Many summer residents, in anticipation of the warm season, carefully study the assortment of seeds, plan that they will grow on existing acres. Of course, they carefully look at all the interesting varieties in order to get the most rich harvest. And many of them choose the Kolobok potato variety as a result. No wonder - it has a number of important features and advantages that make it an excellent choice for many people.
Grade Features
Talking about potato "Kolobok", it is worth saying that it belongs to mid-ripening varieties. That is, from the time of planting to harvesting, an average of 90 to 115 days passes - a lot depends on the number of warm days, soil temperature, soil quality and abundance of watering. Yellow peel is combined with delicious yellow pulp. It contains quite a lot of starch - about 10-12 percent. The tubers have excellent palatability and are best suited for cooking french fries and chips.
It is not surprising that, having studied the characteristics of Kolobok potatoes, many summer residents decide to purchase this variety for planting on their site.
Appearance story
Speaking about this variety, it is worth noting that it was developed by Russian breeders at the Lorch Potato Institute. The variety is quite young - it was officially registered in the State Register of the Russian Federation in 2005.
When breeding, the experts sought to create a plant that grows well not only in the Central Black Earth Region, but also in the Central Region, which is characterized by less rainfall and lower soil quality.
It is mainly used in industrial cultivation (primarily due to neatly shaped tubers), but you can often see this breed in private households.
The main advantages
The potato variety "Gingerbread Man" receives excellent reviews not at all by chance. As the name implies, his tubers are quite even, neat and even elegant. On the one hand, this greatly facilitates their cleaning. On the other hand, machining also becomes simpler and more comfortable. It is clear that when sold, these fruits will be more popular than others, simply because of their excellent appearance, a kind of "photogenicity."
There are practically no outgrowths and protrusions - the tubers are either round or oval. The eyes are quite deep, but still not too noticeable, due to the small size and small size.
Finally, potatoes have excellent keeping quality - up to 98%, which is one of the best indicators to date.
So with good care, you will not only get a rich harvest of delicious potatoes, but also easily preserve it for many months.
If we talk about the minuses, then, alas, not without them. More precisely, without one minus - the peel of the “Kolobok” is quite tough. On the one hand, this is even a plus - the keeping quality is increased. You can store tubers for several months even in a room with low humidity, in which other potatoes simply dry out, wrinkle, become flabby. On the other hand, some difficulties may arise when peeling potatoes. The process will take more time and effort than we would like.
Proper fit
Now, knowing the description of the Gingerbread potato, it’s not superfluous to learn some practical information.
It all starts, as one would expect, with a landing. It is advisable to choose not small tubers, as some summer residents do, but the largest ones. Still, it is desirable to plant a potato that you want to get as a result, and not one that just does not mind.
If there is not enough planting material, and the planting area is large, you can gently cut each potato with a knife, making sure that at least one eye remains on each half or even a quarter, and preferably more. After this, the incisions should be disinfected. Some summer residents prefer processing with a solution of potassium permanganate. But, as practice shows, it is better to use wood ash for disinfection. It not only protects the tuber from infection through the wound, but also dries it, reducing the risk of rot.
The next step is proper landing planning. The optimal distance between the rows is 70-80 centimeters. If you reduce it, then serious problems can arise with further care. The distance between the wells, it is desirable to withstand about 30-35 centimeters.
Excessive deepening of the tubers during planting is not worth it. A depth of 10-15 centimeters is quite acceptable - about half the length of the shovel. Otherwise, the first shoots will have to break out of the ground for too long before they can grow leaves and consume the energy of sunlight.
In general, the variety does not like damp too much. But during the planting period it will be better if the ground is quite wet.
How to care for him?
In general, caring for the "Kolobok" potato variety, a photo of which is attached to the article, is quite simple. You don’t need to know any special subtleties - everything is about the same as when growing ordinary potatoes.
