What to plant after potatoes next year and what to combine them with

Many gardeners know about the rules of crop rotation. During its life in the garden during the season, each vegetable consumes certain nutrients. Having “registered” in one bed for many years and pulling the same elements out of the ground, this vegetable will inevitably lose its former productivity. In addition, pathogens characteristic of this species will accumulate in the soil.

Rules for crop rotation

Some crops greatly deplete the soil, for example, the well-known beets and cabbage. There are crops that enrich the soil with nitrogen, such as legumes. After them, any vegetable will grow well.

In order to get a wonderful harvest on your plot from year to year, you need to know and follow the rules of crop rotation, that is, what can be planted after. Crop rotation will help to significantly increase the return on land use without significant investment.

According to the rules of rotation, all crops are conditionally divided into 4 groups, according to the type of plant part consumed as food:

• Leaves (greens, cabbage, lettuce, spinach). Sensitive to soil nitrogen content.
• Fruits (pumpkin, eggplant, zucchini). Demanding on phosphorus.
• Root vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots). Requires a high potassium content in the soil.
• Legumes saturate the soil with nitrogen. Their use is especially effective for establishing a complete crop rotation.

How to prepare soil after potatoes for planting other crops in open ground

The first thing to do is to eliminate the remaining herbaceous part of the plants before it dries out on the field.

2-3 weeks before the planned potato harvest, it is best to mow the stems and remove them from the garden. If the area is too large, desiccation and senication, that is, destruction of tops by burning, will certainly be suitable.

Second, a week after clearing the field of tops by mechanical or chemical means, add the drug Trichodermin green to the soil. It will disinfect the soil and kill all possible pathogens that could infect next year's crop.

What grows after potatoes: many options

The peculiarity of the potato crop is that during the growing season it takes phosphorus and potassium from the soil in fairly large quantities. Therefore, after harvesting, it is necessary to compensate for the lack of these substances in the soil by applying appropriate fertilizers. A mandatory activity is harvesting potato tops, as they contribute to the contamination of the soil with various diseases.

It is well known that after potatoes you cannot grow eggplants, tomatoes, physalis, and peppers, since all nightshades are affected by the same pests and diseases. Spores of diseases such as late blight, macrosporiosis, and various rots accumulate in the soil.

Potatoes are not suitable as a precursor for wild strawberries. It takes at least three years to set up a strawberry plantation in place of potato plantings.

1. In the spring, it is best to populate former potato fields with radishes, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and beets.
2. Various types of cabbage, onions, garlic, and cucumbers are also suitable.
3. Beans, peas, zucchini, and pumpkin will feel good next year after potatoes.

It is possible to plant green crops after potatoes, but the best option would be to plant them in another place.

You can sow the area after potatoes with rye, lupine, and oats. These herbs can significantly improve soil fertility by restoring the balance of nutrients in it.

What can you plant after potatoes next year?

Potatoes are considered a good predecessor for many garden and vegetable plants. This is due, among other things, to her eating habits. When planting potatoes, they often add not even humus, but almost fresh manure, since they are fine with this. Over the course of a season, the manure in the bed naturally completely rots, almost without losing volatile nitrogen compounds. Potato bushes consume some of the nutrients, but a fair amount of them, in a form accessible to plants, remains in the soil. Therefore, next year it is enough to just slightly correct the condition of the soil by introducing certain mineral fertilizers, depending on the preferences of the crop chosen for this bed.

Potatoes do not extract very many nutrients from the soil and do not deplete it

In addition, potato bushes are so strong that they suppress the development of most weeds, and the soil remains fairly clean. Not too many toxic substances remain after potatoes. True, it attracts the Colorado potato beetle, and any vegetables affected by this pest have no place next year in the area where potatoes were grown. However, there are few such crops, and almost everything grows well after potatoes. You can plant next year in this place:

• any root vegetables (for example, radishes, carrots, beets);
• various “green” crops (salads, mustard greens, hyssop, etc.);
• onions, garlic (these bulbs are famous for the fact that they themselves disinfect the soil well);
• any types of cabbage (white and red, cauliflower, savoy, kohlrabi, etc.);
• cucumbers and generally any pumpkin crops (zucchini, squash, pumpkins);
• legumes (beans, lentils, peas): they saturate the soil well with nitrogen compounds.

Before planting root crops, the former potato bed can be hardly fertilized

Dill and parsley also grow normally in former potato beds, but it’s even better if you plant them in this place a year later.

It is best, of course, if you have time and space, to sow any green manure after the potatoes - herbs that are mowed before flowering. These are, for example, lupine, oats, mustard, etc. Green manures restore the soil well. If the potatoes were harvested early, then the herbs can be sowed this year, then the soil will be in ideal condition by the new season.

