Planting potatoes under straw is a hassle-free vegetable garden with minimal costs

I am very interested in planting potatoes under straw, a vegetable garden without hassle - just what I need. In general, I do not mind growing home-grown vegetables, but I don't really like poking around in the ground, especially weeding weeds. I heard from friends that if you use straw, then you don't need to water or loosen, and there will be no weed grass. It's true? And how to plant tubers correctly: put straw in holes or cover it with it?

In addition to the Colorado potato beetle, there are other chores when growing potatoes associated with constant weed control. And it also needs to be fertilized and watered, but this is if you plant it in the usual way. There is another way: planting potatoes under straw - a garden without hassle in the literal sense of the word. Straw mulch will replace fertilizer, since it itself is due to the high content of nutrients, especially nitrogen. It will also retain moisture and prevent the soil from drying out quickly.

Benefits of growing potatoes under straw

The straw creates ideal conditions for the development of potato tubers. In the beds covered with such a covering, a stable temperature is maintained, not exceeding 22 ° C of heat. Whereas on ordinary beds, the soil warms up strongly in the summer heat, and this significantly inhibits the growth of plants. In addition, if watering is not organized, it leads to premature drying of the tops. The tubers simply do not have time to fully form, and the harvest is small.

In addition, planting under straw has other benefits:

1. High productivity. From a planted bucket of tubers, you can collect 25 times more potatoes, which has time to go through all stages of vegetative development and ripen.
2. Minimum physical costs associated with digging and plowing the site. You can even plant potatoes right on the sod, because under the straw it rotted during the season, and the soil itself becomes looser.
3. Reduce watering frequency. Mulch from straw prevents the rapid loss of moisture.
4. There is no need for hilling bushes and loosening the beds. Instead, straw mulch is just periodically poured under the plants.
5. No weeds. A thick layer of straw just doesn't give them a chance to germinate.
6. Improving the structure and composition of the soil, which replaces top dressing. Rotten straw is an excellent organic fertilizer that also makes the soil more breathable.
7. Reducing the incidence of fungal infections. Tubers remain dry under the straw and do not rot.

As you can see, this growing method has mostly some advantages. However, it also has some disadvantages. First of all, it is the presence of the straw itself, which can become a problem at large planting scales. And there must be a lot of it, otherwise, under a thin layer of shelter, the tubers turn green. And although this organic material is good from all sides, mice love it very much. They are not averse to organizing nests in the straw, because juicy tubers are nearby for dinner.

Planting potatoes under straw - a garden without hassle, planting features

Straw mulch will provide good yields in arid regions or in poor soil. The main thing is to properly plant pre-germinated tubers.

They do it as follows:

• break beds with row spacing of 70 cm;
• water them;
• tubers are laid out every 30 cm;
• sprinkle potatoes with ash;
• mulch plantings with a thick layer of straw (at least 20 cm).

Since the straw begins to rot and settles all the time, it is poured every 10 days. This replaces hilling and loosening. Potato plantings do not need fertilization at all. But you need to water them, but it is enough to do this after the sprouts appear, before and after flowering. If there is no rain, water it once a week.

Straw makes it easier not only to grow, but also to harvest. It can be carried out without a shovel, manually, simply by pulling out the bushes by the tops, the tubers in the mulch will be clean.

Growing potatoes under straw: from planting to harvest