Chapter 80: Potatoes Are Poisonous

First, the requirement for soil when planting potatoes is very strict. Only soil with a deep layer, loose structure, good drainage and ventilation, and rich in organic matter is the most suitable environment for potato growth.

And that's not all. The growth and development of potatoes require more than ten types of nutrients, and they have a considerable demand for fertilizers.

If a plot of land continues to grow potatoes, due to the absorption of soil fertility by the potatoes, the soil fertility will greatly decline. In the second year, the yield of continuous cultivation plots must be reduced, and the quality of tubers also declines. In particular, diseases, pests, and weed problems will occur more severely.

Even the protagonist of The Martian, when planting potatoes on Mars, reused the vacuum-dried feces stored by previous astronauts, fermented them into manure, and only then began to cultivate potatoes.