It is impossible to imagine the diet of the average Russian without potatoes. Every spring, summer residents with enviable patience dig up their beds in order to provide their families with a year’s supply of potatoes in the fall. However, not everyone realizes that seasonal work in the garden can become a profitable business. We will tell you how to open your own potato growing business in this article.
If you enjoy cultivating the land or live in a rural area where it is difficult to find other types of work, think about a way to turn your hobby into a source of income. There are enough reasons to get into potato farming:
The manufacturer must be prepared for the difficulties that farmers often face. It's unpredictable weather, pest invasions, theft of produce from fields. It is necessary to have available funds to purchase mineral fertilizers, seed tubers, pesticides, agricultural machinery, fuels and lubricants, and equipment. However, in a good year, all the costs of growing potatoes can be recouped many times over.
Where to begin?
If you own land in a rural area, this will be a great advantage, since you will avoid unnecessary expenses for renting other people's acreage. It is good if the personal plot is located in the chernozem zone, where the soil has a large amount of fertile layer.
It is important for a novice farmer to think through everything down to the smallest detail: where to buy seed, where to store it, how to cultivate the land, what means to fertilize it, how to treat potato tops from weeds and pests. It is necessary to come up with options for watering plants during dry summers, water drains during heavy rainfall, and calculate the costs of purchasing processing equipment and work equipment. It is worth taking care in advance about the storage location of the crop and ensuring its protection.
Rules for growing potatoes
Potatoes do not like to be grown in the same place for several years in a row. Agronomists recommend following the rules of crop rotation, sowing the soil with the same crops 3-4 years after harvest. Replacing one crop with another when planting helps reduce soil contamination by diseases and pests. Crop experts advise replacing seed potatoes every 3-4 years, giving preference to high-yielding varieties that are resistant to diseases that you have identified in previous years.
Most productive Russian varieties– Blueness, Luck, early Zhukovsky
The first thing you need to do to get a good harvest is to prepare the soil for plowing. To do this, in the fall, in a large container, you need to mix manure with potassium-phosphorus fertilizer (1 bucket of manure + 50 g of fertilizer per 1 square meter soil), and then add the mixture to the soil when loosening, digging or plowing it.
If it was not possible to prepare the land in the fall, fertilizing is added in the spring when planting potatoes. When planting together with a tuber, two handfuls of a mixture of ash and humus in equal proportions are poured into the hole, and a tablespoon of special fertilizer for potatoes, which is sold in any specialized store, is placed on top. Manure added during planting must be rotted, otherwise the potatoes run the risk of developing scab, a disease in which dark spots appear on the surface of the vegetable.
The second thing you pay attention to when planting tubers is soil temperature. When digging a hole at a depth of 15-20 centimeters, measure the temperature of the earth, which should warm up to at least 10-12 degrees Celsius.
Planting methods
- Planting under a shovel: the distance between tubers should be about 40 centimeters, and the row width should be 80-90 for ventilation and plant care.
- Under straw: the tubers are laid out on the ground at the same distance, fertilized, and then covered with a thick, about half a meter, layer of straw.
- Under the walk-behind tractor: use a special attachment that digs a hole, places potatoes in it, adds fertilizer, and fills the hole.
It is recommended to plant seed potatoes with a diameter of 4-5 centimeters, selected in the fall from bushes with a bountiful harvest. When purchasing potato tubers, it is recommended to pay attention to “elite” varieties that give the highest yield and are maximally protected from pests. Ask the seller for a quarantine certificate and a varietal identification document confirming the origin of the seeds.
Seed potatoes Nevsky - elite variety If you purchased early varieties of potatoes, remember that they are not resistant to late blight, but medium and late varieties are more resistant to this disease. The southern regions are characterized by “macrosporia”, which manifests itself as large spots on the lower leaves, which cause their death. Recognized as a treatment for these diseases Bordeaux mixture (copper sulfate) at a concentration of 0.01-0.02%.
