Table of contents
- pregermination
- Best time
- Plants without pre-germination
- sowing date
- Early Varieties
- Medium late potato varieties
- Late potato varieties
- Year-round potato cultivation
Potatoes can hardly be missing in a vegetable patch. Usually they are set in spring. The exact point in time plays an important role in determining whether, when and how much is to be harvested. We have summarized the most important planting dates.
pregermination
Pre-germinating the potato is the best way to start growing before the official start of the planting season. This has a number of advantages:
- first harvest ripens earlier and higher annual harvest yields possible
- better, faster growth
- correspondingly earlier new space in the bed for further cultivation
- Pre-germination reduces the risk of diseases and pest infestations such as late blight and Colorado potato beetles
- the first tubers can be harvested from mid/end of May
Best time
The best time for pre-germination is planting the tubers from mid-February - provided the temperatures are at least between seven and ten degrees Celsius and they are early Sorts. The late winter weather often does not give up these temperatures. A bright location in the basement or a greenhouse is then ideal for pre-germination.
Mid-late varieties are planted between the end of March and the beginning of April for pre-germination. Late varieties should be pre-germinated by August/September at the latest.
The planting time should not be more than four weeks before the usual planting date. If they lie too long to germinate, their growth potential will continuously weaken, root formation will slow down and growth will become increasingly difficult.
A notice:
Those who garden according to the lunar calendar will find the best time to plant potatoes in the first third of the year. Then the earth forces should withdraw, which can have a positive effect on underground plant growth. There is no scientific evidence for this, but numerous home growers with lunar calendar experience swear by it.
Plants without pre-germination
Planting the tubers directly in the vegetable patch requires the least effort. Here, too, the variety or the usual cultivation time frame determines from and until when they are to be planted.
Early potato varieties can usually be planted in the garden bed from the end of March. For medium-late potato varieties, the ideal period is between the end of April and the beginning of June. The "last" varieties of the planting calendar can still be planted well into October at a temperature of at least seven degrees Celsius. If they are deep enough in the ground and the surface of the ground is covered with a thick, cold-insulating layer, they usually survive the winter well. In the early spring of the following year, they then sprout from the ground.
sowing date
A less common cultivation method is the sowing of potatoes. If you still want to sow them, you have to wait an average of between 60 and 70 days from the day of sowing until they are ready for harvest.
Early Varieties
Early varieties are ready for sowing as early as March, but if the temperatures drop below seven degrees Celsius or even into the frost range, some seeds will break. When sowing so early, it is therefore essential to use protection against the cold or to do it in the greenhouse. The following can serve as protection against the cold, for example:
- transparent, translucent film
- Cold frame with appropriate cover
- plant fleece
- thick layer of straw or mulch
- plus a sunny, wind-protected location
The most popular early potato varieties include:
- assets
- Bella prima
- Christa
- Gala
- Leila
- Marabel
- Osira
- Rosara
Medium late potato varieties
The ideal sowing date for medium-late varieties is mid-May with the Ice Saints. They will be ready to harvest by August at the latest, such as the following varieties:
- Berolina
- bintje
- Blue Swede
- cilena
- Hansa
- Nicola
- quarter
- Saskia
Late potato varieties
For the late varieties, the seed is laid at the end of May or at the latest at the beginning of June. This is also almost the last time for sowing and harvesting in September. The best-known late varieties include in particular:
- Agria
- Albata
- Cascade
- cilena
- linda
- vitolette
- Wotan
Tip:
Regardless of whether pre-germination, direct planting or sowing is desired, the potato bed should always be prepared for this. The best time to do this is in the fall. Then the bed is dug up vigorously and generously enriched with compost.
Year-round potato cultivation
The usual potato season can be lengthened by pre-germination and ensure higher crop yields, but it ends in autumn at the latest. But it doesn't have to be. Anyone who owns a warm house or at least a temperature-controlled greenhouse can also grow and harvest potatoes all year round. While the cold in the garden bed heralds hibernation, significantly higher temperatures in the greenhouse allow growth to continue. Here, potato growers are independent of outside temperatures and other external weather influences.
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