fertilize the soil.
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How to fertilize the soil

Fertilizers are the key to the future harvest

Getting to know the type and composition of soils

Proper use of fertilizers is impossible without taking into account the structure and mechanical composition of the soil. Based on the number and size of mineral particles, soils are divided into the following types:

1. Clayey– compacted, contain little air, but enough nutrients. They retain moisture and, after drying, form a crust that impedes the aeration of plants and, as a result, poor decomposition of organic matter.
2. Sandy and sandy loam– infertile, this is due to insufficient quantity organic matter. The soils contain a lot of sand and very few silt particles. They quickly pass water through which nutrients are washed out. A sufficient amount of oxygen promotes the rapid decomposition of organic residues.
3. Peaty marshy– contain enough organic substances, but they are often in an inaccessible form that is poorly absorbed by plants; soils are poor in phosphorus and potassium.

Vegetable crops are demanding on soil fertility. During the growth process they consume a lot of nutrients. To obtain a good harvest, it is necessary to periodically replenish their quantity through fertilizers.

Brief classification of fertilizers

All fertilizers are divided into two main large groups:

Organic – manure, humus, peat, bird droppings, slurry, sapropel

Mineral - in turn divided into:

1. Nitrogen - urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate.
2. Phosphorus - superphosphate, double superphosphate.
3. Potash - potassium sulfate, potassium chloride. Read in detail.

Complex - potassium nitrate, ammophos, nitrophoska, ash. These fertilizers contain more than two nutrients.

Microfertilizers are required by plants in minimal quantities and affect their growth and quality. These are copper, molybdenum, zinc, boron, manganese.

The relationship between soil composition and fertilizers

Clay soils need additional contribution organic fertilizers in the amount of 6 - 10 kg/sq. m at the first cultivation, 3-4 kg/sq. m – for subsequent ones. Organic matter is added for digging in spring or autumn. It can be humus, sapropel, peat. Fresh manure cannot be applied; it causes burns to the underground parts of the plants.

Sandy and sandy loam. You can compensate for the deficiency and improve the moisture capacity of sandy and sandy loam soil by constantly applying organic fertilizers. The use of mineral fertilizers without organic ones is undesirable. This leads to an increase in the concentration of salts in the soil.

On peat-boggy soils it is necessary to improve the absorption of nitrogen by plants. To do this, it is necessary to increase the vital activity of soil microorganisms. For this purpose, slurry, manure, sapropel, bird droppings and microbiological preparations are used. Phosphorus and potassium are added in increased doses. The elements are contained in sufficient quantities in wood ash. It is added at the rate of 50 – 60 g/m²

Bird droppings are an economical, concentrated organic fertilizer, good for fertilizing. It is applied to the soil in dry crushed form between rows in an amount of 20 – 50 g/m². To obtain a solution of 15–20 parts of water, take one part of bird droppings. The composition is infused for 2 - 3 days. With longer exposure, nitrogen begins to evaporate.

A high yield cannot be obtained using only organic fertilizers. Plants need minerals, but they cannot be used without measure. The doses of fertilizers applied are different and depend on the type of plant and content nutrient element, and range from 3-4 to 16 - 24 grams per 10 liters of water. During fertilizing, dissolved fertilizers are applied to the soil at the rate of 5 - 8 liters of water per m². After fertilizing, the soil must be loosened.

Spring is the base period for all plants. Developing garden and vegetable crops need complete nutrition with nutrients so that they bear fruit in the fall. bountiful harvest. To achieve good results, the gardener must know which fertilizers can be applied in the spring and which ones are better to refuse.

Spring feeding

With the onset of warm days, trees and perennial plants the growing season begins. After winter dormancy, sap flow and active growth begin. A similar process occurs in garden crops, planted with seedlings or grains sown in the ground. Plants try to gain strength by absorbing nutrients from the ground. However, even the most fertile soil is not able to provide adequate nutrition without human intervention. The way out of the situation is feeding with organic and mineral fertilizers.

Soil enrichment cannot be done with everything that comes to hand. Every plant, tree or shrub requires balanced and complete feeding with those substances that are lacking in the soil. Experienced vegetable growers independently compose a combined diet of mineral and organic fertilizers, guided by soil tests.

It is important to know! Fertilizer applied to the soil in excess of the required amount will only harm the plant. An excess of nutrients will result in a poor harvest.