Tuber preparation
Material for planting is prepared 15-20 days in advance. Why? Previously planting material washed in a medium solution of potassium permanganate. Then it needs to be laid out in boxes in 1-2 layers, covered from direct sunlight, placed in a bright room with room temperature, spraying once every few days with a weak solution of mineral fertilizers or growth regulators. If the manipulations are performed correctly, after ten days strong green sprouts up to one and a half centimeters long will appear on the potatoes. Afterwards, the tubers are transferred to another room, the temperature in which does not exceed 10-14 degrees Celsius. Before planting in the ground, potato tubers are treated with a special solution. boric acid(20 grams per 10 liters of water) to protect against aggressive environmental influences.
If you planted germinated seed, the first shoots will appear in 10 days. In northern regions with lower temperatures, the first potato shoots may appear within a month.
To make it difficult for weeds to take root and saturate the soil with oxygen, 5-6 days after planting the field is harrowed - the top layer of soil is loosened (no more than 5 centimeters).
A few weeks later, when the tops reach 10-15 centimeters, the rows are earthed up, pouring soil onto the base of the bush. The benefit of hilling is that the roots of the bush receive more land, nutrients, moisture, thanks to which their active growth occurs. When hilling, add potassium fertilizers mixed with ammonium nitrate. Before the potatoes begin to bloom, it is important to have time to carry out 2-3 hillings. Late loosening of the soil can cause damage to the root system of the bush, which will negatively affect its yield.
Vegetable growers assess the need of plants for fertilizers by the condition of the leaves:
- Weak, bad developing leaves, the stems are thin - there is not enough nitrogen in the soil.
- Dark, curly leaves are a lack of phosphorus.
- Elongated leaves with tips curled upward - low potassium.
- Brown spots on the lower leaves - lack of magnesium, zinc, excess moisture.
It is important for a gardener to remember the dangers of excess moisture in a potato field. Heavy rains can impede oxygen access to the roots, causing them to rot and die. However, during flowering, plants are extremely sensitive to drought, therefore, if there is a lack of moisture during this period, they especially need watering to ensure abundant root formation.
Water the planting at obvious signs drying out of the soil. If the plants have not yet begun to flower, after watering the soil is loosened and the rows are hilled up.
How to protect root crops from pests?
The most common enemy of the gardener is the Colorado potato beetle. Most regions of Russia suffer from the invasion of this pest, with the exception of the cold northern regions.
The female Colorado potato beetle lays up to 500 eggs on the underside of the lower leaves of the bush, from which larvae will hatch within a week and feed on potato tops. After another 2-3 weeks, the grown larvae burrow into the soil, where after 10 days they become adult beetles. Reproductive function in adults appears after another 2 weeks. During the summer season, 2-3 generations of the Colorado potato beetle grow, and in areas with a warm climate - 3-4 generations.
It is important to detect and destroy the beetle in a timely manner. In small potato plots, gardeners carry out manual collection beetles and their larvae, and large crop areas are sprayed chemicals. Many gardeners, a week before planting seeds, place potato peelings in the furrows to attract overwintered insects, which are then destroyed.
Another common pest is the wireworm (the larva of the click beetle), which is especially common on virgin lands, as well as in fields overgrown with wheatgrass and other perennial grasses. Wireworms spoil the tubers by making long passages in them, thereby causing the potatoes to rot.
To protect against wireworms, weed control is carried out in crop areas, especially wheatgrass, by adding lime or wood ash to the soil.
Potato collection and storage
Harvesting potatoes is the most important part of growing them. With high-quality harvesting, vegetables retain their integrity, which ensures their long-term storage. Tubers begin to be harvested from the field after the tops die off at normal soil moisture. Potatoes dug up on time contain the greatest amount of nutrients and starch and are easily separated from the roots without damaging the skin. It is not recommended to remove potatoes from the field earlier - the tubers will not have time to form. You should also not delay harvesting - after the end of the growth period, the tubers begin to lose weight, which negatively affects their quality when long-term storage.
It is important to harvest potatoes in dry weather, since dry tubers without rot are stored longer. The potatoes are first stored in a dark, ventilated place to dry and strengthen the skin, and whole tubers are selected.
It is recommended to store the harvest in a dark, dry place with an average temperature of 2-3 degrees Celsius in wooden compartments or boxes raised 10-20 centimeters above the floor. If potatoes freeze slightly, they acquire a sweetish taste, quickly spoil, and lose their presentation. When the storage temperature increases, sprouts appear on the tubers, sucking out nutrients and producing solanine, which, if consumed in large quantities, can cause poisoning of the body.
