Planting and growing potatoes under straw or hay is a method that reduces labor costs, as these materials greatly facilitate the care and harvest. This method will especially appeal to gardeners-retirees, and even younger summer residents will be interested.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
Growing potatoes under straw or hay is optimal for small areas. In this case, it will not be necessary to dig a plot under the crop, additional fertilizer, and treat many types of pests.
The undoubted advantages of this method of planting potatoes include the following:
- Natural crop protection against various pests. Hay repels many parasites, so you do not need to additionally purchase drugs to combat them.
- Protection of tubers from frost. A coating of straw or hay will create a durable layer that protects the plant from frost, which is especially true in case of early planting.
- Protect plants from heat. At high temperatures, straw and hay play the role of mulch, which prevents high moisture loss.
- Minimal risk of mechanical damage to tubers. Since the crop can be harvested by hand, do not worry about the integrity of the potatoes: each tuber will be intact, which reduces the risk of infection of vegetables with various diseases.
- Save time and effort. The considered method of planting potatoes does not require digging the site before planting or in the fall, preparing holes, hilling and loosening the soil, fertilizing and top dressing. Harvesting is also not difficult: it can be done with your hands, without a shovel.
- Natural fertilizer of the soil. Straw, decaying, makes the soil fertilized and clean.
Gardeners note that the method of planting potatoes under straw or hay gives good results: up to 10 buckets of large tubers can be obtained from one bucket of planting material.
The disadvantages of the method include:
- The distribution of rodents for which straw becomes a breeding ground. Mice are attracted by the remains of wheat ears. If there are a lot of pests, they can spoil a significant part of the crop.
- Specific taste. Some people find the taste of potatoes grown under a layer of straw or hay unusual, different from that of tubers grown in the ground.
- Costs of cover material.
- Greening tubers. This occurs if the layer of mulch (hay or straw) is too thin.
- Propagation in the straw and hay of slugs, which are also able to spoil the crop. For these pests, such an environment becomes optimal.
This method of planting and growing potatoes has many features, so before you try it, it is worth planting such a small area. For a test landing under straw, you can use the worst tubers, which are still a pity to throw away.
Features of planting potatoes under straw
Before embarking on a crop planting under hay or straw, some preparatory measures must be taken.
Preparing planting material
In March, seed potatoes are being prepared. All tubers are carefully inspected, infected tubers are cleaned. Healthy potatoes the size of a chicken egg are left for planting.
Next, you need to treat the tubers with a solution of potassium permanganate. Potatoes are dipped in a light pink solution, left for 10-15 minutes, then dried and stacked in boxes.
Tanks with planting material are left for 3 weeks in a lit, dry room. The temperature should be between 5-15 degrees. During this period, strong shoots appear on the tubers.
For cultivation under straw, the following potato varieties are well suited:
- Nevsky
- Artemis
- Sappho
- Symphony;
- Solar.
If the farmer is interested in getting an early harvest, we advise you to read this article, which lists and describes the early varieties of potatoes.
Soil preparation
Before planting potatoes, it is recommended to plant predecessor plants in the area under it. They displace weeds from the site and enrich the soil with useful substances - phosphorus, nitrogen. Such plants are best suited: alfalfa, oats, mustard, rye.
To improve the composition of the soil, you can use these top dressings:
- Compost.
- Humus. You can take not fresh material. It is better if he previously lay for 2-3 years.
- Dry ground peel of citrus. This component effectively repels rodents with its smell.
- Ground egg shell. It disinfects the soil well.
- Ash. This top dressing effectively fights wireworms.
Fertilizers should be scattered on the soil, and then loosen it with a rake.
Landing is best prepared in the fall.
Mulch preparation
To plant potatoes in the described way, you can use old hay, mowed dried grass from the meadow or lawn, not completely overripe straw used for growing potatoes last season.
One hundred square meters will need about 20-30 square meters. m. of covering material.
Landing Features
Planting begins when the soil warms up to 10 degrees. Plant seed material in a well-lit and sun-heated area.
Plant potatoes under mulch in this way:
- Make furrows in the ground, pour water into them if the soil is dry. Earth must be moist. Instead of furrows, you can dig holes with a depth of 10-15 cm.
- It is advisable (but not necessary) to fertilize the furrow. Nutrient mass should consist of humus and wood ash. Fertilizer is poured in piles in place of the holes, then potatoes are laid on them.
- Distribute the prepared seed in the area with the sprouts up. The distance between the rows is 70 cm, the interval is 30 cm.
- Cover the tubers with straw or hay in a layer of 45-50 cm.
It must be borne in mind that too dense laying of straw makes it difficult to break out the sprouts. That is why you need to monitor the thickness of the layer.
