Content
Organic fertilizers are considered the best option for feeding potatoes. The most accessible and effective will be manure, which is formed on any farm. It contains almost all useful microelements necessary for the normal development of the crop. If you systematically apply manure under potatoes, it will not only allow you to get a better harvest of tubers, but will also make the soil looser, promoting the accumulation of the top fertile layer.
It is better to apply fertilizers manually
Is it possible to fertilize potatoes with manure?
Many gardeners doubt whether it is better to use organic fertilizers or purchase ready-made fertilizers. Manure has a number of advantages over chemical compounds. The main thing is the naturalness and safety of the resulting crop for the body. Excrement is recommended as a fertilizer for potatoes, since after adding it to the soil, carbon dioxide is released, which is necessary for plant photosynthesis.
Depending on the time of year, one of the organic options is used:
- fresh can only be used in the fall; if you add it during planting, it will burn the planting material;
- rotted material, suitable for feeding in spring when planting tubers.
Which manure is best for potatoes?
There are many types of manure that are suitable for use as fertilizer. They differ in composition and are therefore recommended for certain crops. Potatoes are no exception. To get large tubers, you need to ensure that all nutrients are supplied from the soil.
Organic fertilizers are recommended to be combined with straw or plant debris
Horse manure for potatoes
In rural areas, horse manure is often used as fertilizer for potatoes. It is considered the most valuable among similar mixtures, since 1 kg contains:
- 6-7 g nitrogen;
- 2-3 g phosphorus;
- 7 g potassium.
Its structure is loose and porous. Horse manure for potatoes is used together with peat, straw or last year's leaves.
Horse manure decomposes quickly and generates large amounts of heat
Pig manure
This organic option is considered to be poorer in composition. It is usually used on sandy and sandy loam soils. Despite the widespread use of pig farms, this fertilizer is used infrequently.
Pig manure is worse in composition than other types, decomposes slowly, and is usually used to fertilize sandy and sandy loam soils.
Cow dung
Mullein is suitable for all types of soil. However, it is worth considering that it decomposes more slowly than horseweed.Fresh manure is high in nutrients necessary for crop development. It significantly increases the fertility of the top layer of soil. However, the liquid substance contains pathogenic microflora. You can get rid of harmful parasites only by composting or infusion.
Cow manure is inferior to horse manure because it decomposes more slowly and produces less heat.
Finding mullein is much easier, since in any rural area there are many farms where bulls or cows are raised
Chicken droppings for potatoes
Chicken manure is often used when planting potatoes, as it is quite easy to find and prepare. Compost from chicken manure is applied for plowing in spring and autumn. The quality of such fertilizer depends on the correct preparation. When laying in a hole, each layer of chicken manure as fertilizer for potatoes must be sprinkled with plant residues and soil. If the resulting mass is too dry, it is diluted with water. The process of making fertilizer takes several months.
To speed up the fertilizing process, the pile can be covered with film.
Rabbit manure for potatoes
Rabbit manure is used in liquid form for feeding, and dry manure can be applied directly to the holes before planting potatoes. To prepare liquid fertilizer, you need to dilute manure with water in a ratio of 1:10. If you need to feed the plants during watering, it is enough to dilute this liquid with water 1 to 5. Rabbit manure can replace potash fertilizers and superphosphate.
Rabbit fertilizer softens the soil and warms it
Benefits of manure as fertilizer
Through years of observation, gardeners have learned about the benefits of manure for soil and plants.
The benefits of fertilizer include:
- increasing soil fertility;
- improvement of soil structure;
- enriching the earth with air and moisture;
- increasing the growth of beneficial microflora inside the fertile layer;
- Possibility of use as a mulching material.
By introducing organic matter, the process of decomposition of harmful chemical compounds is accelerated and excess salt content in the soil is neutralized. At the same time, the saturation of the soil occurs evenly and in doses, and this is important for the complete improvement of the top layer - humus.
Applying manure into the hole during planting saves fertilizer and provides direct nutrition to the tubers
Manure is the most natural fertilizer possible, so it will not harm the land. And the harvest turns out to be environmentally friendly and safe.
When to put manure under potatoes
The technology for applying organic fertilizer largely depends on its consistency and type of soil. Completely rotted fertilizer is applied in the spring after the snow has melted and mild temperatures have established. The use of fresh and half-rotted manure is possible only in the autumn.
The mode of applying manure depends not only on the quality of organic matter, but also on the type of soil in the cultivated area. It is recommended to fertilize loamy soils in the fall, and light sandy soils - with the arrival of spring.
Rules for applying manure to potatoes
To obtain maximum benefits, you need to properly apply manure when planting potatoes. Manure is placed over the entire area of the plot allocated for planting potatoes. On the same day, you need to dig up all the soil using a shovel or hand plow.This is necessary to preserve the nutritional value of the fertilizer. Otherwise, it quickly dries out and becomes less useful.
It is recommended to start fertilizing after the bushes have reached a height of 8-10 cm. Combining organic matter with minimal doses of superphosphate gives excellent results. The resulting mixture must be applied during the first hilling.
Norm for applying manure to potatoes
Everything is good in moderation. Improper application of even organic fertilizers will lead to a decrease in yield and deteriorate the quality of tubers. This is due to the likelihood of developing fungal diseases. To prevent negative consequences, proportions should be strictly observed.
To feed potatoes, it is enough to apply 300-500 kg of fertilizer per hectare of land. However, if the crop is grown in soddy-podzolic loamy soils, then 30 to 40 tons of fertilizer will be needed per 1 hectare of soil, and up to 50 tons in sandy loam soils.
If you add manure to each hole when planting potatoes, then you will need to spend only 150-200 g on a bush. Adding a tablespoon of wood ash will help improve the mixture. The main difficulty of the method is labor intensity and the risk of scab development.
How to replace manure in the potato garden
Various substances are used to prepare compost:
- food waste;
- weeds;
- cut grass;
- tops of fruit plants.
The main thing is not to use poorly decomposing substances and plants from an area infected with late blight, nematode or scab.
The potato harvest depends not only on planting technology and weather conditions, but also on the quality of the soil
If there is no animal fertilizer, but you need to fertilize the potatoes, you can use other organic substances:
- Ash is an organic potassium fertilizer containing more than 30 microelements. Adding it to the soil can increase potato yields by 15%.
- Peat is decomposed plant and animal remains without access to oxygen. This organic fertilizer is rich in nutrients needed to improve your harvest.
- Green manure plants that are sown before spring planting of potatoes. The best options for this crop are oats and winter rye. Substances released from plant roots disinfect the soil and inhibit pathogenic microorganisms. You can also use white mustard and radish. These plants are effective, but at the same time safe for nutrient soil.
Green manure planted in the fall is cut before the onset of frost. In this case, the green mass is left to rot under the snow. This will be additional fertilizing for the soil.
Conclusion
Applying manure to potatoes is an effective method of enriching the soil and increasing potato yields. The technology for applying it to the soil depends on the type of fertilizer. Depending on its consistency, not only the norms change, but also the feeding season. If you enrich the soil in the fall, and then take care of fertilizing before adding seed in the spring, you can get a rich potato harvest. In this case, the quality of the tubers will be much higher than when growing the crop without the use of organic fertilizers.