Timing of work

Determining what fertilizer to apply and how much is half the battle. Need to know optimal timing carrying out work so that fertilizing is beneficial. Conventionally, the time of applying fertilizers in spring is divided into three periods:

1. Fertilizing soil on snow. The biggest mistake is to scatter mineral fertilizers in early spring on unmelted snow cover. Most of the nutrients will be lost melt water outside the garden. Unfertilized areas will appear, as well as places with a large accumulation of minerals. The method is only suitable for large farms that did not feed the fields in the fall, and a large amount of work remains in early spring. In general, organic matter cannot be scattered on snow.
2. Fertilizing the soil before sowing or planting seedlings. Ideal period for all crops. The fertilizer will have time to dissolve, distributing evenly throughout the entire area. Root system young plant After planting, it will immediately receive nutrients. To achieve the optimal effect, the scattered fertilizer is covered with a layer of soil.
3. Applying fertilizer to the hole during sowing or planting seedlings. Effective, but dangerous method, requiring a lot of experience. The root system immediately receives a large concentrate of substances. Errors with the dose will destroy the plant.

A novice gardener should adhere to the second period of soil feeding - before planting garden crops. This rule is also suitable for flower growers. Fruit trees can be fed before the ground around the trunk has completely thawed.

Advice! With any fertilizing option, you should not immediately apply a large portion of fertilizer. It is better to divide the process into 2-3 times at short intervals.

Organic fertilizers

The most popular fertilizer in rural areas is organic. For many gardeners, fertilizer is available free of charge, and it works no worse than store-bought preparations.

Compost

Effective fertilizer is made from decomposed organic waste. The process of rotting occurs in a pit or a pile fenced with shields. To prepare compost, tops of garden crops, weeds, sawdust, leaves from trees, any food waste. Rapid decomposition of organic matter occurs at a temperature of +40 o C.

Properly prepared compost can replace mineral fertilizers. To do this, organic matter is not simply thrown chaotically into a heap, but wet and dry layers are alternated. Succulent vegetation is mixed with sawdust or dry leaves. Complete nutrients are provided by adding bird droppings or fresh manure from pets. Phosphorus flour will help enrich organic matter with microelements. For 100 kg of rotting waste, add 2 kg of the substance. Good results produces peat, but it forms an acidic environment. Wood ash will help restore balance.

Advice! To speed up decay, each layer of organic waste is sprinkled with earth. In hot, dry summers, the pile is watered, but the water should not stand in a puddle. Retain moisture and support optimal temperature A film cover will help.

Manure

Organics are obtained from used pet bedding. The basis is fresh manure mixed with straw, grass or wood shavings. The fertilizer is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other useful substances. To prepare manure, dirty litter is placed in a pile and covered on top. plastic film. The rotting process lasts at least 1 year. The finished organic matter is spread over the area with a pitchfork and distributed evenly with a rake.

Attention! Unrotted manure can only be used for warm beds.

Humus

Organic matter includes manure or compost that has been rotted for two or more years. Ready humus is determined by its looseness and earthy smell. The resulting substance is considered a universal fertilizer, suitable for fertilizing, mulching, and adding to holes when planting seedlings.

Bird droppings

In terms of the amount of useful substances, organic matter is ahead of mullein. Clean droppings are highly concentrated and are used only for making compost. When diluted, organic matter is ideal for feeding garden crops, especially tomatoes. The starter is prepared from 1 part of manure and 10 parts of water. The fermented infusion is diluted with water at a ratio of 1:4 and this solution is added to the plants at the root.

Ash

The most beneficial ash for vegetation is obtained by burning young tree branches and straw. The substance is rich in potassium, which helps reduce soil acidity. Ash serves as a good fertilizer for most garden crops, except carrots. Tomatoes, potatoes, and Bell pepper.

Peat

If the site is not located on peat bogs, then this organic matter will have to be purchased. Peat is used to create beautiful lawns. The substance is evenly scattered over the area, crushed with earth, and after a day they begin to sow the seeds. Peat is well suited for mulching the soil, especially around the trunks of three-year-old apple tree seedlings.

Bacterial fertilizers

The drug is mostly used in growing flowers and garden crops. The composition contains living microorganisms that help plants absorb nutrients from the soil. A striking example is humus, but there are also more concentrated preparations. They contribute bacterial fertilizers in spring in warm soil when sowing seeds.

