Choosing a variety of potatoes for growing, more and more gardeners prefer the Meteor variety. And absolutely not in vain, because it has a pleasant taste, high yield and is well stored with virtually no loss. Growing a Meteor is quite simple, you just need to know the basic rules.
Grade history
The Moscow Meteor variety was developed by scientists in the Moscow Region in 2008 by crossing Shurminsky-2 seed potatoes with a hybrid. However, this variety entered the Russian registry only 5 years ago - in 2013. About 15 different research institutes participated in the cultivation of the Meteor variety.
Description of the Meteor potato variety
Shoots. Meteor bushes are tall, semi-erect. The stems are powerful, the leaves are medium in size, but dense, dark green in color. During flowering, small white flowers appear on the bushes.
Roots. Potato tubers are round oval with yellow skin. The flesh of the Meteor is also yellow. Eyes on potatoes of medium depth. The mass of root crops is small - from 100 to 150 grams.
Characteristic
The following basic characteristics are inherent in this grade:
- The potato does not darken when cooked and tastes good. The amount of starch in it is 12-15%, so the Meteor is best suited for frying.
- The variety belongs to superearly.
- Potatoes are highly immune and resistant to pests. He does not suffer from potato cancer, a golden cyst-forming nematode. Meteor has medium resistance to late blight, scab, rhizoctoniosis and rot.
- The variety is very resistant to drought and can easily get used to any climate.
- The period from the first shoots to the technical maturity of the potato is about seventy days.
- The variety has a good yield: 25-40 tons per hectare of land.
- The harvest is well preserved, experts evaluate this quality at 95%. So, with long storage, only 5% of the crop can suffer.
- Under each bush there are 10-12 root crops.
- Most suitable for growing regions: West Siberian, Central, Central Black Earth, Volga-Vyatka.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
As we already mentioned, the Meteor potato variety has many advantages over other varieties. Among them are:
- early ripening potatoes;
- pleasant taste;
- large crop;
- long shelf life of the crop;
- resistance to heat and drought;
- high immunity;
- pest resistance;
- quick adaptation to any climatic conditions;
- a high percentage of marketable tubers - from 88 to 98%, which means that so many potatoes are suitable for sale (eating), and not just as planting material;
- can be grown in different regions;
- unpretentiousness;
- Suitable for growing in any kind of soil.
Potato Meteor also has disadvantages. The variety is demanding on the amount of nutrients in the soil. However, firstly, such a factor is present in any type of crop, and secondly, the lack of vitamins can be easily filled with fertilizers, as well as choosing the right place for planting.
How to choose a place to land?
Meteor is more fond of sunlit areas, so it should be planted where there is no shadow. The site should not stagnate. And also choose a place where there are no strong winds, because they can harm shoots and even root crops. The soil for the Meteor should be fertile, and it should be fertilized regularly. The best type of soil for Meteor is loam.
To get a good crop, you need to observe the correct crop rotation. Given this rule, you will receive a generous harvest of delicious potatoes every year.
The best predecessors of Meteor potatoes are rye, pumpkin, legumes, onions, garlic, cucumbers, watermelon and melon. After these crops, the soil will be filled with all the necessary nutrients, so planting potatoes after these plants, after a while you will get an excellent harvest.
Do not plant potatoes after such plants: tomatoes, peppers, bitter and sweet, sunflower and eggplant. Also, do not plant the vegetable in the same place for several years in a row, as the soil loses its useful components, and the potato has no resources for growth and development. As a result, root crops remain small, and their number is much smaller than it should be.
You can use this method for planting: after harvesting, plant special plants - siderata, which will enrich the land for the next planting. Potato siderates include rye, mustard, rapeseed, alfalfa, phacelia, buckwheat and oats.
In addition, if you do not have the opportunity to change the location for growing, you can just plant potatoes, alternating beds with row spacing. This little trick can save if the summer cottage is small in area and there is nowhere to transplant potatoes.
Landing time
Usually, Meteor potatoes are planted in late April or early May, but the planting period depends on the region of cultivation. Therefore, it is worth determining the time of planting by measuring the temperature of the soil. At a depth of 10 cm it should be 10 degrees.
There is also a popular method for determining the planting period - when the bird cherry blossoms or the birch leaves become the size of a coin of 10 cents.
But, despite the chosen method of determination, check the weather forecast. If, after heat, frost sets in again, they can greatly harm the future crop. The tubers will freeze and taste bad, and their growth may also stop. Therefore, in this case, it is better to wait until it finally warms up.
Soil preparation
In order for potato cultivation to be successful and yield a large crop, the soil should be carefully prepared for planting tubers. To do this, the land must be cleaned of weeds and past plants and crops, and then add the necessary fertilizing for this variety.
