Despite the fact that potatoes appeared in our area relatively recently and took root "with a creak", today it is difficult to imagine not only any feast, but also a vegetable garden without it. Now these are not just edible tubers from the Solanaceae genus, but a whole culture with many varieties and varieties.

Red Fantasy potatoes are very popular among gardeners - a Dutch table variety with a red skin. It was withdrawn relatively recently and already in 2011 was included in the State Register of the Russian Federation, which zoned it for the Central and Volga-Vyatka regions.

Characteristic features and parameters of the variety

Fantasy potatoes are resistant to weather changes, but at the same time they are quite sensitive to soil temperature. The variety belongs to the mid-ripening variety - the ripening period of tubers is from 90 to 110 days.

A very important parameter when choosing a variety is its yield. Red Fantasy keeps its brand here too. With good care and favorable climatic conditions, its yield is 260-380, and according to some data, up to 400 centners per hectare.

The pink-purple flowers are collected in medium and small inflorescences that produce few berries. Depending on the region and climatic conditions, an upright shrub can be tall or medium. It bushes well and has an extensive root system. The leaves are rather large, although the general foliage of the bush is moderate. The color of the leaves is light green, with veins.

Red Fantasy Potatoes

Red Fantasy tubers are quite large, their weight reaches 90-140 g. Up to 10-12 potatoes can form under one bush, with very few small and non-commercial specimens. For this property, the variety is especially appreciated by those who grow it for sale.

The crop is distinguished by its excellent presentation - the fruits are oval, elongated, even and neat. The evenly colored peel is rather thin, and the small eyes are located superficially and at the same time are few in number.

Additional Information. The cut fruits are yellow, which is not lost during cooking. The moderate starch content (13.5-21.5%) allows the variety to be used universally: for cooking, frying and baking, as well as for dietary and baby food.

Another important feature of this variety is its excellent transportability and keeping quality of tubers. If the proper storage conditions are provided, the potatoes will survive until next spring without losing their presentation and taste.

Features of agricultural technology

It is necessary to start planting potatoes Fantasy at the right time: when the earth has already warmed up enough, but still retained the remnants of winter moisture. In each region, this period falls on a different time and depends on climatic conditions in general and the characteristics of the weather in each current year.

Alena potatoes

Although this variety prefers moist soil, redundancy is unacceptable in this matter. You should not choose places for planting with a close occurrence of groundwater or in lowlands, where melt water accumulates in spring. Before planting, the soil must be prepared: dig up and loosen to the depth of a shovel bayonet, remove the roots of perennial plants.

Before buying planting material, you need to make sure that it is of good quality and corresponds to the variety. For further cultivation, the best representatives are selected - potatoes with an even, neat surface, healthy and large. Small tubers will also sprout, but the yield will be incomparably less.To be sure of the varietal belonging of the purchased tubers, it is better to make purchases from trusted sellers or in specialized institutions.

The prepared tubers can be germinated a few weeks before planting. But, since the variety belongs to the mid-season, this procedure is not mandatory for it. Preparation consists in dressing planting material, which will protect the plant from pests and diseases.

Since this variety differs from its relatives in rather large growth and bushiness, it is necessary to plant planting material in the holes at a distance of at least 30-40 cm.It is also worth taking care of wide aisles - this will facilitate further planting care and allow the bushes to grow freely without interfering with each other friend.

Cultivation of the Red Fantasy variety

The sufficient depth of embedding the tubers in the soil is 10-12 cm. It is recommended to lay humus or wood ash on the bottom of the holes, which will provide the plants with optimal nutrition. After planting, the rows are mulched with straw.

Experienced farmers note that this type of potato gives a higher yield when organizing drip irrigation, which allows you to maintain optimal and constant moisture in the plantings.

Further care for potatoes is universal:

  • Top dressing;
  • Hilling;
  • Regular loosening;
  • Watering;
  • Colorado potato beetle collection.

Top dressing is recommended up to 2-3 times per season, alternating mineral and organic fertilizers. At the same time, for the Red Fantasy variety, it is recommended to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizers by 10%, compared to other potato varieties - when using them, the bushes actively increase the green mass to the detriment of tuber formation.

The first feeding is carried out with nitrogen fertilizers so that the bushes grow faster. The optimal time is two weeks after disembarkation. The second time, potatoes are fertilized with a complex mineral agent. Its composition should be dominated by potassium and phosphorus, which are necessary for the active formation of tubers. The procedure is carried out during the flowering period of the bushes and the laying of the future harvest. The third and final dressing is necessary a few weeks before harvesting the potatoes. Its purpose is to enrich the tubers with nutrients, so this time organic products are used (cow dung or chicken dung in the form of an aqueous infusion).

It is necessary to huddle the plantings only before the first buds appear, until the tubers begin to form. This procedure allows you to protect seedlings from return frosts or Colorado beetles overwintered in the soil, and in addition additionally loosens the soil, providing the roots with access to fresh air. This allows you to accelerate the growth of green mass and increase the yield of the bush. It is also recommended to loosen the soil after each watering and rain, while removing grown weeds.

Harvesting and storage of crops

You can start digging in the first tubers as early as mid-July, but the main harvest falls on the period from late August to early September. Cleaning is recommended to coincide with dry sunny weather. They dig out the potatoes in the morning and let them dry right in the beds until the evening. Then the harvested tubers are harvested in a shady, well-ventilated place where it will be stored for the next two weeks. The remaining tops should be burned immediately, as beetles, pest larvae, harmful microorganisms, pathogens can remain on it.

During this time, it is necessary to check the potatoes several times and discard all suspicious specimens - even one spoiled potato can ruin the entire crop during storage. After two weeks, the potatoes are transferred to ventilated containers - boxes or containers. To protect it from mold, it is sprinkled with ash. It is better to store the harvested crop in a cellar or basement.

Harvesting

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Potatoes Kumach

Red Fantasy is a potato with unique characteristics.Its creators really did their best, and it is almost impossible to single out any flaws in the variety. But he has quite a lot of advantages and all are significant:

  • large, uniform in size, neat tubers of excellent presentation;
  • excellent keeping quality and transportability - appearance and taste, under proper conditions, remain for a very long time;
  • rich and memorable taste;
  • bright color of the pulp, which remains after cooking;
  • resistance to the main diseases of potatoes: common scab, cancer, late blight, black leg, leaf-rolling virus, ring and wet rot;
  • versatility in use;
  • undemanding care.

Although a long description allows you to get some idea about the features of the variety, it is better to decide and at least once try to grow Red Fantasy potatoes on your site. Most gardeners and farmers (from beginners to big entrepreneurs) agree that this variety has become one of the most successful of its kind. High yields with unpretentiousness to conditions make its cultivation not only easy, but also quite profitable.