It is recommended to store potatoes in a cool, dark place.
Potatoes are divided into 3 parts: seed material for next year, tubers for long-term and medium-term storage. Until spring, it is customary to leave medium-sized vegetables without external damage during harvesting and without traces of pests. Agronomists recommend selling large tubers in late autumn or early winter, since with longer storage, voids and dark spots form inside the vegetable, causing the potatoes to quickly deteriorate.
The future of potato growing is aeroponics
While Russian, European and Finnish scientists are arguing about authorship, aeroponics is gaining popularity not only in specialized farms, but also among modern gardeners. The aeroponics method is based on growing crops without the use of soil or water, when plant roots are suspended in the air of a dark chamber in a vertical position, and they receive nutrition by aerosol in accordance with their growth stage and type. The stems and leaves of plants are exposed to light that is controlled in the laboratory.
Finnish scientists conducted a two-year experiment that proved the effectiveness of growing potato tubers using aeroponics. According to researchers, this method allows you to increase productivity by 8-10 times, since it allows you to harvest from a bush not just once, but many times.
Video: how the aeroponics method works
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wBT5ByNIk0
Paperwork
You will have to register a business if you plan to sow large areas of rented land or sell products by bank transfer. If you plan to grow potatoes on a hectare own land, your activity falls under the concept of “running a personal subsidiary plot” and does not require registration with the tax authorities.
For the sale of potatoes grown on personal plot, the seller must have a certificate from the village council or administration, which confirms that the products were grown on his plot, provided by the state for personal needs.
If you plan to expand your business to several hectares, hire auxiliary workers, the optimal organizational form for you is individual entrepreneurship (IP). Agricultural tax is 6% of profit (income minus expenses). This is the minimum tax in the current taxation system. However, when paying the unified agricultural tax (UST), the entrepreneur will have to keep a book of income and expenses. If maintaining such documentation is difficult, a businessman has the right to work under a simplified taxation system with payment of 6% of turnover.
To sell potatoes, an individual entrepreneur must obtain a declaration of conformity, which can only be completed entity. On a voluntary basis, you can also obtain a certificate of conformity. To obtain a declaration of conformity, the following documents are submitted to the certification body:
- copies of title documents;
- copies of technical documents;
- notification confirming product quality;
- act confirming sampling.
How to evaluate production profitability?
Based on the experience of farmers, the profitability of a potato growing business in the first year of operation is small - 25-30% of the invested funds. What is taken into account is the entrepreneur’s lack of quality seed material, fertilizers, chemicals, trained personnel, harvesting equipment, a warehouse for storing the crop, the necessary experience in growing potatoes.
Table: calculation of the profitability of sowing a potato field of 1 hectare
The profitability in the example is about 27% at the lowest seasonal purchase price of 8 rubles. per kg of potatoes in the regions, the need to buy seeds, lack of own equipment for cultivating the field. The calculation also does not include the work of the entrepreneur himself or his relatives. If the products are sold according to high prices, profits will increase significantly, however, selling potatoes at such prices in the winter-spring period requires additional costs for storage, sorting, and crop protection. An increase in profitability of up to 50-60% should also be expected after purchasing your own agricultural machinery and increasing productivity.
Sales of products
Grown potatoes are sold in several ways:
- Wholesale. It can be profitable for the manufacturer to sell potatoes to wholesalers or resellers at low wholesale prices only with very large volumes of purchases and in the absence of premises for storing vegetables. Wholesale purchasing prices are usually 2 times lower than the retail price.
- Through small shops. In this case, the manufacturer needs to package the root vegetables in nets, bags, packages - pre-sale preparation improves appearance product, speeds up its sale to the end consumer. Fast sales of potatoes in the store will provide the supplier with regular orders and stable profits. Purchasing prices for potatoes in the small wholesale segment are 20-30% higher than wholesale prices.
- Independent sale in markets, in the courtyards of residential complexes, via the Internet. When selling potatoes, it is important to be active: regularly export products to markets, seasonal food fairs, and regional mini-markets. High-quality potatoes that do not contain pest damage or traces of disease will always find a buyer. With regular trading, a large number will appear regular customers who are willing to pay a high retail price for the product, especially in the winter and spring.