When seedlings appear from under the straw and reach a height of 15-20 cm, it is necessary to form a layer of covering material. The mulch level can be adjusted to 50 cm.
If the summer turned out to be wet, it is necessary to carefully beat up hay or straw to prevent rotting due to high humidity. In a hot arid climate, on the contrary, the beds need to be watered more often, constantly monitoring the soil moisture level.
If everything is done correctly, optimal conditions are created: weeds are not able to break through a layer of straw or hay, evaporation is excluded. Thanks to this, the tubers grow under optimal conditions.
More information on soil mulching can be found here.
Alternative methods of growing potatoes under hay or straw
The method of growing potatoes under mulch described above is not the only one. There are also variations of this method.
Growing under straw using soil
Furrows should be marked on the site, then holes 7 cm deep. The distance between the holes should be 30 cm. Each of them needs to be laid with seed and sprinkled with soil, after which a straw layer of 25-30 cm should be laid on top.
The main difference of this method compared to the classical method of growing potatoes in straw is the use of soil, which is sprinkled with seed material.
Growing with a straw in a bucket
This method consists in the following: drainage is poured into a deep bucket, a soil layer of 5-7 cm, humus, then 1-2 tubers are placed. Straw is poured on top with a 10 cm layer. Mulch is added as the tops grow until the bucket is full. This "bed" is periodically watered.
Use of cardboard and straw
For this method, you need to prepare a dense cardboard (packaging from household appliances is perfect) and straw. The cardboard must be laid on the lap area so that there are no gaps. At the edges it needs to be fixed - for example, lay bricks. Make cuts on the cardboard with the letter “X”. A distance of 30 cm must be maintained between each of them.
In each cut, lay a potato directly on the ground so that at least one sprout looks out. Sheets of cardboard must be sprinkled with a layer of straw (20 cm is enough). When the sprouts begin to break through, add more straw or hay. The layer must be at least 15 cm.
Diseases and pests of culture
Growing potatoes under straw or hay does not exclude the likelihood of developing crop diseases or damage by pests.
The main enemy of potatoes is slugs, for which the natural coating of dry grass becomes a good refuge. Pests are hiding here from the heat. Such a neighborhood is dangerous for potatoes, as slugs damage the bushes and create conditions for the development of secondary infectious processes of potatoes.
You can fight slugs with crushed eggshells, lime, sawdust or onion husks. Periodically it is recommended to inspect the bushes and collect lurking pests.
No less dangerous to the crop are rodents that feed on spikelets of wheat found in hay. Effectively deal with them by planting spicy plants around the perimeter of the beds. Rodents scare away lemon balm and cilantro.
Also, the mice are scared away by vibration noise. To create them, you need:
- Insert metal rods 1-1.5 m long along the perimeter of the bed into the ground. The distance between each is about 1 m.
- Hang 5 liter plastic cans with lids on the rods. The bottom of the canister must first be cut off.
Such a design creates noise under the influence of wind, and the vibration of metal rods transfers it down into the soil. Such sounds scare away pests.
To protect the crop from the Colorado potato beetle, it is recommended to treat the tubers with insecticides (for example, Prestige or Matador) before planting.
In the fight against rodents, it is not recommended to lay out poisoned baits along the perimeter of the site, since this contradicts sanitary and environmental considerations. Other inhabitants of the site that do not pose a threat to the crop - birds, hedgehogs, beneficial insects, can die from the poison.
You can also use ultrasonic repellers to deter pests.
Harvesting
Harvesting potatoes that were grown under hay or straw is recommended on a sunny day. You need to do this this way:
- Remove a layer of straw or hay with a rake. It is not necessary to throw it out, as it will be necessary for growing potatoes next year.
- Pick up tubers. They get the potatoes by hand, since their main part is located shallow.
- You can put tubers in bags or buckets.
With proper care, the first young potatoes can be tasted in 12 weeks.
Read about storage methods for potato crops here.
What is better for growing - straw or hay?
How to determine the covering material with this method of planting potatoes?
Hay is a dry grass containing weeds and their seeds, which quickly germinate and clog the soil in a humid environment. However, hay during rotting significantly enriches the soil with nutrients. Also, hay protects the crop much better from the negative effects of sunlight.
Straw - dry stalks of cereal crops. There are no weeds or nutrients in it. When decaying, it does not give away any nutrients to the soil.
Both hay and straw weigh little, so they are easily carried away by the wind. Both types of covering materials completely rot during 2 years.
When choosing a material, it is worth considering the features of the soil. So, straw acidifies the soil, because it is optimal for alkaline and neutral soils.
Each type of covering material has its drawbacks and advantages, so you can choose any of them.
Growing potatoes under the straw is much easier than the classic way. This method does not require digging the soil, digging up the crop, active top dressing. You can also use combined alternative methods: hay and cardboard, straw and soil.