Is it worth planting Gala potatoes, the pros and cons of the variety

High yields, ease of care, excellent taste, resistance to pests and diseases - these are the results many gardeners want to achieve. The Gala potato was bred by German breeders in 2008, and in the same year it was included in the Russian state register. And in 2013 it was recognized as a sales leader throughout the country.

This variety is suitable for cultivation in open ground and is adapted to the climatic conditions of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. If you follow all the growing rules, you can collect up to 20 tubers from each bush.

Main characteristics

Gala is a medium-early ripening table variety. Bushes of medium height, semi-erect. The stems are of moderate thickness. The foliage is large, green, matte. There is a slight waviness along the edges. The culture produces small inflorescences and few flowers. The tops do not grow too much, but they close in rows at high speed.

Potatoes easily adapt to different soil compositions and climatic conditions. Gala can produce a harvest in almost any region of Russia. The variety, moreover, is not afraid of two types of nematodes, which increases its popularity among gardeners.

Description of fruits

Root vegetables have an attractive appearance. They have a smooth surface and a beautiful shade. The shape is oval, regular. The eyes are shallow. The size of the tubers is average, the weight ranges between 70 and 120 grams, although larger specimens are also found.

Thanks to their small eyes, potatoes are not difficult to peel. The pulp is dark yellow in color and may darken slightly when raw.

The potato flesh changes color depending on what the summer has been like.

Taste qualities, according to tasters, are very high. Professional rating – 9 out of 10 points.

The root vegetable is ideal for people who adhere to proper nutrition. It contains only 13% starch. At the same time, the composition includes carotene, 3% protein and vitamin C (11 mg per 100 g). In addition, potatoes contain potassium. The type of fruit boilability is A/B. After heat treatment, potatoes do not change their structure, do not turn black or fall apart.

The fruits show good keeping quality and can withstand transportation without problems. For this reason, the variety is often used for sale.

Dates and planting scheme

The soil temperature should rise to 10°C. This is the best option. In cold soil, tubers may rot. Be sure to follow the recommended planting pattern.

Hopes that more potatoes planted will result in an increase in yield are absolutely unfounded. Thick planting of potatoes leads to the plants oppressing each other. Planting Gala potatoes under a walk-behind tractor greatly simplifies the work of gardeners. How to properly use a walk-behind tractor when planting can be seen in the video:

Important! Do not plant several tubers in one hole. This will lead to the opposite result - the potatoes will be small.

When can you plant potatoes?

The intensity of plant development and the formation of large tubers depend on the correct determination of the optimal time for planting potatoes.

It is very important here not to rush or be late. After all, when planting tubers in sufficiently warmed soil, there is a delay in the emergence of seedlings and there is also a possibility of damage to the tubers by dangerous diseases and soil pests (wireworms, mole crickets).

According to existing recommendations, it is necessary to plant potatoes from mid-April to the end of May, when the soil at a depth of 12-16 cm warms up to +12 degrees Celsius.

Seed preparation

Choose medium-sized tubers for planting; small ones contain few nutrients and will not provide the root system with enough nutrition. Bring the planting material out into the light, avoiding direct sunlight. Tubers with strong sprouts, slightly green and with a thick skin are good for planting. The length of the sprouts is 1 cm. Photo of tubers ready for planting.

Important! When planting, make sure that the sprouts do not break off.

Processing potatoes before planting

This work is carried out to disinfect planting material and stimulate its rapid development.

To do this, you need to evenly spread the tubers in one layer on a flat surface covered with polyethylene or tarpaulin. Next, using a hand sprayer, you need to evenly spray the surface of the seed potatoes with fungicidal preparations.

It is important to turn the tubers several times to evenly distribute the drug over the surface of the tuber.

Now the most effective biofungicidal preparations are: Agat-25K, Fitosporin, Planzin, Silk. After processing is completed, the tubers are dried and stored in boxes.

Methods for planting potatoes

Planting material is planted in prepared holes 10-12 cm deep. The distance between holes in a row should be 40-50 cm, and between rows - 78-80 cm. Planting holes should be located strictly from north to south. One handful of rotted manure is added to each hole and, covering it with a layer of soil, 1-2 tubers are placed in the center. After this, the hole is filled with loose soil and the soil surface is leveled with a rake.

Productivity

Gala shows good yield indicators. You can harvest potatoes for the first time 80 days after planting. One bush often produces about 25 tubers. If we take an industrial scale, we harvest up to 170 centners of root crops per hectare.

At the stage of technical ripeness at the end of the growing season, the yield is as follows: 220-263 c/ha.

The harvested crop can be stored in bags or boxes, or in bulk at a temperature of 2 to 6 degrees Celsius with a humidity of up to 80%.