- Deliveries to other regions where prices are higher. If the seasonal cost of 1 kilogram of potatoes in the central region of Russia ranges from 8 to 10 rubles, prices for it, for example, in the Moscow region or Krasnodar region will be 20-25 rubles per kilogram. It is important for the manufacturer to find distribution channels, calculate delivery costs and get maximum profit.
- Grow peas or soybeans in the field a year before sowing potatoes. Farmers claim that such reseeding can increase the yield from each bush by 20-30%.
- It is recommended to cut potato furrows in the direction from north to south, as this direction provides the plants with uniform illumination. Thanks to this simple recommendation, productivity can be increased by 10%.
- Seeds early varieties It is important to plant in the most fertile places of the site at a shallow depth.
- Before planting, the tubers are treated with a solution of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate (40 grams per 1 liter) or wood ash.
- Do not use seed material with stains to avoid rotting or disease contamination of the future crop.
If you live in a rural area or have your own farmland outside the city, build a business growing potatoes. With correctly calculated costs, hiring staff, rented equipment and large acreage, successful farmers make significant profits. What is the secret of their success? A well-developed business plan and active actions!
Seed potatoes should be purchased from special nurseries and stores. But following some rules will give you the opportunity to prepare the material yourself. Medium or large sized tubers (weighing 60-100 grams) are suitable for planting. Using small tubers can significantly reduce yield. If the seed potatoes are too large, they can be cut in half horizontally.
Please note that various varieties react differently to cutting. Therefore, it is still better to plant whole tubers.
If you decide to prepare planting material yourself, then you cannot do without vernalization, which will allow you to take advantage of the growing season. The idea is to lay the potatoes in rows in a room where they are maintained temperature regime at 12-15oC, there is access to light. The potatoes are kept in storage for a month. Check the tubers weekly, try not to damage the emerging sprouts, and remove rotten specimens.
Soil preparation
It is necessary to determine the temperature readiness of the land in which it will be produced. Soil warmed up to 7°C is suitable for planting almost all varieties of potatoes. Varieties that have undergone vernalization can be planted in soil at a temperature of 3-5°C. Maintain crop rotation. It is not recommended to grow potatoes in the same place every year. Alternate it with vegetable crops.
Ideal predecessors for potatoes: cabbage, cucumbers and legumes.
Planting potatoes begins with plowing. Deep digging of the soil (30 centimeters) will increase starchiness and yield. The depth of the holes depends entirely on the soil. For loamy soil – 6-8 centimeters, for sandy loam – 8-10 centimeters. Place a tablespoon of ash in each hole.
Before placing rows, determine the slope of the area. The rows should be positioned across the slope to better retain moisture and nutrients. Planting density depends on the variety. The distance between bushes should be 20-30 centimeters. The larger the planting material, the greater the distance should be between the bushes.
Potato care
The soil should be fertilized after harvesting (in autumn), as well as in spring after plowing. The approximate fertilizer rate is 5-10 kilograms per square meter. The most common organic fertilizers– bird droppings, compost, manure, peat. Before germination, perform two loosenings to destroy weeds, provide oxygen access to the tubers, and retain moisture. Do not forget to till the soil between the rows, the loosening depth is 5-8 centimeters.
Hilling should be carried out as the bushes grow, but at least twice a season. It is advisable to do this in moist soil. Water the potatoes as the soil dries out. Remember that waterlogging the soil can lead to rotting of the crop. Potato harvesting should begin after the tops have completely died. Digging can be done with a pitchfork, shovel or industrial digger. Avoid damaging the tubers.
Many gardeners are confident that they know everything about how to grow potatoes. However, rarely do any of them boast a truly rich harvest. Why is it that not everyone succeeds in planting and growing potatoes? Most likely, gardeners do not know that there are not only various nuances in planting and caring for this plant, but there are also a lot of proven technologies for growing potatoes, but in our country there is mainly only one method used - planting tubers with sprouts in the ground.
The usual planting of this plant has, of course, been tested over the years and produces a harvest that cannot always be called good. But the traditional way of growing potatoes (one person digs a hole under the potatoes with sprouts, and the other throws them there) has a lot of disadvantages. For example, when a potato hills, part of its root system is damaged, and it is this part that is active. In addition, usually potato beds are located quite close to each other (especially when the bush grows) and then it does not have enough sunlight. But Colorado potato beetles and diseases are transmitted very quickly.