How to care for “settled” potatoes: soil, fertilizers, disinfection

Potatoes can grow in one place for no more than three years. But, if it is not possible to change the place where potatoes are planted, you need to take measures to restore soil fertility. Along with this, measures are being taken to replenish the mineral composition of the upper soil layer and disinfect it.

After harvesting, you need to carry out deep digging of the soil with a full rotation of the layer. This technique promotes better soil freezing and the destruction of pests and potato pathogens.

In the spring, when the soil warms up, it is dug up again and fertilizers are applied.

1 kg of potatoes takes from the soil approximately 1-1.2 g of magnesium, 2 g of phosphoric acid, 8-9 g of potassium oxide, 3-4 g of nitrogen, as well as microelements: manganese, boron, zinc, copper, etc.

To replenish these elements, manure or compost is added to the soil for digging. It is better to apply mineral fertilizers when planting in furrows and holes.

Potato plantings respond very well to the addition of ash. It contains microelements that potatoes need to grow. It is also necessary to note its disinfecting effect.

To improve the soil, after harvesting early potatoes, you can sow early ripening green manure and then incorporate them into the soil.

Is it possible to plant potatoes after potatoes?

The reality is that many summer residents cannot afford to change where they grow potatoes, although the rules of crop rotation directly say that they can be planted in open ground a maximum of three times in a row.

This is due to the fact that when cultivating potatoes, pathogenic microorganisms accumulate in the soil, which in the following years infect new plantings. To prevent infection, experienced gardeners regularly rotate vegetable crops.

Another reason to change the place where potatoes are grown in the new summer season is the depletion of the soil in certain elements. To replenish the amount of microelements in the soil without the use of chemical fertilizers, it is recommended to grow other crops in open ground next year.

Some gardeners do not observe crop rotation, constantly planting potatoes in the same place.

They are of the opinion that by regularly updating potato varieties, planting green manure crops in the off-season, as well as with constant high-quality saturation of the soil and pre-sowing preparation of planting material, it is possible to maintain yields at a fairly good level.

Good and bad neighbors of potatoes

For the success of growing vegetables, it is also necessary to take into account the principles of a healthy neighborhood.

The convenience of this approach is that it:

• prevents harmful substances from accumulating in the soil;
• promotes the most complete use of fertilizers;
• Helps effectively fight diseases and pests.

Based on this concept, you can make a list of plants with which cohabitation is most beneficial for potatoes.

Many years of experience in joint planting of potatoes with other crops have shown:

1. Neighborhood with potatoes is UNDESIRABLE for cucumbers, tomatoes and pumpkins;
2. Potatoes are “friends” with cabbage and eggplants;
3. Goes well with onions and corn. Their beneficial effect on potatoes is known;
4. A wonderful neighbor for beans - it protects it from bruchus, it “treats” it with nitrogen and protects it from such a malicious pest as the Colorado potato beetle;
5. Excellent neighbors for potatoes are spinach and horseradish.

All these crops are partners because they do not interfere with each other, consuming nutrients from different soil horizons.

Satellite flowers

Flowers are not in last place on the list of useful companion plants. They know how to not only delight the eye with their beauty, but also protect vegetable plantings from diseases and pests.

Marigolds - companions for potatoes

• It is useful to plant marigolds between rows: they are enemies of weevils, onion flies and cabbage whites, as well as a cure for fusarium.
• Nasturtium will save you from whiteflies and whiteflies. It is an excellent green fertilizer.
• Chamomile-pyrethrum is a threat to aphids, as well as caterpillars of the cabbage cutworm and white moth. Rodents don't like it either.
• Calendula is a potato protector against the Colorado potato beetle. It is recommended to border potato plantings with rows of calendula. In autumn it can be used as green manure.
• Lavender is a protector against ants and aphids.
• Dalmatian chamomile (tansy) is a natural enemy of many pests.

What green manure can be sown after potatoes to restore the soil?

To restore soil fertility, green manure should be planted. Let's talk about each one in a nutshell:

1. Rye - sown to mobilize phosphates.
2. Peas - in addition to the fact that peas have special bacteria on their nodules, they have a root system that helps to get nitrogen from the lower layers of the soil.
3. Lupine is an analogue of peas in terms of green manure properties.
4. Mustard is considered a mobilizer of many nutrients. Because mustard roots contain precisely those silicate bacteria that lead to the activation of not only phosphorus, but also potassium.

IMPORTANT! The use of such green manure cannot completely replace the use of potash fertilizers.

Why alternate crops?

Everyone who gardens knows that the same plants cannot be grown in the same beds for many years in a row. It is imperative to alternate crops, since all plants have their own characteristics and they can affect the composition of the soil, take away all the useful substances or, on the contrary, leave behind certain microelements. And sometimes the land is simply not sown with any plants in order to give it the opportunity to rest and normalize the nutritional environment.

