All about hilling potatoes

Hilling is one of the procedures that can significantly increase the yield of potatoes and protect them from weeds. Therefore, every gardener should know how to properly process potatoes.

Hilling potatoes performs several functions at once.

1. Protects young bushes from cold. This is very important for such a heat-loving plant.

2. Improves soil quality. It becomes looser. Air flows better to the roots of the plant. In addition, hilling slows down the growth process in the weed area.

3. Protects plants from UV rays. Tubers do not pick up solanine and do not turn green over time.

4. Increases wind resistance of potatoes. Thanks to this, the stems of the plant are less likely to break or damage.

5. Protects potatoes from pests. Immediately after hilling the bushes, their resistance to insect attacks increases. In addition, it becomes much easier to spray sprinkled beds with means to combat the Colorado potato beetle.

Besides, hilling helps to increase yields. The fact is that after reaching a 20-centimeter height, the growth of the stems stops. At this time, all nutrients go to the tubers. Hilling bushes stimulates active growth of both aboveground and underground parts of plants. This, in turn, stimulates the establishment of new roots and the formation of tubers. Therefore, people who regularly spud potatoes can count on a large harvest.

The exact time for hilling potatoes depends on the selected variety and its characteristics. As a rule, when choosing the right moment for this procedure, gardeners are guided by the appearance of the plants. For the first time, potatoes are spud at the moment when young shoots grow up to 10 centimeters. This treatment helps to protect the plants from the cold.

The second hilling is carried out by gardeners in order to form large tubers. Potatoes are usually cultivated 14-18 days after the first hilling. So, if the potatoes were planted in early May, the first time they should be processed in the second half of the month. The second time, the potatoes can be hilled already at the beginning of June.

Experienced gardeners know that the second hilling procedure is more complicated. This process takes longer. Gardeners have to form voluminous mounds around each bush. Their height must be at least 15 centimeters. Otherwise, green spots may appear on the tubers.

For the third time, not all gardeners huddle potatoes. But the people who do this believe that such a procedure helps to significantly increase the yield of plants. The height of the mounds around the bushes should be within 20 centimeters. This procedure must be carried out before the tops close. If the moment is missed, the third hilling should be abandoned.Otherwise, the plants may be damaged.

It is recommended to sprinkle potatoes on cool, cloudy days. It is best to go to the site in the morning or evening. It is not worth hilling potatoes at midday for several reasons. First of all, because being under the scorching sun for a long time is bad for human health. In addition, plants at noon also become weak and sensitive to mechanical stress.

If the summer is too dry and hot, it is recommended to water the bushes with water before hilling. This procedure also helps to increase the yield of plants.

You can use a variety of tools for hilling potatoes. Therefore, every gardener can choose something suitable for himself.

• Garden hoe. It is quite difficult to use this tool for hilling potatoes. It must have a wide working surface and a sharp sharpened edge. Instead of a hoe, you can also use a hoe or a regular shovel.

• Mechanical hiller. Some gardeners are now using more modern tools for hilling the site. You can buy a manual mechanical hiller in one of the gardening stores. Such a device consists of two heavy metal discs located opposite each other at a slight angle. It is very simple to use the hiller in your work. But this will require two people at once. One of them should press on the instrument, and the other should guide it. Using a mechanical device, a row of bushes on both sides can be worked very quickly.

• Motoblock with disc hiller. It makes sense to process a plot with such a device only if a person grows a large amount of potatoes. The fact is that this device is quite expensive. In addition, it is used if the garden was planted with a potato planter. To make it convenient to huddle potatoes with a walk-behind tractor, the distance between the rows should be the same. Otherwise, the tubers may be damaged.

• Manual plow. This tool consists of a massive frame, a wheel, a rod and a sharp knife. Using it, a person processes one side of a potato bush in one pass along the aisle. In the process, he needs to push a massive structure in front of him. To facilitate the procedure, the gardener is advised to buy a lighter plow.

• Motor-cultivator. It makes sense to use such a device in a small area with light soil. The process of hilling potatoes with an automatic cultivator consists of several stages. First of all, the soil is loosened with a cutter. After that, it is changed to a plow. Further, the hilling of the bushes is carried out.

Having chosen one tool for carrying out the first hilling procedure, it should also be used in the future.

Before you start hilling potatoes, you need to remove all weeds from the site. This can be done manually or using a household trimmer with an attachment. Weeds can be left on the ground. The dried grass will additionally protect the plant roots from the sun's rays. Root feeding of plants can also be carried out before hilling. For this, a solution is used, consisting of 20 grams of potassium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, diluted in 10 liters of warm water. The area is sprayed with such a product, usually the day before the hilling of the plants.

After these preparatory procedures, you can start processing the site. There are several ways of hilling plants.

This technology is suitable for hilling grown young bushes. You can use a garden hoe or shovel to treat the site. The process of hilling bushes is as follows.

1. To begin with, the potato stalks must be carefully parted to the side and bent to the ground. They should look like a neat fan.

2. With a chopper or shovel, you need to pick up the soil from the aisle.It must be carefully poured into the center of the bush. Throw the earth on the shoots carefully, trying not to break them. It is not worth tamping it down.

3. Further, the land must be distributed so that only the tops of the shoots remain at the top.

At the end of this procedure, the bushes can be covered with weeds. This will trap moisture in the loose soil. Well dried hay can also be used instead of grass. If this procedure is carried out correctly, the potato yield will be higher than if the bushes were simply covered with earth.

This method of hilling plants is popular in Finland. It resembles in many ways the previous method of processing the site. But in the process of hilling, the plants are not sprinkled with earth. For this, only grass cut or straw is used.

When planting potatoes, they try to make the holes not too deep. This is to keep the tubers as close to the surface as possible. As soon as the first shoots appear on the site, they are sprinkled with a layer of grass. In the future, the amount of mulch on the site is only increased. This is done until the shoots grow up to 20 centimeters.

The potatoes grown in this way have good yields and are less likely to get sick. In this case, it is very important to ensure that the tubers are always covered with soil and a dense layer of hay. Otherwise, they will turn green and become unusable.

This method received this name due to the fact that the hilling process is carried out even before the first shoots appear. For the first time, potatoes are processed when several green shoots have appeared on the site. At this time, the rest of the sprouts are underground.

Small mounds must be manually formed along each row. In the process, you need to focus on green shoots. After about a week, the procedure must be repeated. The principle of operation remains the same. The last time the bushes are spud up after another 10 days.

Hilling potato beds is a simple procedure that even a novice gardener can handle. The main thing is to study all the available information and choose the most suitable method of processing plants for yourself.