Red scarlet potatoes of the Red Scarlet variety are by far one of the most popular among both inveterate gardeners and those who simply like to enjoy delicious potatoes. An unpretentious, high-yielding variety, which, moreover, is distinguished by excellent taste, is a real find.
Variety Essentials
The Red Scarlet potato variety is the work of Dutch breeders. He feels good in warm sunny places. High yield, and you can collect from 1 square. m to 19 kg of potatoes, noted in the southern and central regions of Russia, it is here that the appropriate climatic conditions for normal development and growth.
This is an early ripe variety. Young tubers are dug up already in 40-45 days after the appearance of sprouts and used for food. The main cleaning is carried out after 70-80 days.
Description and specifications
The bush is low, semi-upright with medium dark green leaves with wavy edges. The flowers are red-violet or lilac. From each bush receive 18-20 tubers.
Potato tubers Red Scarlet oval, elongated, large in size. Small potatoes are formed very few. The mass of one tuber can reach up to 150 g, but on average it varies from 80 g to 120 g.
A plus for lovers of cooking will be that the potato has small small eyes that are not deep, making it easier to peel. Moreover, the flesh does not darken in the air for a long time.
The peel is smooth, red in color, which is reflected in the name of the variety (Red Scarlet translates as "red-raspberry") with a slight peeling, the flesh is light yellow.
When cooking, it practically does not boil, retains its shape. Therefore, it will not work to cook mashed potatoes or cutlets from it, but it is an ideal option for cooking french fries, fried potatoes and chips.
Red Scarlet belongs to table varieties, the starch content in tubers is 11-15%. Harvest potatoes are well preserved (up to 98%), while the taste remains unchanged over time.
Tubers are resistant to damage and putrefactive diseases. After the first breaking off, the sprouts rarely germinate repeatedly. Due to the red color, they do not turn so green in sunlight. The marketability indicator is 95%; a potato variety is often grown for commercial purposes.
The plant is resistant to diseases of viral origin - the golden nematode, potato cancer and others. But it is not resistant to scab and alternariosis, better known among the people as “black rot” or “black spotting”. To late blight, the attitude of the variety is ambiguous. If tubers are rarely infected with it, then the aerial part cannot boast of immunity.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The advantages of the variety include:
- excellent appearance;
- resistance to common potato diseases;
- high productivity;
- long storage;
- during transportation does not lose its presentation.
The disadvantages are:
- the variety is selective for climatic conditions, not suitable for cultivation in many regions;
- requires processing from late blight, scab;
- additional care - loosening;
- Suffers from the attack of the Colorado potato beetle;
- when planting, whole tubers are used; when they are divided, seedlings are uneven.
Growing rules
So that the crop does not disappoint, it is necessary to purchase high-quality seed material - either ready-made tubers are bought in the store, or they are grown from seeds on their own. Growing from seeds is a laborious and long process, but it has several advantages:
- the seed material is high quality;
- the price of seeds is many times less than that of tubers.
Seed cultivation
Acquired seeds are planted for seedlings in early spring, the timing of planting coincides with the sowing of tomatoes. It is better to plant them in a flat bowl, which is filled with fertile soil. As soon as the first shoots appear, they are provided with good lighting. The land must be loosened. Watering is moderate, with high humidity on the plants may appear "black leg". Several times before planting in a permanent place, seedlings are fed with mineral fertilizers.
Further, the process goes through the following steps:
- A month after the appearance of seedlings, they are dived into pots. In May, grown seedlings are planted in the ground - the distance between the bushes is 40 cm, the plant is buried to the upper leaves. When frozen, seedlings of potatoes are covered with a film or covering material on arcs.
- By the fall, mini-tubers are formed that are already suitable for culinary purposes. But since we are interested in growing high-quality material, we leave them for planting next year.
- In the second year, mini-tubers are planted in the usual way on the site. By the fall, pure seed is harvested, which is called the double superelite.
- In the third year, super-super-elite are planted and super-elite, which is also a quality material, is obtained.
- In the fourth year of planting, super-elite tubers receive the elite. It is considered the most productive type of planting material. And only in the fifth year of growing potatoes from seeds receive the first tuber reproduction, which is the most common planting material.
- Then they get a second reproduction, usually it is all for commercial purposes, since every year more and more viruses and diseases accumulate in the tubers, which negatively affect the yield and quality of the potato.
Therefore, some gardeners, having acquired poor-quality planting material, are disappointed in the variety. All the characteristics that the producer gives apply to potatoes grown from high quality seed material.
Since the seed material is grown for 4-6 years, it must be maintained in good condition until the next season and to avoid the loss of tubers.
Red Scarlet is distinguished by good keeping quality, but if the room has favorable conditions for storage:
- the room must be insulated;
- optimal air temperature + 1 ... + 5 ° C;
- there should be no sunlight;
- air from all directions to the tubers is required.
Seed preparation
Before planting in the soil, the tubers must be prepared - the potatoes are laid out in one layer in a room with a temperature of +15 ° C, which should be well lit.
In poor lighting, sprouts grow thin and fragile, and, therefore, the bushes will not differ in health and strength.
At this stage, tubers are discarded, on which spots appear, these may be the first signs of late blight. For uniform germination, they are regularly turned over. If some tubers do not have sprouts, then they are recommended to be warmed up at +40 ° C, this will awaken the growth points.
