Potatoes

I'm growing potatoes for the first time this year . I have done quite a bit of reading up on them and have read two different instructions. One says to completely cover the foliage when it starts to come up, let it come up some more, cover it again, and then let it come up. The other says to let it come up a bit, cover it only partially, let it grow some more, and cover it again only partially.

So do I cover it completely or partially? I have read more places to cover it completely than partially, so I covered it completely, but I could brush some away if I goofed.

Also, I can tell I'm going to run out of dirt before a 'hill' of the proper size is made so I'm going to have to add more stuff, like bought composted dirt. I have some bags of chicken manure, which is aged and ready to go. Can I put a thin layer of that over the dirt that I just covered the foliage with, sort of alternate the chicken manure with the dirt to 'fill in.' I also have access to well-aged horse manure which I'm picking up tomorrow.

Thanks,
Gwen

Gwen, I usually cover mine with about 6" of the tops showing, works for me. Once I get a fairly good sized hill or 'run out of dirt', I just mulch between the rows with lawn clippings, just fill it right up to the top of the hills. This year I'm using spoiled hay for mulch that was given to me by a neighborhood farmer. This also helps to preserve moisture. Just got mine hilled today, now ready to mulch.

Be carefull with the manure, taters don't like it and will probably "scab".

Okay, I will leave the manure off. Thanks for that tip. I recall reading that there were certain things that other plants love that potatoes don't. I'll just stick with dirt, grass clippings, and straw, which I have already.

I'm really excited to see how these do. I planted 4 pounds, 1 each of 4 different varieties. I'm hoping they will last us a while and will do well in storage. Unfortunately we don't have any kind of a root cellar nor any hopes of making one as we live on flat. :( When we were looking for houses, there was one with a root cellar built into the side of a small hill - it doesn't take much - and I thought it was so cool. Hated the house but loved that root cellar and also a chicken yard they had going.

Gwen

What is the purpose of covering up any of the potato foliage?

I planted these Red Pontiacs five weeks ago and they're now a little over a foot tall. Been too soggy until now to add the straw beneath, but a nice thick bed of it is on the schedule for the weekend. :)

This message was edited May 27, 2005 7:34 PM

TuttiFruitti,

The new spuds form on the stems above the seed potato as the plant grows. The more stem you cover as it grows, the more potatoes you'll harvest. So pull some dirt up around those plants, you won't hurt them!

Nice, healthy looking plants, you obviously don't have the same problem that I have with the Colorado potato beattle. They've been brutal here this year!

If I don't forget, I'll take a picture of my hilled potatoes tomorrow and post it tomorrow night, I don't have them mulched yet so you can see what I've done. This is the traditional way to hill potatoes as my Dad and Grandpa used to do it.

Here's one from last year taken on June 27th, 2004. Already hilled and mulched. I fill the "V" created by hilling to the top of the mounds on each row. You can just mulch potatoes and they'll do well if you keep adding mulch as they grow but but I like to both hill and mulch, seems to do better for me.

Oops! Should have looked further, found this one taken on May 11th, 2004, with them just being hilled. Incidently, these are Kennebec potatoes, the same as I'm raising this year.

Red, this is exactly the kind of information I needed and didn't know to look for! The few folks around here that I know that grow potatoes never much bothered with hilling... perhaps because we're in a more urban setting and they were just grateful for anything that showed up. :)

(and thanks for the compliments on the plants; I'm rather proud about how pretty they look)

I have 10 of these plants in a 20-foot row, and at least two wheelbarrows full of clean dirt from other places in the yard, so we're definitely gonna be hilling them up a bit tomorrow.

Got another question though, regarding watering, and specifically with T-tape.

Currently, we have a T-tape line running on top of the soil along one side of the potato plants. Should we pick it up temporarily when we add the extra dirt, then plop it back on top afterwards? We're definitely going to be mulching with straw at some point afterwards, yet the T-tape can be buried in the dirt up to 24 inches.

Hmm, I'd like to know the answer to that T-tape question too. I'm hilling my potatoes tomorrow, with a combination of topsoil/compost and straw. Got about 25 plants, plus two in a big bin for the kids to fiddle with. They're growing like crazy, despite the flea beetles.

D bury the T Tape it will be more efficient that way. The down side is buried T Tape makes harvesting a little more difficult. Be sure to bury it right side down to avoid plugging it up. Ernie

I seldom water my taters unless we really have a drought, just mulch to hold the moisture in the ground. Too much water is not good for potatoes, it makes them grow too fast and are apt to get hollow-hearted.

I never really hill my potatoes. I just plant them a couple inches deep and then mulch with a few inches of leaves, etc. when they get about 6" tall. The mulch is mostly to hold the soil temps and moisture. We usually have more than plenty of potatoes. This year I'm having to dispose of nealy a banana box of very small shrivled ones that are sprouting wildly. I cut the amount I usually plant in half this year.

leaflady;

I had a few that were the same way, with lots of long sprouts. I laid them on top of the soil in one corner of my garden and covered them with rotted hay. Today I noticed that some of them are growing up through the hay. I'm going to add about 6" more hay and see how they do.

The lesson I'm reading is that just because we *CAN* water doesn't mean we ought to, and a part of the reason for using heavy mulch is to reduce water costs as much as possible.

So, we'll definitely be placing a valve at the main line to the potato row so we don't overwater just because our tomato and pepper rows are thirsty. And that valve only costs $1.50, if that. :)

Thanks Ernie and Red!
Donna