Harvesting and storage features

Harvesting can be done after 80 days of cultivation. It is necessary to mow the tops before harvesting. If there is a cold climate in the region, it is removed two weeks before collection. This allows not only to stop the growth of tubers, but also to form a strong skin. Such strength guarantees long storage; the best option would be a cellar.

Potatoes must be kept in a dry place, at a temperature of about 5 degrees Celsius and high humidity. Select only strong tubers. More about proper storage of potatoes is written here.

With proper care, up to 400-600 centners can be collected from 1 hectare.

Diseases and pests

Gala is not afraid of most diseases and pests that are relevant to potatoes, although sometimes precedents do occur. A separate advantage is the high resistance of the variety to the Colorado potato beetle. The most common diseases and pests are listed below.

Rhizoctoniosis

The disease manifests itself in the form of black or brown ulcers, which subsequently die off. Leaves begin to curl and stems die. Before planting, young individuals are treated with special preparations. If a problem occurs, they use products such as Baktofit, Maxim, and so on. For prevention, it is important to harvest the crop on time, process the crop and responsibly select planting material.

Late blight

Brown spots appear on the leaves. The reverse side is covered with a white coating. If you cut a tuber, you can see the so-called “rust”. To combat the disease, spray the tops with Bravo, Shirlan, Acrobat, Thanos. For the purpose of prevention, tubers are germinated and planting material is treated before planting.

Dry spotting

Dark brown spots appear, which quickly increase in size, merging together. For treatment, tubers are treated before planting using Agat-25, Baktofit, Bravo. Once every couple of weeks, when the disease manifests itself, spray with Profit. For prevention, the watering regime is carefully observed, especially if the weather is hot, and fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Brown bacterial rot

The leaves wrinkle and turn yellow en masse. To prevent pathology from occurring, treatment is carried out before planting using Planriz. For the purpose of prevention, potatoes are planted as far as possible from nightshades and try not to damage the tubers during harvesting.

Mosaic disease

Flowering disappears, the growing season decreases. There are no treatment methods yet, so any contaminated material is immediately removed and burned. Most likely, healthy bushes that were located next to diseased plants will have to be destroyed.

Click beetle larva

The crop is attacked by yellow-orange worms, they gnaw the tubers. Traps, spraying using Hurricane Forte, and “distractive” plantings are effective. For prevention, it is important to constantly dig the soil as deep as possible.

Potato moth

The caterpillars eat the plant and pollute it with their waste. To get rid of the pest, Karbofos is used.

Medvedka

Insects make tunnels in the ground, gnawing roots. To combat mole crickets, traps and watering with Karbofos are used.

How to prepare planting material

If there are not enough potatoes to plant, then you can make several from one fruit. But when dividing the fruit, you need to follow a number of rules:

1. The knife with which the potatoes will be cut must be washed with a 5% solution of copper sulfate. This is necessary to prevent the disease. After all, if among the root crops there is one diseased fruit, then when dividing with an untreated knife, all the tubers can be infected.
2. It can only be cut in the longitudinal direction. When dividing crosswise, only one side will bear fruit.
3. Each separated piece must have at least two eyes.

By following these simple rules, you can propagate planting material without damaging the future harvest.

Advantages and disadvantages

Before planting any crop on your own plot, it is worth studying the advantages and disadvantages. Gala has the following pros and cons:

Advantages

1. The harvest ripens under any conditions; planting dates are not important.
2. Potatoes can be harvested very early.
3. The crop stores well, withstands transportation, and retains its transport characteristics for a long time.
4. Good yield indicators: up to 25 tubers per bush.
5. Potatoes are ideal for people who adhere to the principles of a healthy diet due to their low starch content.
6. The taste of root vegetables is very pleasant; they do not fall apart or darken during heat treatment.
7. Gala is unpretentious in terms of care.

Flaws

1. Susceptibility to rhizoctonia.
2. Depends on soil moisture.

Pros and cons of the variety

Landing

There are no exact dates for planting the variety. The soil temperature at a depth of 10 centimeters should remain at +10 degrees for a long time.

It is very important to study the material before planting. It is best to buy it from trusted gardeners or nurseries.

It is not recommended to select small tubers from last year, as this causes degeneration of the variety. It is very important to start germination in advance so that seedlings appear a few days after planting. Experts advise sending the tubers into wooden boxes, 2-3 rows, sprinkling each of them with wet sawdust.

After this, you will need to choose the optimal location for placement. The variety feels best in loamy and well-moistened soils with moderate acidity. In the fall, ammonium nitrate, 30% potassium salt and double superphosphate are added to the digging.