Sapropel

The tableted preparation is made from organic deposits at the bottom of a reservoir. Tablets are applied when preparing the soil or during sowing of crops. The drug is covered with earth, otherwise it is useless.

Mineral fertilizers

Fertilizing with minerals helps to increase productivity, plant development, and normalize the acid balance of the soil. Fertilizers can neutralize acid or, conversely, oxidize alkaline soil. The composition includes inorganic substances that protect garden crops from fungal diseases. Fertilizers are sold packaged. Each package contains instructions for use. Plants are fed with minerals annually.

Nitrogen

This type of fertilizer includes: urea, saltpeter and ammonium sulfate.

Fertilizing with these substances is in demand for soil where organic matter has not been added. Nitrogen-containing preparations are used in early spring during the initial growing season of plants. Fertilizers do not tend to accumulate in the ground, which is why they are applied periodically in parts of 300 g/m2. Nitrogen promotes the growth, development and flowering of the plant, as well as the formation of the ovary.

Potassium

The preparations are applied to the soil at the rate of 200 g/m2. Potassium develops the resistance of green spaces to cold and even drops in temperature to negative levels. Fertilizer accelerates fruit ripening and promotes branching of the root system.

Phosphorus

In spring, phosphorus-containing substances are in demand by plants along with nitrogen. The following preparations are best known to gardeners: double superphosphate, phosphate rock and superphosphate.

Phosphorus promotes rapid growth the stem of the plant and its further development. The drug is applied at the rate of 250 g/m2 of land.

Mineral fertilizers differ in composition. The simplest are single-component drugs. For spring feeding Complex fertilizers are more in demand. They consist of several minerals containing nutritional and protective components. Complex preparations increase plant immunity, preventing the development of fungal and bacterial diseases.

Factory-made fertilizers are general use and specially developed complexes for a specific crop, for example: “Bulba” for potatoes, and “Kemira-Universal” for garden trees.

Attention! When applying mineral fertilizers, it is important to adhere to the dosage specified in the instructions. In this case, you need to know the type of soil. It’s good if it is possible to do an analysis of the land from the site.

Any garden culture And ornamental plant demanding of a certain substance, be it a mineral or an organic matter.

Potato

Fertilizing of the crop is carried out using a continuous or hole method. In a large garden, the continuous method is acceptable. The fertilizer is spread evenly throughout the area. The composition of the mixture depends on the type of soil.

For infertile land:

• compost or manure – 5 kg;
• ammonium sulfate – 3 kg;
• superphosphate – 3 kg;
• potassium-containing preparation – 2.5 kg.

For nutrient soil:

• compost or manure – 2 kg;
• ammonium sulfate – 2 kg;
• superphosphate – 1.5 kg;
• potassium-containing preparation – 1.5 kg.

The hole version involves applying fertilizer to each hole during planting of tubers. The method will work to the owner small plot. However, it is more convenient for three people to plant potatoes: one works with a shovel, the second pours fertilizer, the third lays out the tubers in the holes. Potatoes are fed with a mixture of 1 liter of manure with 0.5 liters of ash. This amount is calculated for one hole.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes love prepared soil. It is better to do this in the fall or, as a last resort, in early spring. In the beds, before planting the seedlings, the soil is mixed with peat, manure and loamy soil is added. For feeding on initial stage use organic matter. Of the store-bought preparations, superphosphate and complex fertilizers are the best. Minerals are added once every 2 weeks.

cucumbers

High warm beds are prepared for the crop. The filler is manure or humus, straw and soil. The bed can be made not high by immersing the filler deep into the soil. Under top layer organic matter will begin to rot, releasing heat to the roots of the cucumbers.

Cabbage

The culture is demanding of nitrogen. On the 10th day after planting the seedlings, fertilize with urea no more than 10 g/m2. After 22 days, superphosphate is added, dissolved in water at the rate of 15 g of the substance per 10 liters of water. Proportions are calculated for white cabbage. Other varieties are fertilized with similar preparations. For cauliflower, double the dose.

Strawberry

With the onset of spring, the bushes are cleared of hatching weeds and an insulating shelter made of leaves or sawdust. The soil is loosened and mulched with peat on top. The first fertilizing is carried out with a nitrogen-containing solution. Before mulching, you can scatter saltpeter granules under the bushes. After the first leaves appear, the plantings are topped up with mineral-organic solutions. The taste of berries is enhanced by potassium-containing preparations.