Science and technology do not stand still; crop rotation tables have long been developed, which indicate the correct order of crop rotation. Using these tables, you can quickly and easily distribute the sequence of sowing crops in the beds for several years in advance. To do this, you need to divide the garden into several zones and move the plants within them, observing agrotechnical rules.

General information about culture

Potatoes belong to the Solanaceae family. This is a perennial plant that is cultivated as an annual. The tubers of the crop are eaten, while its fruits are poisonous due to their high solanine content. Depending on the variety, the shrub can reach a height of up to one meter. The stem is usually bare and ribbed. The foliage of the plant is dark green and consists of a terminal lobe and several pairs of lateral lobes with intermediate lobes between them. The culture blooms with purple, white or pink flowers, which are collected in a shield at the very top of the stem.

Potato tubers are not essentially fruits, but swollen buds consisting entirely of thin-walled faceted cells. Their outer part (peel) is a thin-walled cork fabric. Potato tubers ripen in August or September, depending on whether the particular variety is early, mid or late ripening.

Potato propagation

Potatoes are propagated vegetatively - through tubers, tuber parts or seeds. The latter are used exclusively for selective purposes. Tubers are planted in open ground to a depth of 5-10 centimeters.

Potatoes grow best in gray forest, soddy-podzolic soils, as well as in black soil and drained peat bogs. A mandatory requirement for the soil is that it must be loose. If the soil is dense, the tubers will form small and deformed.

The optimal fertilizers for potatoes, allowing you to grow a large crop, are bone meal, lime, and rotted manure.

Important! Excess nitrogen fertilizers in the case of potatoes is undesirable. Such fertilizing promotes abundant growth of the fight and slows down the formation and growth of tubers.

During flowering and tuberization, it is especially important to water the potatoes abundantly. However, one should not forget that excess moisture causes irreparable harm to the crop. If water stagnates in the soil, the plant can rot and even die.

What to do if potatoes are planted after a bad predecessor

The limited area of ​​the plots does not make it possible to maintain normal crop rotation. Potatoes are often planted after bad predecessors, such as tomatoes. To provide the culture with proper conditions, the following actions are taken:

• Urea, superphosphate, and potassium fertilizer are added to the soil. Fertilizers help restore substances absorbed by the predecessor.
• Potatoes are treated with insecticides and fungicides up to 4 times per season. Preventive measures help to avoid the occurrence of late blight and the proliferation of pests.
• About 2 weeks before harvesting, the tops are torn off, taken away from the garden and burned. The dug up tubers are in no hurry to be lowered into the cellar. First, they are thoroughly dried in partial shade.

The efforts made will help you get a harvest that will last until the next season.

The listed features of crop rotation are advisory in nature to answer the question, after which you can plant potatoes next year, since small plots limit the action of gardeners. However, it is advisable to try to properly plan the beds to increase crop yields.

Review of garden predecessors for potatoes

Favorable predecessors are considered:

1. Zucchini does not change the structure of the soil. It remains loose clean, in addition with minimal wasting.
2. Onion is considered a natural doctor. The culture disinfects the soil, destroys pathogenic microorganisms, and repels pests.
3. Cabbage and potatoes are good neighbors. The crops do not have common diseases or pests. It is even useful to plant potatoes in a bed after cabbage, which has been infected with fungi, to heal the soil.
4. The pumpkin covers a large area with its vines. It leaves behind a weed-free area with loose soil. Unextracted pumpkin roots are safe and will serve as fertilizer for potatoes.
5. Cucumbers are usually used for alternating plantings of above-ground and root crops.
6. Garlic repels pests from the ground, destroys bacteria, and slightly depletes the soil. After this, you can successfully grow potatoes.

Good predecessors of potatoes
Bad predecessors are:

1. Tomatoes and other nightshade crops. After them, the soil is completely depleted, there is a lack of potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Common pests and pathogens will remain in the soil.
2. Peppers absorb all nutrients from the soil. They leave behind many diseases. Planted potatoes are more likely to become infected with late blight. Sweet peppers are considered the worst predecessors of all types.

Strawberries should be added to this list. The berry crop has a developed rhizome that intensively absorbs nitrogen and potassium from the soil.

Advice! Sunflower greatly depletes the soil, but is considered a good neighbor for potatoes. After it, you just need to liberally fertilize the soil with organic matter.

Precursor crops for potatoes

To achieve a good harvest, it is necessary to ensure the main principles of crop rotation:

• You cannot plant plants that can become food for pests (and their larvae) that grow on previously grown plants;
• the composition of nutrients for the new crop should be as different as possible from the nutritional composition of the previous crop.

For our case with potatoes, we summarize the recommendations of experts in the following table.