Before planting, the soil is fertilized with the following mixture: 5 tbsp. l. wood ash, ½ tbsp. bone meal, 1 tbsp. l. urea, 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate, 1 tsp. potassium sulfate, 700 g of rotted manure. It is advisable to plant potatoes at a distance of 70 centimeters from each other, sprinkling 10 centimeters of soil on top.

Tips for growing the Gala potato variety

To preserve presentation and taste, experienced gardeners recommend not planting your own seed every year. To do this, it is best to purchase high-quality seeds from trusted manufacturers who carefully sort potatoes, control quality and disinfect tubers. This is due to the fact that when using your own harvest for planting, potatoes may begin to degenerate and its quality will only get worse every year.

If you plan to use your own tubers, you need to carefully select your potatoes, choosing only healthy potatoes of the same size. As an antibacterial effect, the seeds are heated in the sun for several days, only after which they are planted.

Preparing seeds for planting

Before planting the early Gala potato variety, you need to do a little work with the planting material. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. If possible, it is recommended to pour the potatoes onto burlap and allow them to bask in the sun for a while.
2. At the same time, the seeds need to be sorted. Root crops that are too small or too large are not suitable for planting. It is also necessary to remove mechanical damage and rot.
3. Many gardeners use a growth activator for treatment, which reduces the likelihood of insects and diseases.
4. The seeds should germinate a little; for planting, choose those tubers that have several eyes.

If it is clear that there is not enough planting material for the entire area, it can be divided into parts. But only those tubers that have several active buds are suitable for this - they should be cut so that there is one bud on each part.

Preparing the soil for planting

When growing any variety of potato, you need to understand that this is a vegetable crop that takes a large amount of nutrients from the ground. Over time, the land becomes poor and is not suitable for full use and growing new crops. Therefore, it is so important to properly prepare and restore the land.

After the harvest is harvested, all tops are removed from the site and burned, which allows you to get rid of a number of diseases and insects. Fertilizers are added to the soil - they can be mineral or organic. Straw is often scattered; over the winter it rots and allows fertility to be restored; in addition, after this, the soil becomes loose and very light.

Landing

It is recommended to plant seed in the ground in the second half of March or early May. The most suitable period is considered to be the time when the likelihood of frost has completely passed, and the temperature outside does not drop below +10 degrees Celsius.

It is best not to buy varietal potatoes for planting remotely; it is important that they can be inspected. Thanks to this decision, a number of important factors can be identified:

1. The potatoes look healthy.
2. Tubers are the right size.
3. There are no mechanical damages.
4. There are no signs of rot or the presence of insects.

It is also worth understanding that potatoes collected on the site may not produce the same high yield next year. The planting algorithm is similar in all cases, regardless of the selected variety. First, furrows are made, fertilizer is added if necessary, and seedlings are buried to a depth of 10 cm. The distance between rows is 60 cm, between tubers is 30 cm.

The disembarkation time may vary in different regions and depends directly on the temperature outside the window.

Watering

According to agricultural cultivation technology, the process of watering the crop is of no small importance. As practice shows, the Gala potato variety does not particularly like abundant moisture, and if the crop is planted in close proximity to water bodies, various diseases cannot be avoided.

However, it is worth considering some features:

1. After the potatoes are completely planted, you need to water them. Each bush should require an average of two liters of water.
2. During the hot summer, moderate watering is maintained. Therefore, each should take no more than one and a half liters of water.

Often, gardeners resort to drip irrigation. In this case, the water consumption remains the same as described above.

Hilling

Under certain conditions, with the help of high-quality hilling, summer residents increase productivity. Hilling is the process of raking earth towards a plant, and the formation is carried out in the form of a slide.

During the growing season, it is recommended to carry out several hilling procedures:

1. The first time occurs at the moment when the bushes begin to sprout and actively gain growth.
2. The second time after the first heavy watering.

It is important to constantly monitor the weather. For example, if the soil has warmed up by more than +25 degrees Celsius, and the temperature outside is about +30 degrees, then hilling should be postponed.

Advice! In hot weather, it is better to get rid of weeds and loosen the soil.

Top dressing

It is very important to fertilize during the growing season. It is recommended to approach this process responsibly and carefully. If you incorrectly calculate the dosage and apply more than required, you can destroy the crop.

In the fall, during the preparation of the land, 5 kg of manure and 15 g of potassium sulfate should be sprinkled on each square meter of land. All this needs to be placed at a depth of 10-15 cm.

In the spring, before planting, add peat manure or compost. Also, for each square meter you will need - 30 g of nitrophoska, 20 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of potassium sulfate.

Before hilling, apply root fertilizer in liquid form. Water and litter are mixed in proportions of 1 to 10. After the fertilizer is applied, you need to water the potatoes well.