So, if you want to get good potato harvests, then maybe you should learn and try other methods of growing potatoes?
Growing methods
There are several popular methods for growing potatoes, which are based on the following principle: the distance between potato bushes increases, so that the plant receives more sunlight, which means it develops better.
For example, the Dutch method of growing potatoes provides not only large distances between potato bushes, but also good soil aeration. In addition, this technology provides for the use of fertilizers, herbicides and, of course, the best planting materials.
Growing in Dutch: features
Potatoes are grown in Dutch style, as a rule, in beds located from north to south. The ridges should be 8-10 centimeters high. Every two weeks it will be necessary to perform inter-row cultivation in the garden.
Remember that according to the Dutch method of growing potatoes, a distance of 70-75 centimeters must be maintained between ridges, and a distance of 30 centimeters must be maintained from plant to plant. This method allows you to get about 2 kilograms of large potatoes from one bush, which are well stored in winter and have excellent taste qualities. Growing potatoes using Dutch technology is quite in demand these days, as it allows you to get good yields.
There is one more interesting method- growing potatoes in bags. This method allows you to save your energy and time. The peculiarity of this method: drainage is poured into bags and potato tubers are placed in it. When sprouts appear, they are covered with soil, which must be mixed with compost. This is done as the tops grow. Also, the plant should be watered regularly and then, as a result, without much labor or time, you will be able to collect quite good harvest potatoes.
Growing according to the old Russian method
Few people remember such a method as growing potatoes under straw. This old method allows you to save time on planting, since it is enough to cover the potatoes with straw. This technology growing potatoes allows you to get a good harvest even without weeding. In addition, this method also provides for growing potatoes without hilling, that is, with minimal time, you can harvest a good harvest of selected potatoes.
Growing potatoes from seeds
Start growing potatoes using this method by growing seedlings, sowing seeds in the ground. Before sowing, you can germinate potato seeds by placing them on a damp cloth. When sprouts appear, you need to transplant small plants into pots, water them and periodically take them outside so that the potatoes harden. The planted plants are well watered and protected from direct sunlight for the first time. When the soil outside warms up enough, the plants are planted in open ground. Potatoes grown from seeds are cared for in the same way as conventionally grown plants.
It should be noted that potatoes are planted with seeds, the cultivation of which takes longer than traditional way, rarely.
Potatoes can be grown from seeds in a seedless way: In May, seeds are sown directly in open ground. But in this way, seed potatoes can only be obtained for the next year.
Growing early potatoes
Early potatoes are planted at a depth of 6-8 centimeters in soil that is well warmed up. To get the harvest earlier, you can plant the tubers under a film cover, thanks to which it will be possible to harvest the crop in May-June. This method is traditional, that is, it is what many gardeners use.
Tubers are planted in the furrows, between which a distance of 55-60 centimeters must be maintained. A distance of 20-25 centimeters should be maintained between tubers. Periodically, it will be necessary to loosen the soil so that the plant receives enough oxygen.
Growing under black film
A black film is spread on the dug up and fertilized soil, in which cross-shaped cuts are made. Tubers are planted in these cuts at a depth of 5-6 centimeters. This is where all the work practically ends: you will only need to fight pests if necessary and, on dry and hot days, water into the holes made in the film. The advantage of this method of growing potatoes is best harvest than the one that can be collected when grown in the traditional way.
Harvesting is carried out as follows: the potato tops are cut off, the film is removed and the tubers are collected almost at the surface of the soil.
Growing in a barrel
This growing method is convenient in that you can place the barrel where it is most convenient for you. The most important thing is that it is well lit by the sun. If you have a very tall barrel, you will need to cut it in half. Make several holes on the sides and in the bottom, then fill it with fertile soil with compost and humus. After this, the already germinated tubers are planted and watered well. Thanks to this method, you can collect a bucket of selected potatoes from one barrel.
Every gardener must remember that high-yielding potato cultivation is only possible if you properly care for the plant, periodically water and hill it, and use high-quality fertilizers.