Green manure

Green manure is grown to improve and restore soil fertility. It is believed that fertilizing the soil with green manure is comparable to applying manure.

Among green manures, plants such as vetch, buckwheat, peas, mustard, clover, alfalfa, lupine, oats, rapeseed, oilseed radish, rye, phacelia and barley will also help prepare the soil well for planting potatoes.

Why plant mustard or oats before planting potatoes?

Mustard is one of the best soil health workers after potatoes. It helps protect the crop from pests and diseases, stop the spread of weeds, and in addition, it is rich in phosphorus.

Oats also enrich the soil and protect against weeds.

Preparing the soil for planting potatoes

It is highly advisable to improve the soil before planting potatoes by disinfecting and removing pathogenic spores and pathogenic bacteria from it. This can be achieved without resorting to chemicals, simply by planting the area with oats or mustard before winter.

To enrich the soil, it is recommended to use compost and birch ash. The application of potassium and phosphorus fertilizers is indicated, but the use of nitrogen fertilizers should be limited, since their excess can reduce yields.

It is better to enrich the soil in the fall; for chlorine-containing preparations this requirement is mandatory.

Necessary soil conditions

Potatoes prefer fertilized, loose soil that allows oxygen and moisture to pass through well. Under such conditions, tubers develop quickly. If there is caloric starvation, they grow small and elongated.

Necessary soil conditions when planting potatoes
To figure out how to plant potatoes next year, you first need to consider what problems will arise from a lack of abundantly absorbed substances:

• Potassium is needed for photosynthesis, protein and carbohydrate metabolism. Lack of the substance will affect the reduction in yield and weakened immunity to diseases.
• Nitrogen helps potatoes absorb potassium and phosphorus. A deficiency of the substance will affect the poor development of tops and tubers, and the ripening time of the crop will be delayed.
• Phosphorus stimulates root development, increases the starchiness of tubers, and increases the safety of the crop. With a lack of phosphorus, the formation of buds occurs later, the potatoes and the above-ground parts are inhibited in development.

See also: What to plant next to potatoes in the neighborhood

Based on the above conditions, it is now easier to identify good and bad predecessors.

Why crop rotation rules require wisely selecting neighbors and predecessors

Each garden crop absorbs certain nutrients from the soil and is subject to pest invasion and disease. Taking these factors into account, plant compatibility is determined. For example, it is not recommended to grow nightshade crops close together due to their ability to infect each other with the same diseases.

As a predecessor, cabbage and all its types do not have diseases similar to potatoes, so they are quite suitable.
A similar rule applies to crop rotation. If you take potatoes, then in one place they can grow for up to 3 years, but the yield may decrease annually for the following reasons:

• One-sided soil depletion occurs. Every season, potatoes absorb the same type of nutrients, which do not have time to recover from autumn to spring.
• Pests remain on potato plantations after harvesting. For example, the Colorado potato beetle hides in the ground for the winter, and in the spring it resumes its activity, eating new potato plantings.
• Microorganisms that cause potato diseases persist in the soil.

If you plant potatoes in another place, you can forget about the listed problems. However, here it is again worth remembering our predecessors. Let's say tomatoes grew on the plot. The nightshade crop is affected by similar diseases and pests, and absorbs the same nutrients from the soil. It turns out that changing the landing site did not give anything.

Important! The predecessor is considered compatible if the pests and bacteria remaining after it are safe for potatoes to overwinter. In addition, due to the absorption of various nutrients, one-sided soil depletion is eliminated.

When it is not possible to maintain crop rotation, they try to compensate for the nutrient deficiency by applying fertilizers. To determine what fertilizing is needed, take into account that 1 ton of potato tubers grown absorbs:

• 7-10 kg potassium;
• 5-6 kg of nitrogen;
• 1.5-2 kg of phosphorus.

If these fertilizers are added to the soil before planting, the balance of nutrients will be restored. However, the soil structure itself will not return to its previous state. It is partially improved by enriching organic matter.

What a useful neighborhood

To obtain a rich harvest, it is recommended to properly plant neighboring plants. This approach guarantees easier development of seedlings, increased growth and fruiting.

Many gardeners plant beans between rows of different vegetable crops. Beans ensure that the soil is enriched with nitrogen. At the same time, potatoes are able to protect legumes from bruchus.

To improve the quality of potatoes, it is recommended to plant marigolds, calendula, and nasturtium. Such flowers are planted around the perimeter of the garden or between rows of vegetables.

Potatoes also go well with onions, garlic, cabbage, corn, horseradish, spinach, eggplant and mint. If these crops grow nearby, the soil properties are improved and the ability to get rid of pests and prevent many diseases is guaranteed.

Tomatoes, sunflowers, and fruit trees (cherry, raspberry, cherry, rowan) should not be planted next to potatoes, as otherwise the risk of late blight infection will increase.