Diseases and pests

Despite the fact that Gala potatoes tolerate a number of diseases well and are resistant to the appearance of the Colorado potato beetle, this does not mean at all that preventive measures aimed at protection can be neglected. When late blight appears, the amount of harvest decreases sharply, as does the storage period of finished products. Even budget funds are suitable for disease prevention.

Insects, such as wireworms and mole crickets, can also cause significant harm. Insecticides have proven themselves well in the fight against them. Preparations for combating mole crickets are recommended in the holes during the planting process and during the first hilling.

Harvesting

Potatoes ripen 80 days after planting the seeds. At this time, you can begin harvesting. Before you start digging up root crops, it is recommended to completely remove the tops from the area. If planting was carried out in regions with cold climatic conditions, then the tops are removed in advance - for 2 weeks. Thanks to this solution, not only will the growth of tubers stop, but also a strong skin will form, which will ensure a long shelf life for the winter.

Care

Caring for the Gala variety is not difficult. The most important thing is to provide it with enough moisture.

Be sure to periodically loosen the soil. Already 5 days after landing, this event is held. In the future, it is repeated as a crust appears on the ground. To protect against temperature changes, hilling is done.

Water three times a season, if there is a drought, then more often. Manipulations are carried out in the morning or evening using a watering can with a spray.

You shouldn’t overwater the plant, even though it loves moisture.

Characteristic diseases, their prevention and treatment

The Gala potato variety attracts many gardeners because it does not cause much trouble during cultivation. The only serious problem is rhizoctonia. This disease is caused by a fungus that infects the plant through the soil (sometimes individual infected tubers can become a source of the fungus). Signs of damage are small brown sores that form on sprouts, or dense dark lumps on tubers.

When infected with rhizoctonia, the entire plant suffers: the stem, the root system, and sprouts.

Rhizoctoniosis manifests itself in the form of brown sores

This disease, if left untreated, can reduce yields by up to 20%. Rhizoctoniasis can be prevented by adhering to the following prevention recommendations:

1. Planting should not be done in cold soil.
2. You can pre-treat the tubers with a solution of boric acid or borax (in this case, a concentration of no more than one and a half percent is suitable).
3. After the seedlings appear, you can spray them with Zircon (about 0.3 ml per bucket of water is required).

Feeding

The variety has a positive attitude towards fertilizing, although it can easily function without it. Before fertilizing, loosening is carried out. Contribute:

1. Chicken droppings diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 10. Water the furrows between the bushes.
2. Urea (a tablespoon per 10 liters of water). One bush needs 0.5 liters.
3. Ammonium nitrate at the rate of 20 g per 10 liters of water.

You can also use dry fertilizers. Scatter ½ teaspoon of urea under each bush.

Potato propagation methods

The Gala variety can be propagated quite successfully vegetatively. To do this, the tubers are placed in boxes in one layer and covered with moistened peat or chopped straw. Next, the boxes are placed for germination in a room with an air temperature of + 18 + 20 degrees. After young shoots appear and reach a height of 14-16 cm, you can carefully separate them from the mother tuber and plant them in a permanent growing place.

Seed material begins to be selected when the potatoes are still growing, noting the strongest bushes. When digging, the rules for selecting seed material are also observed.

Reviews

Stepan, Kursk : The Gala variety seems to me the most promising. You can plant it almost at any time; it produces a harvest early, and it is always of high quality and tasty. I constantly produce healthy and beautiful potatoes, without damage. I like that it can be easily cleaned and remains just as attractive when cooked. The taste is beyond praise. Ideal for frying!

Nadezhda, Ivanovo : I was pleased with the quality of Gala. The tubers are all the same size, beautiful, smooth. I didn’t particularly care for the plant, since I didn’t have time at all. I even managed to forget about him. And it unexpectedly produced 20 tubers per bush! And this is with almost complete lack of care. Of course, I will recommend him.

Alena, Poltava : Neighbors gave us several potato tubers to plant. They said it was the Gala variety. We didn’t expect anything special from this plant, but it unexpectedly gave us 10 buckets of harvest. I must say that potatoes are stored well; they were in our basement for a long time. I boiled it and fried it - it turned out great. Now I will only plant it at my dacha.

Rules for planting seed potatoes

When planting Gala (Elite) potatoes, the following conditions must be observed:

1. Maintain a distance between potatoes of at least 60 cm, in rows - a distance of 50-60 cm;
2. You should not plant 2-3 tubers in 1 hole. This will significantly reduce the quality and quantity of the new harvest;
3. The depth of the hole is 13-15 cm.

There are other landing options:

Table 1.4 - Potato planting methods