Topic: Earthing up potatoes at planting time

[gavinjconway]

I was speaking to my father in law and he says he has always earthed up his potatoes at planting time and has done for donkeys years.. He digs a 10" trench, puts some food in, plants his spuds and earth up about a 14" above ground level slightly dished on top to catch rain ..  BTW he does grow a good crop of spuds and is self sufficient every year.. Does anyone else do this? 

[jimtheworzel]

yes...me

[gavinjconway]

Hi Jim - do you have good results from this method? It does seem a  far easier way..

[Steve.]

I did this too for the first time this year, I did have a few green ones this year on my main crops (near the top of the earthed up bit), but I'll just earth those up later in the season next time round, I think even though they where earthed up that rain knocked that down and I did not notice.

Steve...:)

[peanuts]

Years ago, when I was  first starting a veg patch, I used to watch our neighbour meticulously and slowly prepare his ground for planting potatoes,  making a trench, placing wooden boards beside it to stop the earth falling back in, putting compost in it etc, planting the potatoes, earth back on top and earthing it up.  Result was always good and looked beautiful too!
But it was me doing the veg not my husband, and that was simply too much hard work for me.  10 inch trenches - no way!
All I have ever done is to place my potatoes in a line on the ground (previously dug over), then go along with a trowel and plant  them one by one as deeply as I could do.  Once that line was done I would rake from one side until there was a nice neat heaped up line.  Then tackle the next line.  When they emerged I would  briefly rake  more earth up, but only once.  After that I use a mix of straw (lots) and fresh grass cuttings. 
I've always had good crops, and it has been much much less effort, it seems to me!

[Flighty]

A plot neighbour does that but I do the same as Peanuts as it's much less work. We both seem to get similar results.

[Duke Ellington]

We don't eat many potatoes but we do grow main crop in a raised 10x4 bed. We dig a trench plant our potatoes and no earthing up. earthing up is really hard to do in a raised bed. We had an excellent crop of Desiree this year.

Duke

[pumkinlover]

I used to do a trench, then earth up with the soil from the next trench. Occaisionally the poor tattie never found it's way to the top! but did work.
Now I do not dig, and find earthing up a good way of weeding as it acts like a hoe. Then go on to mulches.
Many methods achieve the same end result, none are wrong ;)

[kt.]

I dig a trench, line it with manure in the bottom, then line the seed potatoes along the manure before filling in the trench with the contents of the next one.  I earth up once, possibly twice during growing season.

[manicscousers]

We use a bulb planter then earth up then mulch. Our muck is piled on the beds in autumn and not dug  ;D

[jimtheworzel]

i plant by tilling a row with the rotovator,   step 1 plant by using a trowel or bulb planter
step 2  then till second row and rake the soil over the planted row to form a mound over the potatoes then repeat steps 1 and 2 till all the spuds are planted

jim

[cornykev]

I make a line and make a small tench with the mattock, using the trench as a line
Next I dig a hole where the spud is going in then fill in the hole and trench when the line is finished
Sticks are lined at each end so I can keep an eye on where they are coming up
The reason I don't earth up at the start is because when they grow they don't always grow in the perfect line
So the earthing up for me is pointless, as they can grow out the side and produces green spuds
This is my way of doing it, earthing 2/3 times as I go, I find that earthing it as you go also helps by hoeing the weeds.
 ;D

[gavinjconway]

Hi Guys - thanks for all the replies.. It seems that it is a done thing these days so i'll do it this year.. saves a lot of work..

[saddad]

As Kev says... if you earth up to start they sometimes come out at angles... lower down than the ridge...
we do though!  :-X

[antipodes]

A good way to do it, but you need a friend! One of you gets the spade and dig right down the spade's length. Then lift the spade forwards, so there is a good sized gap in the soil. You don't actually pull out the spade! Friend is behind you and while you hold up the soil, They shove the spuddy down into the hole. You then lift slightly and slide out the spade. Spud is down a good spade depth and there is no actual digging.

I would then earth up a little as they grow but it's more cos it looks attractive! I then mulch.

[Kleftiwallah]

The same way I've seen them (on't box) planting tree seedlings.   

I 'm a little concerned the spud will run out of goodness for growing before the leaves are deployed and catching the sun !   ::)    Cheers,     Tony.

[chriscross1966]

I earth up at planting by rotavating in the ridges and then using a dibber to plant as deeply as I can.... might ttry to practice doing it properly next year, rotavate in ridges, put the potatoes in the trenches formed between ridges then   re-ridge over the spuds with the rotavator.... but I'm a bit worried I'll rotor over the spuds adn trash them.... I do grow quite a lot in pots, generally I find the bl;ue-fleshed ones are a lot easier to harvest if you can tip the pot out into a big seive on the barrow.....

[willsy]

Last year I helped my friend on her plot as she works full time and was getting letters about her plot. All we did was dig down with a bulb planter then plant the potatoes. We sprinkled the ground with slug pellets then covered with black polythene. Cut holes in the plastic as the potatoes grew and she got a brilliant crop. I am going to do the same next year as a trial. I'm finding it harder now as I'm getting older so may do the no dig this year. Manure then plant through.

[plainleaf]

i have my potato patch ready to do the bowcock method for potatoes.

[gavinjconway]

i have my potato patch ready to do the bowcock method for potatoes.

what is this method... ?