First of all, we need organic: manure (10 kg per 1 sq. M) or humus (5 kg per 1 sq. M). They will help to nourish the land and prepare it for planting potatoes.
Fertilizers should be introduced into the soil in the fall, and in the spring to dig it again. Also fertilize the soil with minerals: iron, magnesium, nitrogen, calcium, sulfur and phosphorus, potassium. Such preparation for planting will help to introduce beneficial substances into the soil and subsequently grow tasty and healthy potatoes.
Preparing planting material
Before planting, remove diseased and weak tubers. And then stimulate the growth of planting material. To do this, this mixture is suitable: a tablespoon of copper sulfate, several granules of potassium permanganate and 1 kg of wood ash are diluted in a bucket of water. Urea (40 grams), superphosphate (60 grams) and boric acid (10 grams) can also be added to the solution. This will disinfect and also help protect potatoes from pests. In such a mixture, it should be kept for about half an hour.
Then the tubers need to be sprouted. This is done about a month before landing. For about three days, the tubers are kept in bright light and warm up to +30 degrees, and then cleaned in a cooler place, with a temperature of +15.
If you missed the time for germination, this is not a reason to worry. For this case, there is a method that will help germinate the tubers in a shorter time. It is called "wet." To do this, put the potatoes in a box, and cover them with wet peat or humus.
Sometimes gardeners choose an even faster way: treat the tubers a couple of days before planting with growth stimulant preparations. Then the germination procedure in advance is not at all necessary.
How to plant Meteor potatoes?
When planting between each future bush, leave free 35 cm, and between rows - 60. It is necessary to lay tubers to a depth of about 10 cm. Before planting, it is useful to add top dressing to each hole: 1 tbsp. l nitrofoski or half a glass of bone meal, 700 grams of humus and 5 tbsp. wood ash.
Following this scheme, you will provide each bush with free space, so that everyone will have enough nutrients and moisture from the soil.
Potato care
The meteor is unpretentious in leaving, but still has some features.
Watering
This variety is drought tolerant, but it still needs to be watered every 10 days. At the same time, you need to make sure that the water has arrived to the tubers, and not only covered the surface of the earth, otherwise the root crops will not receive enough moisture and nutrients, and this will lead to slow development, as well as to diseases.
Fertilizers
When planting potatoes, one must take into account that the soil itself should be filled with the substances necessary for growth and development. But it’s better to feed the bushes anyway to get a big crop and the potatoes were not small. Thanks to fertilizers, potatoes will receive all the necessary vitamins and nutrients that will ensure its proper development. Enough about 3 of these dressings.
Please note that in rainy weather the plant needs fertilizer even more.
Of the top dressing, the mullein is most suitable. Dilute a liter of this substance in liquid form in a bucket of water and pour two liters of solution under the bush.
Loosening and hilling
A week after planting potatoes, loosening the soil and removing weeds should be carried out. Loosening should be superficial so as not to touch the tubers.
A meteor needs to be spudded only twice during the entire development period. The first time when the height of the bushes will be 15 cm, the second - after 4 weeks.
Hilling is necessary in cold regions, especially if late frosts occur. This procedure helps protect the plant from freezing. However, in warm climatic zones, you can do without hilling, because its main goal is to provide tubers with moisture, and so the water goes to root crops through cultivation and watering.
We suggest watching a video to learn in detail about how to carry out the earthing up of potatoes, and what equipment is needed for this:
Protection against diseases and insects
Potatoes of the Meteor variety are immune to most diseases and insects, but additional preventive measures will not interfere with it.
Bushes should be inspected regularly, and it is also advisable to sprinkle with ash, this will serve as a prevention of the appearance of Colorado beetles. To protect against wireworms, you need to lower the acidity of the soil and remove wheat grass.
In addition, to protect the plants, you need to carefully spray them with insecticides. But even ordinary care, such as watering, digging up the soil, weeding and loosening it, helps protect the crop from diseases and pests.
Harvesting and storage
Potato Meteor can be stored for a long time, if the storage rules are followed.
First of all, the harvested crop must be sorted and removed by rotten and damaged potatoes. Then you should remove the remaining soil from the tubers, after which they should be laid out in a dark ventilated place for 2-3 weeks, and then inspect and sort again.
And only then you can put the potatoes in a place where it will be stored all winter. Remember that this place should be dark, with a humidity of about 75% and an air temperature of +1 to +6 degrees. Experts also advise once again to sort out the potatoes in the winter, removing the spoiled so that it does not damage the rest of the crop.
Meteor potato variety has many advantages and, in addition, pleasant taste. He has a strong immunity to various diseases and is rarely exposed to damage from insects. Caring for potatoes is quite simple and does not require much effort. Therefore, the Meteor variety is an excellent choice for growing for sale or for yourself.