Apiary
Growing and harvesting of potatoes
We compared different small adjacent fields cultivated with the same products (quarantine potatoes and organic potatoes from kitchen scraps) and the same treatments (irrigation, a couple of treatments with Bordeaux mixture after the poor rains).
In particular,we prepared::
1. a plot covered with a little mature manure and with two / five cm of wood chips produced by us (I can not say Brf because we were running late and Brf had not had time to form)
2. a plot covered with our grass clippings, manure, mulching of cardboard, cardboard covered with semi-mature compost (mainly derived from mulching of brambles)
3. a plot with mowing of grass of the place, manure, mulching of cardboard, cardboard covered with our non-mature compost
4 e 5. two plots with grass clippings of the place, manure, mulching with cardboard, a layer of wool of wasted mattresses, grass clippings and / or leaves of the forest.
We sowed Quarantinea potatoes, mostly pre-sprouted, and only in the last plot, organic potatoes thrown away in the kitchen, which had germinated on their own.
The field with the worst result was third, followed by the first.
The first, the one with the chip, was also the first to germinate and initially was strong and beautiful greenery, but in short lost strength up to be more prone to get sick and to suffer more debt of water and, I suppose, of nitrogen.
The other fields have produced an average more, with potatoes slightly larger and healthier, but no field was satisfactory (sown about 45Kg, about 130Kg collected, and for the most part little salable because the small caliber) except the last one, seeded with potato waste that gave the better results :-). Almost all the potatoes of all fields instead were healthy and fairly regular like shape. And all very good!
To contribute to the lack of production, as well as low seed germination of Quarantina and the abnormal weather of this summer, has been our lack of experience with the cultivation of potatoes and especially a series of family problems that have prevented us to follow in due manner the crops (poor watering, hasty and inadequate treatments against pernospora, hasty collection, etc...)
That said, however, goes out that the ground covered with wood chips, this year looks much softer, alive and rich, and with fewer weeds than in previous years. But the others too, more or less, have all benefited from the treatment had. I also want to point out that of all, the land that seems to have more enjoyed of the various types of coverage is that of the last two plots (albeit from a low base), even if they were infested by weeds which rose from the woods and mulch is no match for it. We therefore inferred that the use of wool, although more slowly decomposing, in our case has given excellent results. Latest news: mulching with cardboard (recuparato from dumpsters, not colored or bleached) resulted more comfortable and effective against pests (except the weeds that walk under and hole the cardboard... but they hole asphalt too), and useful because it retains moisture, degradating it nourishes the soil, and is at zero cost!
- Details
- Created on Sunday, 13 November 2011 00:00
- Written by Guido
- Hits: 1551