Potatoes are not without reason called second bread: this vegetable is used for preparing first and second courses, salads and baked goods. It appeared in Russia thanks to Peter I and has been grown in almost all regions for several centuries. He believes that there are no difficulties or secrets in how to grow potatoes, however, agronomists regularly offer gardeners newer and more advanced technologies for their production. By applying innovative techniques in practice and remembering grandfather’s recommendations, you can grow excellent harvest large and surprisingly tasty potatoes.
There are certain rules for potato agricultural technology that apply regardless of the method of growing it. Compliance with these rules increases guarantees of an excellent harvest:
Seed material is selected during the harvesting process autumn harvest. They take seed tubers only from the strongest bushes, immediately sorting them by size. Medium potatoes are ideal for planting. Seed potatoes are not removed from the field; they are left in the sun until they turn green.
In the fall, the area is prepared for future potato plantings. It must be fertilized so that by spring the fertilizer has already rotted and started working.
Before planting, the nodules are germinated in a cool, bright place. To speed up germination, peat or sawdust is used to sprinkle the tubers. When the tuber has sprouted about 1 cm, it can be planted in open ground.
Potatoes treated with a 1% boric acid solution before planting resist diseases well. Root vegetables are soaked in this solution for 20 minutes.
Potatoes are planted in soil sufficiently warmed by the sun. Usually this is the end of April - beginning of May. The distance between the rows is left taking into account the fact that you will have to hill up several times. There should be about 30 - 40 cm between the holes. Traditionally, a handful of stove ash is poured into each hole as a mineral supplement.
Lack of feeding, as well as its excess, can be detrimental to the plant.
Before the potatoes sprout, it is good to loosen the soil superficially. Usually a rake is used for this. This allows for more early shoots and destroy weeds before they come into force.
Hilling is recommended to be done twice. There is no need to be afraid to pour soil during this operation. Many even completely cover young shoots, protecting them from spring temperature changes. The first hilling is carried out when the green shoots reach 15 cm in height. This procedure is repeated a second time just before the bush blooms.
Many people think that growing potatoes is easy. In fact, to get a good harvest, you need to know how to grow potatoes correctly.
All gardeners know what is very important.
First you need to choose a place where the potatoes will grow. It is important to consider the following: potatoes do not like moisture.
Therefore, if you are sure that there are leaks nearby groundwater, then it is best to prepare ridges of earth approximately 15 centimeters high for planting in order to increase the distance to the water.
In addition, to plant potatoes you need to choose a sunny place.
The area where it is planned to plant potatoes needs to be dug up and fertilized in the fall. And in the spring, just before planting, dig again.
Fertilizing the land
The quantity and quality of the harvest depends on how well the land is fertilized for planting potatoes.
It is very important to give your potatoes the nutrients they need to grow properly. But at the same time, the motto “the more the better” does not apply here. The main thing is not to overdo it with fertilizing the soil, because the fruit can absorb a large amount of nitrates, which contain fertilizers, as a result of which it will acquire a loose structure and will quickly rot, therefore becoming unsuitable for food and storage.
Especially a lot of nitrates are formed in mineral fertilizers, which are most often used by gardeners: in bird and cow manure.
Therefore, a logical question arises: what should we fertilize with then? In fact, you can fertilize with manure, but you just don’t need to use fresh manure.
Rotted manure or compost made from it is ideal, since it contains practically no nitrogen.
If it is not possible to make compost yourself, then you can add fresh manure to the soil in the fall, and over the winter it will just rot and bring only benefit and not harm.
In order for the soil to be well fertilized, for each square meter of the area where planting is planned, you need to add one bucket of rotted manure.
Some gardeners don't have this. large quantity fertilizers to feed all the plants on the site. In this case, you can add them directly to each hole just before planting the potatoes.
In addition, you need to add 50 grams of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers under the dug up soil.
If potatoes are planted on acidic soils (and this is where there is a possibility that they will not grow at all), you must first lime the soil, that is, add approximately 400 or 500 grams of lime or dolomite flour per square meter.
Separately, it is necessary to say about the consequences of introducing large quantities of even safe fertilizers. Potatoes react to this in a special way: the harvest becomes much smaller, and the fruits themselves will also not be of high quality.
Therefore, it is very important not only to select the fertilizer itself correctly, but also to accurately observe all dosages in order to avoid a poor and low-quality harvest.
