Not a single feast is complete without potato dishes. Therefore, so many gardeners grow it on their site. The most important thing is to choose a good variety that is easy to care for and produces generous yields. Every year, breeders bring out new improved varieties with excellent characteristics. How to choose a suitable option for yourself? First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the description of the different varieties, and only then determine the best option. Now we will consider a wonderful and unusual potato variety "Red Sonya". It has many advantages that set it apart from other potatoes.
Characteristics of the variety
According to the description of Red Sonya potatoes, this variety belongs to early seed potatoes. It is unlikely that you will be able to find a potato that ripens faster than this one. The tubers themselves have an attractive appearance and interesting color. The rind is deep red and rather smooth. Inside, the fruit is yellow or light yellow. Each tuber has a beautiful oval shape. The eyes are shallow, so it will be very easy to peel the tubers.
The pulp is dense, does not boil during cooking. More suitable for peeled cooking. Delicious mashed potatoes with a beautiful yellowish tint are obtained from such potatoes. The tubers are perfect for baking and frying. It is not recommended to use this variety for cooking jacket potatoes.
An important criterion for evaluating potatoes is disease resistance. As for the Red Sonya variety, we can say the following:
- Potato "Red Sonya" has a high resistance to potato nematode.
- The plant does not suffer from potato cancer.
- Has high resistance to various viruses.
- Rarely damaged by scab.
- Depending on the conditions and care, it can have both medium and high resistance to late blight.
The plant grows quickly and grows. The tops grow rapidly and continuously. The bushes are at rest for a long time. The maturation process is stable. The bush is strong and not very sprawling. Stems are dense, easily withstand wind and rain.
Growing potatoes
This variety grows well and develops only in fertile soils. The soil for planting this variety should be loose and rich in minerals. Also, the variety has high requirements for soil moisture. Too moist clay soil is not suitable for growing tubers. Very dry soil will not work either. In such conditions, high yields can not be expected.
To grow an early crop of potatoes, you will have to germinate the tubers in advance. The same goes for growing potatoes under plastic. To do this, the tubers should be moved to a warm room one month before planting. The sooner the tubers are planted, the faster the harvest will be.
Reviews of gardeners about the Red Sonya potatoes show that a small number of fruits are formed in one nest. For this reason, the tubers are planted close to each other. A distance of 30 cm between bushes and about 70–75 cm between rows of potatoes is considered normal. As a result, it will be possible to place about 43,000 bushes on a hectare of land.
Bush care
According to the characteristics of the Red Sonya potato, this species responds positively to moderate fertilization. For this, both organic and mineral fertilizing are suitable. This variety does not need a lot of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. It grows well and develops on its own.
The regularity of fertilizing depends on the condition of the soil and weather conditions. You should also take into account what soil preparation was carried out before planting the tubers. If during planting organic fertilizers were applied (cow dung or bird droppings), then this will be quite enough for the growing season. Additional feeding can be done as needed.
But disease prevention is recommended to be done regularly. To do this, you can use special remedies for late blight and other potato diseases. It is very difficult to cure such ailments, so it is better to prevent the onset of the disease. If signs of damage do appear, treatment should be started immediately.
In addition to these important steps, do not forget about watering and loosening the soil. Potatoes grow well only in loose and moderately moist soil. Loosening is carried out immediately, as soon as a crust begins to form on the surface of the soil. Watering is also done as needed. If you can see that the soil is too dry, and the leaves are dropping and withering, then it's time to refresh the garden.
Before harvesting, you should remove the tops from the site in advance. This will help strengthen the skin of the potato. It becomes more durable and resistant to mechanical damage. To do this, the tops should be cut 10 or 12 days before harvesting. Also for this purpose, special means are used. But it is much more convenient and cheaper to remove plants mechanically. Moreover, desiccation with chemicals will have to be carried out longer and in several stages.
Conclusion
This article provides a detailed description of the Red Sonya potato variety, as well as photos and reviews of experienced gardeners. All this shows that this variety is perfect for growing at home. For industrial purposes, it is probably better to choose a more productive variety. It is easy to care for such a potato, because it has a high resistance to most diseases. It grows quickly and produces a good harvest. If you have not decided on an early variety for your plot, then "Red Sonya" will be an excellent option.
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