Hilling is done twice a season. For the first time - after reaching potato tops of 20-25 centimeters high. The second - in about two weeks. At the same time, the plant has to grow intensively in order to rise above the earthen moat. Therefore, it is desirable to provide abundant watering. The easiest way to run water along the furrows.
Throughout the warm season, weed control must be kept in mind. This is especially important in the first weeks. If you do not deal with weed, the entire area will quickly be covered with it. As a result, only the hatching stems will not be able to receive enough sunlight - this will slow down growth, and in some cases can even lead to death. In the future, when potatoes grow to 40-50 centimeters, weeds should also not be forgotten. They can hardly shade the culture, but they will be very active in absorbing nutrients and moisture from the earth, which will affect the crop.
Finally, on heavy soils (especially clay or mixed with clay), it is advisable to perform loosening several times during the season. It is not necessary to deepen much - 5-7 centimeters are enough for moisture to leak more easily into the ground, and at the same time the roots gain access to oxygen.
To fertilize or not to fertilize?
Another important point that interests many summer residents is the application of fertilizers. And is it true whether it is necessary to fertilize the Kolobok potatoes or not? And if so, which fertilizers should be preferred.
When growing potatoes with fertilizers, you need to be very careful. The fact is that most plants tend to accumulate some dangerous substances contained in mineral fertilizers in the roots. This usually doesn’t mean much - who cares about the roots of tomatoes, pumpkins or peppers? But with potatoes the situation is completely different. After all, here the main crop is tubers! Therefore, the use of mineral fertilizers should be discarded.
But not from fertilizers in general. Organic here are great. First of all, this is ordinary compost — decayed production waste, weeds and last year’s leaves, excrement of animals and birds — all this together creates an excellent fertilizer that provides the plant with all the necessary substances.
Also do not forget about the mullein. Fresh cow manure, diluted in water, will be a very good top dressing. And, importantly, even with abundant watering, this does not create an excessive amount of substances in the soil, which could harm people who eat potatoes.
Productivity
Fruits have similar sizes and weights - almost no large or small ones are found. Typically, the weight is from 120 to 140 grams - slightly larger than the average, which facilitates cooking, storage and transportation. Many summer residents note that the number of tubers with good care can reach 15 per bush! A magnificent indicator that can pleasantly surprise even a numb skeptic.
Productivity is not the highest, but still very good - up to 250 centners per hectare.
The excellent taste of tubers has already been mentioned.
High stability
Potato "Kolobok" enjoys considerable popularity and due to its unpretentiousness. For example, it tolerates a dry summer quite easily. Even if only one or two not heavy rain falls in a month, the plant can still bring a rich harvest. Of course, in the worst conditions, you still have to think about watering. A drip is perfect, allowing you to save moisture and at the same time it is enough to moisten the roots and tubers of the plant.
The plant is also not afraid of high temperatures - the main thing is that there is enough moisture to evaporate and maintain the growth of tubers.
Major diseases and pests
Experts highly appreciate this variety because it is not susceptible to many diseases that can cause a lot of trouble when growing other crops. For example, Kolobok easily resists potato cancer, black leg, common scab, as well as a number of viruses: verticillosis, fusarium and some others.
But before the insect parasites, the variety is also defenseless, like others. Therefore, we can expect the invasion of the Colorado potato beetle and aphids. There is only one way to combat them - collection, and in the most advanced cases - treatment with special insecticides.
It is more difficult when a summer resident collides with a wireworm when harvesting. Nevertheless, it is more difficult to notice it and take timely measures after detection is far from always possible. So, knowing about the possible risk, it is advisable to treat the tubers with special preparations before planting. This, if it does not ensure the complete preservation of the crop, will at least reduce the number of damaged tubers.
Finally
Now you know the description of the "Kolobok" potato variety, have an idea of its main advantages, features of care. So, you can easily decide whether it suits you for growing on a summer cottage or in a huge field, or it makes sense to find the best option.