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German breeders have created many varieties of potatoes. Among them is the highly productive and promising variety Natasha. It was obtained at the beginning of the 21st century. The new vegetable was liked by European gardeners.
Vegetable growers in Russia also grow this variety of potatoes. At first it was bred in private plots. High early harvests attracted the attention of large agricultural producers.
Description
Potato bushes of the Natasha variety are not too tall, semi-erect, of intermediate type. The leaves are large, with noticeable waviness. The tops are light or dark green. The flowers are whitish, with a barely noticeable blue against the background of bright yellow pistils.
Tubers of varietal potatoes are medium-sized, oval, smooth, even. Clumsiness practically does not occur. The color of the peel is light yellow, with almost invisible eyes. On average, one potato weighs 96-133 grams. When cut, the flesh is dark yellow. The value of the Natasha variety in large quantities of starch is 11.2-13.6%.
The tuber itself, leaves, and flowers are clearly visible in the photo.
Advantages of the variety
Potatoes are just beginning to win the love of Russians due to their characteristics. Let's look at them in more detail:
- Potatoes Natasha are early ripening. The tubers are ready within 2.5 months after planting.
- More than a dozen tubers ripen in one nest of the Natasha variety. You can collect from 132 to 191 centners of early potatoes from one hectare. Look at the photo taken by gardeners. Here is a harvest from two bushes of the Natasha variety.
- Good yield even in dry years.
- When transporting potatoes, there is practically no mechanical damage.
- The Natasha variety, judging by the reviews of gardeners who have tried the selection potatoes, is undemanding to the soil and grows well in any garden.
- Varietal potatoes are characterized by high keeping quality. When favorable conditions are created, the safety of the harvest reaches 93%. The commercial qualities of the vegetable are not lost during the winter period.
- Potato variety Natasha is resistant to many potato diseases.
- The table variety has excellent taste and culinary characteristics. Due to the high starch content it turns out crumbly. For potato salad lovers, there is no better vegetable.
Diseases and pests
German breeders have done their best: tubers and tops practically do not suffer from:
- golden potato cyst nematode;
- potato cancer;
- tuberous rot;
- rhizoctonia;
- Y-virus.
But this does not mean that after planting potatoes, you can ignore them. You should inspect the tops from time to time.
Features of preparatory work
Since the Natasha variety is an early ripening variety, when choosing planting dates you need to focus on the temperature regime and the readiness of the soil.
Seed preparation
Potatoes the size of a chicken egg or a little larger are placed on the seeds. Must be stored separately from main supplies. Seed potatoes of the Natasha variety must be removed from the cellar at least 30 days before planting. This is a necessary measure: the seeds need time to warm up, the eyes need to wake up and hatch.
Germination of Natasha varietal potatoes should be carried out in a warm room with good lighting. It’s not bad if the tubers receive direct sunlight.
When the eyes hatch, the planting material of the Natasha variety is treated with Prestige and Heteroauxin.
Soil preparation
The soil is usually prepared in the fall after harvesting. Even small ones are removed first. weeds. Fertilizers are applied, preferably humus or compost. In the spring, the garden is dug up and the surface is leveled.
Rules for planting potatoes
When planting large areas, use a cultivator or potato planter. If the area for potatoes is small, then the work is done manually; holes are prepared using a bayonet shovel.
In each hole you need to add at least five tablespoons of stove ash and 700 grams of well-rotted manure. There is no need to bury the tubers of the Natasha variety, so as not to create inconvenience when digging. Do not forget that when hilling, a ridge will still appear on top.
Planting is carried out in rows, the step between them is at least 0.7 m.The distance between potatoes of the Natasha variety in a row is about 35 cm. This gap provides sufficient lighting and warming of the soil, the bushes are easy to weed and hill up. Each family member finds something to do when planting potatoes, as in this photo.
After the planting work is completed, the garden is leveled with a rake. This is necessary to remove the crust on the surface of the earth (even with careful work, the soil is still trampled down) and to destroy the root system of emerging weed buds.
How to properly care
Potato Natasha, judging by the description, characteristics of the variety, photos and reviews of vegetable growers, steadily tolerates unfavorable climate during the period of vegetative development. When using agricultural techniques, you can create a rich harvest.
Necessary actions:
- Weeds grow faster than potatoes. Until the first shoots appear, the garden needs to be harrowed several times. This can be done using a rake with large sharp teeth or a harrow. Two problems are immediately solved: thin strings of weeds are removed, which immediately dry out in the sun, and the crust is removed from the surface of the soil. The access of oxygen to the roots of the plant increases.
- If there is a threat of frost returning, the emerging seedlings need to be “wrapped up” during the first hilling. In addition to preserving moisture inside the bush, such hilling does not allow weeds to live freely. You need to raise the soil above the bush twice to increase the number of stolons and the formation of more tubers.
- If the soil was well fertilized in the fall and fertilizing was applied when planting the tubers, then for potatoes of the Natasha variety, root fertilizing during the growing season is not necessary.
- As for watering, it is not recommended to do it in the presence of rain, because judging by the characteristics, the Natasha variety gives a good harvest even in dry years. You need to be careful with watering: excess moisture leads to rotting of the tubers.
- Another important activity required when caring for plantings is monitoring diseases and the presence of pests.
Cleaning and storage
Many gardeners cut off the tops before digging to prevent diseases from entering the tuber. In addition, in this case, the potato skin becomes rougher and the flesh itself becomes denser.
You cannot delay harvesting the Natasha variety. It is best to choose sunny weather to dry the tubers in the sun. Before storing, vegetables are kept in a dry, dark room. After this, the potatoes are selected for seeds, animal feed and food.
For underground storage, a raised platform is made of boards so that air can flow from all sides. Potatoes are poured into nylon bags or boxes with slots (as in the photo) and stacked.
Watch the video for useful tips from experienced gardeners:
Hello!
The Natasha potato is not a hybrid; if desired, it can be planted on the plot for several years in a row.
This is a new variety of German selection, early and highly productive, medium in size, with yellow flesh. It is believed that it is suitable for cultivation in any region, but in Russia it grows best in the Middle Volga region.
The Natasha variety is resistant to many diseases that affect potatoes, but you will have to fight pests. In order to use less chemicals, follow crop rotation and swap crops.But remember that potatoes cannot be planted after other nightshades - tomatoes, peppers or eggplants.
For planting, choose healthy, undamaged medium-sized tubers and store them in a cool, dry place. In the spring, process and germinate the tubers as described on our website, plant them on time and enjoy early production.
But each variety grown on any site gradually accumulates negative genetic information. As soon as you notice that the yield has fallen and the quality of the tubers has deteriorated, change the variety or buy fresh planting material.
If you wish, you can grow pure genetic material yourself from the seeds of your own potatoes. Good luck.
Is Natasha a hybrid or not? Can I plant it for several years?