Topic: Ready to start planting tatties...but need some help.

[Les_Woof]

Morning all,

Finally we have got two plots ready to go after the back breaking cleaning up operation on our lottie.

We thought that we would get some tatties planted (early's are probably still ok - aren't they, cos wilko are selling some earlys cheap!)

What do we do?  

I always have memories of my Granda's potatoes and the ground where they grew looked something like  _/\_/\_/\_/\_ if you get my drift?
And at the moment our plot looks like _____________

Where do I plant the potato?  ???

How far apart? ???

Hope you can help? :)

Thanks

Les.

[MissBaritone]

According to Kitchen Garden (tyne tees programme)  leave ground flat. Place taties on surface about a foot apart. Place seaweed on top to keep off slugs cover in straw. Plants will grow through straw. No need to earth up with this method. To harvest remove straw and spuds will be lying on top of earth. Use straw as basis for compost heap.

[Les_Woof]

Thanks

that sounds a very easy method of growing potatoes....just two small problems....

Haven't been anywhere near the sea for about 2 years (so we have no seaweed) and we have no straw.......

But rest assured will be on the look out for it....anything for an easy life.

Thanks again

les  :) :)

[jethro]

Hi Les-wolf, the seaweed can be bought in calcified form from any garden centre, the straw you can get from any farmer. It's a easy way to grow pots, saves on the back  ;D you can also cover the straw with grass cuttings but no more than 8 inches.

Hope this helps.

[Moggle]

Hiya, I know nothing about spuds really, but have started a few off in pots, and read a load of threads about potatoes.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=1914;start=0

Theres some info in that one about earthing up and no-dig methods. There's also quite a few threads about spuds in the 'edible plants' section, if you go back a few pages.

Good luck  :D

[Les_Woof]

Thanks Moggle

I read the thread you highlighted........ :o :o :o i think I am even more confused now. I haven't got a clue what to do now.

I think that whilst I still have the energy i will use a digging/trench method.

So come tomorrow I probably wont be able to straighten up but the exercise will be worth it....

Thanks for the advise......

Les.

[The gardener]

For what it is worth and each to their own. I think most of us have our own preferances when planting seed potatoes.

My way is simply to get my 'bulb' planter out and sink it into the ground I pre-prepared with farm yard manure last OCT/NOV.

Once the hole is formed I pop in a tuber, sprouts uppermost, then just fill in the hole.

Once the haulms appear I commence 'earthing up'.

Sometimes I earth up a couple of times a season.

So yet another method to think about.

[Les_Woof]

Thanks to you The Gardener.

The lottie we have has not been used for at least 3 seasons that we know of.

We have managed to clear all the mess, weeds, brambles and the like and have got some areas ready to plant in so the ground has not been as well prepared as yours yet...it will be next year though!

Do you think that your method would be suitable for our plot as it seams to be somwhere in between a no dig and a trench situation, which appeals to me.  I have gotten lazy in the last 2 hours!!!!!!!!

Thanks

Les.

[The gardener]

Do you mean you have dug the plot but have not been able to add FYM ?

Yes you should be OK. I look to farm yard manure more as a moisture retention agent rather than a fertilising aid. (fertiliser content of FYM can be so varied! as has been covered before in the forum)

So depending upon how wet/dry a season we get your crop will probably be goverened more by this.

Prior to planting out rake in a handfull of general fertiliser per square yard over the area to be planted.

I hope that answers your question.

[gavin]

Hi Les - much the same as The_Gardener, ecxept I dig a 6-8 inch trench quickly and roughly; and pop a layer of new cut grass in the bottom, lay pots in, and cover.

I either fill in the trench so it's flat again and earth up through the season, or make the ridge immediately.

Good luck - Gavin

[kenkew]

Ditto, more or less on Gavins method. Trench, lay pot's, cover and continue to rake soil over any green that shows through until I run out of soil, after which time I have a fair old heap on top of the pot's and trenches alongside where I took the soil from. In a way I'm moving the trench a foot or so to one side!

[Mrs Ava]

Good, thats what I did, dug trench the width of plot, spade and a bit deep I guess, piling earth spoil up on one side so it looked like a valley, I was impressed with this as it looked like the pics in the books, then plonked spuds in bottom of trench and covered with earth, just to cover them by a few inches, so there is still a now slightly smaller valley effect.  This earth will then be raked into the valley during the growing season to earth pots up so eventually I guess the ground will be more of less level again.  

One chap marked his row then dug holes with his trowel, dropped spud in and covered and another used a bulb planted type thingy.

[Sparky]

is it just earlies i should be planting now or has everyone else put their main crop varieties in as well?

Sparky

[Mrs Ava]

I shan't be putting my main croppers in until the kids go back after easter, so mid April time.  I think that is about right, well, it has to be for me.  :-\