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The American way of growing potatoes: what overseas farmers boast about
03.03.2023 18:11
Updated: 14.04.2023 11:08
Some summer residents bury potatoes every spring under a shovel, others use mechanical means. In both cases, there is nothing new.
The inquisitive minds of enthusiasts make us think about how, for example, American farmers grow potatoes. And they do it using the Mittlider method.
If you do everything right, you can get a rich potato harvest, but with less labor. At least, that's what agro-enthusiasts write.
1. Soil preparation
First, you need to prepare beds for potatoes exclusively in the direction from north to south. This is done in the spring. Weeds are pulled out, the ground is leveled.
2. Forming beds
You will need 4 pegs and a string to mark out a plot 45 cm wide and 9 m long. Then, along the line, prepare a furrow 5 cm deep and add mineral fertilizers to it (100 g of mixture per linear meter just before planting - a mixture of boron and calcium).
Then the bed is dug up and sides are made along the edges, 10 cm high and 5-7 cm wide.
3. Planting and growing
The tubers are placed at a distance of 30 cm from each other in holes 10 cm deep and in a checkerboard pattern. Potato seeds are treated before planting. The tubers are placed in the holes with the sprouts facing up, and then the bed is leveled with a rake.
4. Top dressing
Held 3 times per season:
- after emergence;
- when the shoots rise to 15-20 cm;
- during flowering.
To add additives, 5 cm furrows are formed, into which a mixture of potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, magnesium, molybdenum and boron is poured (40-50 g per linear meter).
5. Watering
Potatoes are watered frequently, also in furrows at the rate of 1-2 buckets of water per linear meter, and in hot weather the bed is covered with straw 5-10 cm thick or sawdust 2-3 cm.
The tops are mown down 10-15 days before harvesting. It is believed that the harvest ripens better in such beds, since the plant receives more oxygen and light.