Currant

If the pit was initially well fertilized, then the first feeding of the bush is required in the second year. Currants respond well to nitrogen-containing fertilizers and organic matter. An adult bush needs 15 kg of humus in the spring. If the choice fell on organic matter, then mineral nitrogen-containing substances are not added.

Raspberries

The most demanding and capricious shrub when it comes to feeding. Fertilize raspberries better with humus or compost. The earth is loosened for better penetration moisture and oxygen to the roots. The top soil is mulched with peat. Surface feeding is carried out by spraying with solutions containing bromine and zinc.

Fruit trees

At the beginning of March, when the buds on the trees have not yet swelled, superphosphate is scattered around the trunks, mixing it with the ground. Early dates due to the properties of phosphorus. A substance must remain in the ground for a long time to become useful fertilizer For fruit tree. After warming up the soil, add wood ash with humus. By the end of May, the trees are fertilized with potassium, which improves the taste of the fruit.

What not to use in spring

Not all fertilizers can be used on your site in the spring. First of all, you should refuse fresh manure, unless we are talking about warm bed for cucumbers. Plants made from such organic matter will receive a minimum of nutrients, and an excess will even harm them.

Seeds will bring an additional problem weed, preserved in manure. In the garden, the grains will germinate quickly. Weeds will be killed cultivated plants, plus they will take nutrients from the soil.

Saltpeter may fall under the second ban. Fertilizer promotes the formation of an alkaline environment. For soil with a large amount of salt impurities, this effect is unacceptable.

The third drug that you should give up in the spring is expired complex fertilizer factory made. The substance will not cause much harm. The fertilizer will simply be ineffective and the plant will not benefit from it.

As gardeners gain experience, they independently prepare diets for their crops, and also provide useful tips for beginning farmers:

• For spring feeding, it is optimal to use complex preparations with a maximum nitrogen content. Since the granules take longer to dissolve, they are applied in mid-March. Nutrient solutions watered at the end of April.
• When feeding trees, fertilizer is applied with a slight indentation from the trunk and in a circle. This makes it more likely that the substance will penetrate the root system.
• You can add compost and mulch the soil annually. There will be no harm from this. It is advisable to use manure to fertilize the land once every 2 years. The introduced organic matter should not be buried deeper than the bayonet of a shovel.

When choosing store-bought fertilizers, preference is given to granular complex preparations. They dissolve in doses, which allows the plant to receive nutrients for a long time.

Conclusion

Any fertilizer is beneficial for a plant or tree if it is used wisely. A properly formulated nutritious diet will affect good harvest in the fall. If you overdo it with fertilizing, thick tops with large leaves will grow instead of fruits.

This perennial tuberous plant from the Solanaceae family very intensively consumes nutrients from the soil, since its roots are not very developed and the tubers grow large.

It is necessary to fertilize the soil before planting, during the growing season, and after harvesting in order to compensate the potatoes for the energy costs of growing the crop.

How and when to fertilize and with what fertilizers?

culture in different terms , pursuing specific goals with each application of fertilizers.

Before landing

Fertilizers applied when preparing a bed for potatoes improve the germination of tubers, help the development of a powerful root system, and accelerate the growth of the plant, regardless of the nutrition of the mother tuber.

Potato fertilizers are needed in large quantities than the plant can absorb, since not all nutrients reach the bush: some of the fertilizers are taken by weeds, some dissolve in the ground.

Fertilizers for potatoes before planting are applied in autumn and spring.:

• In autumn - on square meter plot 6 buckets of fresh manure or humus, 30–35 g of superphosphate, 15–20 g of potassium sulfate. Fresh manure will rot over the winter, superphosphate releases nutrients quite slowly and has time to be absorbed into the soil.
• In spring it is necessary to take away excess moisture from the potato plot (forming ridges or digging ditches to drain water along its border) and provide it with nitrogen (in large quantities found in manure).

Spring feeding options:

• bucket of manure, 20–30 g each ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate and nitrophoska;
• a bucket of manure, 50–60 g of nitrophoska and a glass of ash;
• 10 kg of manure, 20 g of potassium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, 30 g of superphosphate and dolomite flour according to the instructions (depending on the acidity of the soil).

Organic fertilizers can be contaminated with pests, so when fertilizing you can only get by: in the fall - one part double superphosphate and two parts of potassium sulfate, in the spring - 3 kg of nitroammophoska per hundred square meters.