Ready-to-plant Red Scarlet tubers have thick sturdy sprouts reaching a length of 2 cm.
Landing place
This variety loves warmth and sun. Therefore, choose a sunny area, which does not fall shadow from buildings or other plants. Despite the fact that the variety is drought tolerant, when setting hot weather, it must be watered. In this regard, the place is selected so that it can be provided with irrigation without difficulty.
It’s better not to rush with the landing; it is planted in well-warmed up soil when the time of frost has passed. Depending on the region, the landing period is in mid-May-early June.
Landing Features
Red Scarlet showed the greatest yield when landing it in high ridges. The land is thoroughly cleaned of weeds, if necessary, fertilizers are applied - nitrogen and potash. When the site is infected with wireworm, additional special chemicals are added. Once again, they dig everything up and form ridges 12 cm high.
They make small holes 8 cm deep, pour ash into each glass and lay the tuber up with sprouts. Close them shallow, by 4-5 cm. To provide each bush with sufficient light, the distance between the holes and rows should be at least 60 cm.
Care
As soon as the seedlings appear, the ridges are cleared of weeds. As the bush grows, the need for weeding disappears, since the plant will itself inhibit the growth of weed grass. After a week, as the first plants appeared, they carry out hilling, the comb is raised to a height of 20 cm. The entire growing season is monitored so that the earth is loose and allows water and air to pass through well.
This variety does not belong to the “planted and forgotten” category; it needs constant cultivation, weeding and double hilling.
Watering is carried out before and during the flowering of the bushes, and a week after flowering. If the drought lasts a long time, then potatoes are watered 2 times a month, and after that the soil is well loosened.
As a rule, fertilizing is applied 2-3 times per season. They are fed with mineral fertilizers for the first time a month after planting. For 1 square. m need:
- urea - 2 teaspoons;
- potassium sulfate - 2 teaspoons;
- superphosphate - 4 teaspoons.
The second top dressing is carried out before budding, the third, if necessary, is carried out after the buds fall.
Diseases and Pests
Potatoes of this variety are susceptible to attack by the Colorado potato beetle and bear, and from diseases - late blight and scab.
Beetles begin to fight before buds appear on the bushes. Use the intended insecticide for this, or prepare a water-tar solution (100 g of tar per 10 l of water) and spray them with bushes in several runs.
The bear does great damage to the root system, tearing it, and to tubers, in which it gnaws large cavities. To evict it from the site, fill the passages with soapy water. 4 tablespoons of phosphate-free washing powder are dissolved in 10 l. Up to 2 L of solution is poured into each stroke.
It will also help scare away an insect by watering it with a tincture of onion husks. In 10 l of water add 1 kg of husk, mix and insist 5 days. Next, the infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5 and potatoes are watered 3-4 times a week. Before watering the infusion, the site is preliminarily shed with water or it is processed after rain.
From scab and late blight, they acquire special preparations and process potatoes, acting according to the manufacturer's instructions.
To reduce the risk of late blight, the development of which provokes high humidity and warm weather, only healthy material is planted.
Good from phytophthora folk remedies help. The bushes are sprayed with an aqueous solution of copper sulfate (taking 2 g of the substance per 10 l of water) every 10 days. Or prepare a solution of potassium permanganate, boric acid and copper sulfate. Each component is taken 1 tablespoon and in separate containers pour 1 liter of boiling water. The cooled solutions are poured into a ten-liter container and added with water. The resulting solution is sprayed with bushes 2 times. The first time in late July - early August, then the treatment is repeated after 10 days.
Harvesting
In order for the potatoes to be well transported and stored for a long time, the peel of the tubers must ripen. To do this, 2 weeks before harvesting, the plants cut off all the tops, leave the tubers. During this time, the skin will become dense.
Harvested by hand, spreading the ridges. Harvested potatoes are peeled and dried in the shade. Discarding damaged and diseased tubers, they send the crop to storage.
Reviews gardeners and farmers
Reviews about the variety of potatoes Red scarlet are only positive, if you follow the rules of planting and harvesting, as well as select the optimal temperature conditions for tubers. We bring to your attention several reviews of gardeners:
Alexander, 48 years old, Leningrad region. The seller recommended this potato variety to me. I painted all its qualities, I just forgot to say that it should be grown in the south. From my own experience I was convinced that it does not grow with us. The tubers do not lie, they immediately rot.
Ivan, 52 years old, Kuban, senior citizen. I love all sorts of news. Last year, he planted Red Scarlet potatoes. I bought a few tubers, so, for trial. On the advice of a consultant, he loosened the earth regularly, the benefit of the bushes was a little, to fertilize - did not fertilize, and so the land is good. Harvested a decent one. She lay until the spring, like new, did not even become flabby. One minus is that it is poorly digested.
Galina, 60 years old, Stavropol, gardener. Oh, and this Red Scarlet scared me. We planted her. And looked after her - loosened, sprayed from a bug. And at one point, all the bushes began to fall. And what is falling, who knows. We examined them, as if healthy. Watered a couple of times to calm the soul. And they lie and lie. Well, I think, not to see the harvest, here you have the overseas varieties, the money was thrown away in vain. I decided to stir up a bush, see what is there and how. And the potato lies there, dear, and such a large, beautiful. I decided not to touch it before cleaning. In August, they began to clean, only prepare the bags.
Hide
Add your review