Many people purchase a plot of land in order to obtain fresh natural vegetables and fruits from it. It is not surprising that potatoes are considered the most common crop in the garden. It is quite unpretentious, and it is possible to collect a large amount of tasty harvest. From this article you will learn what the Red Lady potato variety is and how to care for it.
Description of the variety
The Red Lady variety occupies a special place in agriculture. It was bred in Germany and entered into the Russian register in 2008. This variety is suitable for the middle zone, as it is unpretentious to changes in weather conditions and easily tolerates drought.
Peel color is the characteristic by which the Lady ed variety is most often distinguished. It has a reddish tint, which is why the potato got its name, literally translated as “red lady.” The peel is smooth, thin, but durable, which allows the tubers to be transported and preserve their presentation. They have a few eyes, but they are superficial, which makes cleaning much easier. The tubers themselves are large, up to 150 g on average, and the yield of small defective tubers is minimal. The inside of the flesh is pale yellow.
This variety tastes amazing - many gardeners who plant this variety share only positive reviews. This is probably one of the main reasons to try to plant Red Lady.
Growing
Planting potatoes is not difficult even for beginners, and this variety is no exception.
Long before planting, the soil must be well fertilized, since the Red Lady variety requires a large amount of vitamins and minerals, and sandy loam soils (optimal for the species) lack this. To do this, during digging, mix into the soil:
- fresh manure;
- superphosphates;
- ammonium and potassium nitrate;
- bird droppings.
After the winter, these substances will decompose into elements that are optimal for absorption by potatoes.
When planting, you should consider a few simple rules, then you are guaranteed to get a high-quality harvest:
- Planting can begin as soon as the soil warms up to at least +10. This can be easily monitored by placing a regular thermometer on the site (stick it in the ground). Typically, planting dates range from late April to early June. It all depends on the region and its climate.
- You cannot plant potatoes after nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants), as well as after other varieties of this vegetable.It is also not recommended to place 2 different varieties next to each other - they will pollinate each other and lose their species characteristics.
- Dig holes, keeping a distance of about 40 cm between them. There should be a distance of 60 cm between the rows. The holes themselves are usually made 30 cm deep.
- Planting material is usually prepared in advance. Tubers weighing about 90 g are suitable for this; smaller ones simply will not give a good harvest. To obtain an earlier harvest, it is recommended to germinate potatoes: it is enough to place the planting material in the sun about a month in advance.
- Before placing the tuber in the hole, it is recommended to pour a handful of ash or ready-made complex fertilizers into it. This will create a nutritional base for the future harvest.
Features of care
As for watering planted potatoes, there are no clear rules or deadlines. The variety can easily tolerate drought, but usually watering is carried out at least 2-3 times a month. During rainy summers, you can remove it completely, since waterlogging will lead to the development of late blight.
As mentioned above, Red Lady requires a large amount of nutrients, so she needs regular feeding. Typically, a herbal infusion or a mixture of manure and water in a ratio of 1:10 is used.
Potatoes actively respond to such fertilizers, but you should not overdo it. An excess will lead to active growth of the above-ground part - a process that will take away strength from the development of tubers.
Weeding is considered mandatory and must be done regularly. Mulching with straw slows down the appearance of unwanted neighbors. In addition, it will retain moisture in the soil.
Advantages and disadvantages
It is worth saying that this variety has many more advantages than disadvantages. These include:
- early yield and extended growing season;
- abundant harvest and high content of nutrients in tubers;
- it is suitable for sale, as it does not lose its presentation during transportation or its taste;
- The variety is bred to be resistant to many diseases, so there is virtually no risk of losing the harvest.
But with so many positive aspects, there are also negative ones. Red lady requires highly fertile soil, so it needs constant feeding. Also, for good ripening, long daylight hours are needed. Despite its disease resistance, the variety is susceptible to late blight.
Pests and diseases
It was said above about resistance to diseases such as potato cancer, scab, golden potato nematode. But late blight can affect plant stems; to avoid this, regular preventive treatments with fungicides are carried out.
Some pests are not averse to eating potatoes, these include wireworms, Colorado potato beetles, and mole crickets. The description of the Colorado potato beetle is probably known to everyone. Complete destruction of the insect is impossible, therefore, in order to minimize losses, its larvae are collected and burned or thrown into a jar with a strong saline solution.
Under no circumstances should you crush beetles and larvae on the ground. Unfortunately, this method is only suitable for amateur plantings; for industrial scales, other methods will have to be used.
It’s easy to “diagnose” wireworms—single wilted bushes; when digging, there are small through holes on the tubers. In summer, it can be noticed when weeding or loosening, since the larvae live in the upper layers of the soil during the warm period. It is difficult to get rid of it, so it is better to prevent the pest from appearing in advance.There are several preventative measures:
- Compliance with agricultural technology and crop rotation. Some gardeners consider this an optional rule, but regularly planting the same crop leads to decreased fertility and disease.
- Remove all organic debris. Parts of plants left in the ground will begin to rot and will be ideal food for the pest, so carefully inspect the soil before wintering.
- Maintaining a neutral PH level. Wireworm thrives in highly acidic soil. To find out this characteristic, you can take samples to a laboratory, but you can also pay attention to indicator plants. Plantain and sorrel are characterized by high acidity, so the soil must be mixed with dolomite flour and lime.
- Planting protective plants such as dahlias, legumes (which are also considered an excellent predecessor for potatoes).
Harvest and storage
This variety is harvested 55 days after emergence, when peak yield is reached. One bush can produce up to 15 potatoes.
The last harvest is carried out in August-September, after which the bushes are removed and the soil is dug up according to all the rules. After harvesting, the potatoes are placed in a vegetable pit, where the temperature does not drop below zero, as this will lead to freezing and spoil the taste.
