Content
Spring planting of potatoes has long been part of our mentality. Even the most ardent opponents of such a dacha pastime sooner or later think about allocating a small bed for potatoes. After all, no matter how good the purchased potatoes are, your own harvest will always be better. Moreover, modern selection has provided summer residents with a large selection of different varieties of this vegetable. Below we will talk about such a variety as Bellarosa.
Description of the variety
The history of this variety goes back about 17 years. It was in the early 2000s that German breeders presented the world with the result of their painstaking work - the Bellarosa potato variety. Initially, they recommended this variety for planting only in Eastern Europe, but Bellarosa quickly conquered other countries. In our country, this variety is most actively grown in the Urals, in the southern, central and northwestern regions.
Bellarosa potatoes are early ripening table varieties.
Many gardeners fell in love with this variety due to its persistent and high yield - up to 35 tons of potatoes can be harvested from one hectare of land.
Residents of these regions carry out their first harvest in early July. If replanted, the second harvest can be harvested in early September.
Bellarosa potato bushes have strong stems up to 75 cm in height. The leaves on the bushes are quite large and mostly closed, with slight wavy edges. During flowering, the bushes are covered with medium-sized red-violet inflorescences. After flowering, from 7 to 10 large oval or round-oval potatoes are formed on each bush. The weight parameters of Bellarosa potatoes, as a rule, are between 115 and 210 grams, but there are also record holders weighing 700-800 grams.
Skin potato varieties Bellarosa is reddish or light pink with small, shallow eyes. Due to its slight roughness and good thickness, it perfectly protects the potato pulp from damage. The pulp itself can be colored from soft yellow to rich cream color.
Bellarosa potatoes have an excellent sweetish taste, and the starch content in them will be between 12% and 16%. These potatoes can be either boiled or fried. It is perfect for any culinary idea.
Of course, not only high yield and excellent taste allowed the Bellarosa potato variety to become one of the leaders in planting on our plots. In addition to these characteristics, it has a number of positive qualities:
- Drought immunity – this quality is especially appreciated by “weekend gardeners” and those who plant potatoes in large areas without an automatic watering system. In many areas, the Bellarosa variety grows well, without any watering at all, being content only with rainwater.If necessary, this potato variety can withstand even very severe drought.
- Undemanding to soil composition – the Bellarosa variety grows and bears fruit with equal success on all soils except loamy soils. Due to the strong density of this soil, it is difficult for even the strongest roots to grow tubers. Clay soil on the site is not a reason to delay planting potatoes. It can be dug up and well diluted with humus and sand. Pre-planting green manure crops such as mustard, oats or buckwheat also gives good results. After harvesting, they can be incorporated into the soil to improve its composition.
- Resistance to tuber damage – the Bellarosa potato variety has quite thick skin, so in the process harvesting potatoes the tubers are not damaged.
- Resistance to diseases and pests – the Bellarosa potato variety is characterized by excellent resistance to such common diseases as potato cancer, black leg, blotch, and rhizoctonia. But this variety cannot boast of immunity to the most common pests. Therefore, you need to pay special attention to protecting bushes from the Colorado potato beetle and wireworm.
- Long storage period – early potato varieties do not have a proper shelf life, but Bellarosa is an exception to the rule. Under proper storage conditions, losses of this variety can amount to only 6% of the total yield.
Thanks to all these qualities, the Bellarosa potato variety has earned its popularity. It is not demanding in terms of care, but it will still require some manipulations from the gardener.
Recommendations for cultivation
It's no secret that the key to getting a rich harvest lies in caring for vegetable crops.So let's look at what kind of care Bellarosa will require.
Sowing
Considering that the Bellarosa variety is early, its planting should be planned for the end of April. But before this time, seed potatoes need to be germinated a little. To do this, 15–20 days before planting, the potato tubers must be provided with access to daylight and a temperature of about +15 degrees. It is very easy to determine the readiness of Bellarosa potatoes for planting: young shoots will grow from their eyes.
Some gardeners place potatoes in wooden boxes in several layers for germination. But with this placement, the bottom layer may not have enough ventilation and some tubers may spoil.
Before planting Bellarosa potatoes, you need to mark the bed and make holes. There should be at least 90 cm between adjacent rows, and up to 40 cm between holes. The holes should be made quite deep: from 8 to 10 cm.
When planting potatoes of this variety, any potassium-phosphorus fertilizer, for example Nitrophoska, should be placed at the bottom of each hole. Only after this can potatoes be placed in the hole, covered with soil and leveled.
Feeding
All early potato varieties require fertilizer containing magnesium. Especially if they are grown in soils with a predominant sand content. Most often, dolomite flour is used for this. In addition, it is recommended to apply fertilizers during important growth periods for plants:
- After the first shoots appear, it is recommended to use an infusion of manure or chicken droppings.
- Before flowering, potatoes should be fertilized with urea or a solution of potassium sulfate and ash.
- During flowering, the most optimal composition for feeding will be a mixture of mullein and superphosphate.
The application of any of these fertilizers is carried out only after good watering of the potato bushes or after rain. Fertilizing unprepared dry soil can burn the roots of plants.
Care
All care for potatoes of this variety consists mainly of two procedures: loosening and hilling.
Loosening is simply necessary for Bellarosa potatoes. It is thanks to loosening that the roots receive more moisture and oxygen. In addition, this procedure helps combat weeds, which especially like to settle near potato bushes. Despite all the benefits of this procedure, it is recommended to carry it out only during the period of active growth of bushes, when they have not yet reached a height of 15 cm.
After the Bellarosa bushes have grown above 15 cm, loosening the soil is replaced by hilling. Hilling, like loosening, helps improve soil throughput, making it easier for roots to access air and water. The essence of this procedure is to rake the earth closer to the potato bush so that as it continues to grow, it does not lean towards the ground. The photo below shows that a kind of mound is formed around the bush.
Experienced gardeners practice fan hilling of potatoes. You can learn more about this method from the video:
Many gardeners annually choose this particular potato variety. Below we will give reviews from those people who have already planted Bellarosa.
Great potatoes! They planted it the first year. The result exceeded all expectations. I recommend to all.