Every summer resident wants to get more harvest from their beds. But not everyone has time to devote to the site. Fan hilling of potatoes helps reduce the time required to care for the crop and increases the yield of any variety.
What is special about fan hilling of potatoes?
Most summer residents, when hilling, rake the soil from the rows to the bushes. Thus, it turns out that the bushes are clamped with the help of the earth. The fan hilling method involves a completely different approach to this process.Green stems are not brought together into one “bouquet”, but, on the contrary, each of them is bred individually.
The author of this method is I.P. Zamyatkin is convinced that every trunk needs light and nutrition. But due to the fact that the stems are pressed against each other, the overall yield of the bush decreases, since all the stems compete with each other. That's why they are separated from each other.
How to properly carry out fan hilling of plants?
There is nothing complicated about this, the main thing is to strictly follow all the rules, and the harvest will definitely be higher.
To begin with, it is worth noting that they hill up using this method after the potatoes grow 15-17 cm in height. Spud up with earth, hay or green manure, which is grown between rows of potatoes.
The method got its name because the sprouts are laid out in the shape of a fan. Each individually and then sprinkled on top so that only the tops remain on the surface. There is no need to be afraid that the stems will not rise. After 2-3 days they will straighten and begin to grow. To hill green manure, they are sown simultaneously with potatoes, then mowed and added to potato bushes.
The Colorado potato beetle and other pests tend to avoid mulched beds.
Zamyatkin advises planting the bushes in a checkerboard pattern; after reaching the required height, pour organic matter, last year’s leaves, weeds or straw into the middle. Thus, the bush, fanned out almost horizontally, gives new roots and forms an additional number of tubers.
Efficiency and advantages of the method
Summer residents doubt everything new they hear or read about anywhere. But still, some people like to experiment.Many of them even try planting the same seeds in different ways, then compare and get the result.
The effect of fan hilling is noticeable immediately, the yield increases from 10 to 20%. The main thing is to do everything right.
When hilling with soil, cover the top with weeds pulled out from the potato beds. This helps retain moisture, even during dry summers. One of the advantages of this method is that, having worked once, the summer resident significantly reduces the expenditure of effort on future care of the plantings. They are watered less often and treated less for pests.
Why are potato beds hilled?
Even a novice summer resident knows that potato beds need to be hilled. Only the method chosen is mainly traditional, that is, raking earth from the center of the rows to the bushes.
Potatoes are one of the plants whose roots do not go deep, but grow horizontally. Sprinkling some part of the stem allows the crop to form new roots and tubers. This increases the overall harvest volume by 20%.
The opinion of summer residents regarding fan hilling of beds
Different methods of care find their admirers; a young gardener is looking for reviews from vegetable growers to obtain detailed information. They give advice on care and proper performance of certain actions. Sometimes an experienced gardener decides to try the method on his own, and then writes on forums and websites dedicated to culture about the results of the experiment.
Vitaly: “A summer resident’s experiment. Before you started growing potatoes, you read a lot of information on caring for them. We realized that not everything is as simple as it seems at first. But they still decided to experiment. Planted potatoes in several beds, one was hilled in the traditional way, the second using the fan method.I wanted to compare the results obtained and make a decision on how best to hill up the crop.
The first row was raked with earth as usual; for the second row, unhilling was used. The stems were fanned out and covered with mulch. At first it seemed that the plants would not rise, but after a few days they grew and began to grow evenly and lushly. Potatoes were treated with Siyanie. Mulched with lawn grass. As the bushes grew, dry grass was added several times. We couldn’t wait until autumn, when we would harvest the crops. Finally, the day has come, the result is amazing, in addition to which the yield was lower in the traditional way. We collected 1.5 buckets more tubers from the fan beds.”
Sergey: “I’ve been hilling this way for three years now. I got the result only this year, as I got used to it and fully studied the technique. I made mistakes before. The tubers are smooth without deformation.”
Pavel: “We managed to increase the harvest volume by 2 times, all thanks to the fan-shaped hilling of the beds. Recommended by a neighbor. I will definitely repeat the experience in the future.”
Maria: “Due to a lack of free time, I was looking for a way to make the process of caring for plants easier. I tried hilling using a fan method for the first time, and so far I’m happy with the result. Advice for beginners: maintain a large distance between the bushes, this makes it easier to spread the mulch.”
Anna: “Our plot is small, we want to grow a little of everything. The fan method of hilling is a godsend for us. Productivity is 1.5 times greater. Advice to everyone: don’t forget to loosen.”
Victoria: “I’ve been experimenting with growing crops for a long time. I have been using fan hilling for several years. The result is excellent, the yield is higher. For mulching I use mustard or lawn grass.”
Every second summer resident conducts experiments on the site. The results vary, but fan hilling is gaining more and more popularity, as it increases the harvest volume significantly.
