2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Recently, more and more outlandish fruits and vegetables have appeared on the market. Potatoes are no exception - it turns out that they can also be unusual! For example, the Kiwi potato, which looks very similar to the popular exotic fruit! Someone believes that this potato variety was bred on the basis of genetic engineering, while someone is convinced that it was obtained in the course of the most ordinary crossing. So where did it come from, what does it look like, and is it difficult to grow it?
What does Kiwi potato look like?
The average height of the bushes for potatoes of the Kiwi variety reaches eighty centimeters. Its straight shoots are equipped with a truly incredible number of twigs, each of which is densely covered with leaves that have a hairy structure and a rough surface. And the edges of the leaf blades are cut with tiny notches. As for the color of the leaves, it can be called emerald!
During the flowering period, the tops of the vegetative shoots are covered with graceful light lilac inflorescences, which, after some time, turn into unusual green balls. The fruits usually ripen four months after planting, if weather conditions are favorable.
Kiwi potato tubers are characterized by a rather unusual shape with rounded and slightly elongated edges, and their thin skin boasts impressive mesh. In addition, it is slightly rough to the touch. The flesh of the Kiwi potato almost always has a snow-white color, however, sometimes there are specimens with a brownish tint. And since this pulp is characterized by a rather high density, it needs a very long heat treatment. By the way, during harvesting you can see only large and medium-sized tubers - there are almost never small ones! And it is for this that many gardeners fell in love with this variety!
Where do these potatoes come from?
According to some sources, this unusual vegetable was bred by amateur breeders in the Kaluga region in the nineties of the last century. Perhaps that is why this variety was never awarded registration in the state register of plants of the Russian Federation. And scientific research on this potato has not been carried out either!
Currently, Kiwi potatoes can be most often encountered in the Kuban and in central Russia. Some people fear that such a potato is a genetically modified product, therefore, eating it is dangerous to health, but this assumption has not been supported by any direct evidence! And the fact that the foliage of the Kiwi potato is not devoured by Colorado beetles is due to the presence in it of a special substance that repels these harmful insects. Wireworms, by the way, also do not like to feast on the tubers of Kiwi potatoes, and this potato is also very resistant to various diseases - scab, macrosporiosis or late blight is not at all afraid of him!
Is it difficult to grow?
As for the cultivation of Kiwi potatoes, this process does not cause absolutely any difficulties. In central Russia, this unusual crop is usually planted in late April or early May - more exact dates will depend on the type of soil and weather conditions. And in cool regions, Kiwi potatoes begin to be planted only with the onset of June, when the earth has time to warm up properly.
It will not be superfluous to calculate in advance the timing of harvesting - as a rule, it takes about one hundred and twenty days to fully ripen Kiwi potatoes, that is, about four months.
The area where the Kiwi potatoes will grow should be free of airflow and sufficiently well lit, without any shaded areas with "obstructions" such as fences, trees or building walls. It is advisable to take care of the convenience of access to the beds! In addition, from time to time, the soil will need high-quality fertilizing - as a rule, humus, compost, potash or phosphate fertilizers, and manure are used for these purposes. And with the onset of spring, it will not hurt to add at least a little ash to the soil!
Kiwi potatoes are planted with a distance of about ninety centimeters - this is due to the truly incredible spreading of its bushes. But the planting depth will depend on the soil - on loam, eight centimeters will be enough, but on sod or podzolic soil, the planting depth will have to be increased to ten centimeters.
And a little about crop rotation - you shouldn't plant Kiwi potatoes after tomatoes or peppers with eggplants, but if you plant them after cucumbers, legumes, and also after pumpkin or cabbage, it will certainly delight you with excellent harvests!
Would you like to try growing such an unusual potato on your plot?
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