Topic: another question - hoeing up potatoes

[Mushy Pea]

Hi again,

Lots of questions at the moment.  We have a few potatoes shooting ;D and their noses are perhaps an inch above the soil.  Do we hoe them up now or wait a bit longer?

Thanks

[posie]

I think its between 4 and 6 inches that you start earthing them up.  Someone else more knowledgeable than me may say otherwise!

[amphibian]

Leave them, wait til you can earth them up without burying them. Though strangely enough many people build the mounds up when they sow them, cannot understand why.

[Gazfoz]

Probably to save themselves time/work.

[Larkshall]

They don't need to be "earthed-up", my father always dug the ground over and planted the potatoes at the same time. The only reason for earthing-up is to keep the tubers from going green, these days you can do the same job with a lot less work. You could cover the ground with black plastic (pierce holes through it to allow the water through) or better still, use Taram (the material used to prevent weeds growing through tarmac) this is woven material which allows the water through anyway. Using black plastic or Taram will prevent the weeds growing as well. Taram will last several years.

[northener]

can you put taram straight down or does the foliage need some light

[tomatoada]

I believe you can use grass clippings but I don't know if they have to be fresh or whether you can use them from bags which have been stored.  Does anyone know?

[manicscousers]

we use both, a tip from bob flowerdew, when you can't earth the spuds up any more, do a newspaper collar, fit it around, cover with grass clippings, keeps the spuds from getting green  ;D

[littlegem]

i used grass clipping the other year and they were fine, far less work involved!  this year I am doing my new pots in grow bags, compost bags and marshalls pot bags and i will be topping/earthing up with grass clippings, shredded paper and straw.  I reckon i will be able to feed them enough with the compost i've already used and a little top up of liuid feed so the stuff i put on just to keep the light off won't need any feed within itself

[Uncle Joshua]

I "earth up" my potatoes when I plant them, I never understand waiting to do it and having done it that way since  I was 7 (33 years this year) I have never had a problem.

[littlegem]

i 'earth up' my pots on the ground cos it helps with the weeding, and i 'earth up' my pots in the bags with stuff cos it costs less than compost. I have heard of peeps planting there pots really far down and not earthing up and they seem to have plentiful crops. i think it's a case of '6 of one, half a dozen of the other' what ever makes you happy and whatever works for you. like the old saying goes, if it aint broke - dont fix it. so.. if it works - keep doing it!

[Larkshall]

can you put taram straight down or does the foliage need some light

Of course, you need to make holes for the  the potato tops to grow through. The best way to do this is to cut a cross in the taram where you are going to plant the potato (same with black plastic).

It would be interesting to know if "earthing-up" was done before farmers started using ridger ploughs, or were ridger ploughs invented to carry on a previous practice.

[northener]

Mick -its better to ridge up as they grow that way you're weeding as well.

[Mushy Pea]

Thank you for all your interesting ideas.

Showing my ignorance now - will the potatoes grow on the shoots that are showing now above ground if we 'earth up' or cover with grass etc, or is the idea of covering just to stop the pots. under the ground from going green?

Hope I have explained that okay.

Thanks

[Robert_Brenchley]

Covering them buries part of the stem, and if you bury enough, tubers will grow on it. If you grow them on the flat, you can get more plants into the space; if you plant rows and earth up, then in theory you get more spuds per plant. Covering also stops the spuds going green, and mulching with grass keeps the soil moist and feeds the plants.