Upon landing

It is very important to choose the right fertilizers when planting, since the harvest depends on their quantity and quality. They must be added into the holes, and not throughout the entire area, then the plants will receive maximum amount useful substances.

Necessary fertilizers (amount per hole):

• rotted manure - 200–250 g, can be applied together with mineral fertilizers;
• chicken manure solution (prepared at a rate of 1:15, 1 liter is added to the well);
• plant waste - half a liter per hole, placed under the tubers and on top of them, can be applied along with mineral fertilizers;
• wood ash 150–200 g, cannot be mixed with other fertilizers;
• complex mineral fertilizers - Kemira potato (15–20 g per plant), nitrophoska (20 g per hole).

Adding fertilizer to the hole: step-by-step instructions

You can plant potatoes manually or using a walk-behind tractor/special planter. Tubers for planting are pre-germinated.

After germination

After the sprouts appear and reach a height of 20–30 cm, the potatoes are hilled up. So that the procedure brings more benefits, the plant needs to be fed before it.

You can use chicken manure:

1. Pour one part of the litter into 15 parts of water.
2. Let it brew for 24 hours.
3. Feed in an amount of 1 liter per bush after abundant watering.

Mineral fertilizer is also suitable:

1. Dissolve 20 g of urea in a bucket of water.
2. Water the potatoes at the root (1 liter per plant).

Read more about how to feed potatoes during and after planting in a hole, and in you will find even more recommendations for applying fertilizers during these periods.

Before flowering

Top dressing accelerates the growth of tops, adds nutrients to the soil to replace those already consumed by the plant, and increases the potato's resistance to late blight, scab and other diseases.

During this period, you should not apply nitrogen fertilizers, otherwise you may end up with powerful tops and small tubers.

Before flowering, the plant needs potassium and phosphorus.:

• 20 g of potassium sulfate, 60 g of ash per bucket of water;
• 60 g of superphosphate per bucket of water.

The required amount of fertilizer is applied at the root.

Root and foliar methods

It is important to distinguish between root and foliar (by leaves) fertilizing of potatoes, since they have different purposes and different application times.

Enough was said about root fertilizer at the beginning of the article, so let’s dwell in more detail on the composition and application features foliar feeding. Fertilization is carried out during active growth leaves and flowers.

Foliar

Potato flowering is also the time of tuber formation. When the bushes fade, new tubers will no longer form.

It is important to organize feeding of the plant with the following composition:

• a teaspoon each of ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride;
• a tablespoon of superphosphate;
• a quarter teaspoon copper sulfate for the prevention of fungal diseases.

Apply ready-made fertilizer So:

1. All components are dissolved in warm water in an amount of 10 liters and left for 3 hours.
2. Add another 1 liter of water and pour into a spray bottle.
3. Spray the potatoes on the leaves.

During the period of active tuber growth, potatoes are fertilized:

• manganese (improves the taste of potatoes);
• boron (increases the density of tubers).

It is best to use specialized granular fertilizer "Mag-Bor":

1. Dissolve a tablespoon of granules in a bucket of water.
2. Mix thoroughly.
3. Spray the potato bush after the leaves are fully formed at the rate of 10 liters of solution per 3 m2 of planting.

When applying foliar fertilizing, it is important to follow certain rules:

• You can spray only in cloudy weather to avoid burning wet leaves;
• process only grown healthy bushes, since the area of ​​their leaf plates is larger and the leaf density is less;
• feed more often early varieties, since they react more intensely to foliar feeding.

In August, the plant is fed with superphosphate (400 g per hundred square meters). It accelerates the delivery of nutrients to the tubers. The granules are evenly scattered around each potato bush, and then the plantings are watered (so that the fertilizer dissolves in the ground).

After harvest

Potatoes are crops that take a lot of nutrients from the soil. In addition, crop rotation in relation to it is most often impossible, so after harvesting it is necessary to restore the fertility of the field for future plantings. For this purpose, green manure is planted.

The ideal green manure for this crop would be mustard. It builds up vegetative mass in just three weeks. When frost comes, the mustard sprouts will die, and in the spring they can be planted in the ground as fertilizer.

Useful video

We invite you to watch a video about when and how to fertilize potatoes:

Conclusion

Potatoes are grown throughout our country. The soil composition and climate for planting potatoes differ in different areas. Conditions are not favorable for culture everywhere. However, both mineral and organic, will allow you to get high yield in any region where this delicious vegetable is grown.