Topic: The Ritual of Earthing Up Potatoes

[George the Pigman]

The time has come for me to earth up my spuds. I have never been totally convinced of the arguments for doing this. I've searched the web and various opinions seem to be offered
1)To protect from frost.
3) To increase the yield by allowing more tubers to form from the stem covered by the raised soil layer
2) To prevent spuds from "greening up" due to them being partly on the surface and exposed to light

Has anyone any real evidence that earthing up actually helps with these or is it just an agricultural myth!!

[peanuts]

No real evidence either way, as I've never done a controlled experiment!  I earth up at the time of planting, so they are really quite deep, probably nearly a foot.  Then that is it.  I put straw over the early ones to protect them from frost, but not the main crop ones.  But more straw over those later on, to protect them from getting green.  Once the sun arrives (not sure where it has gone this year), the earth gets too hard to earth up, and I get too hot.  Perhaps yields might be better, who knows, but we always have enough to last us until April, when I have to start buying again, so I am happy with our method.

[Digeroo]

It does get rid of the weeds and make them look neat and tidy.    I am trying no dig, and so they are covered with straw which looks very scruffy.

I have had problems with the spuds greening up so I think that they do need covering in something.  Did very well last year with piles of weeds.

[pumkinlover]

Last year I earthed up with leaves/ leaf mould . "Digging " out the spuds was a pleasure (but then it is probably the highlight of my year anyway!) What I mean is they came out nice and clean and the earth was nice and crumbly.
Like Digeroo I have problems with greening if not done sufficiently. (ps are you going to change your name to Nodigeroo )

[Obelixx]

Farmers don't earth up.  They just plant them with a machine that makes a mound of soil over them so the earthing up is built in.   Round here the foliage has been showing for a week or so and will gallop away now that it's getting warmer again.

Last year on GW Monty Don grew some of his in his new raised beds with no earthing up and got similar yields to the ones in flat beds and earthed up.  I don't usually bither with spuds as we tend not to eat very many anyway and I prefer to give space to crops which are hard to find or expensive in the shops.  However, I found 7 sprouted in the pantry and have planted those in a raised bed and won't be earthing up.  Just have to wait and see how that works.

[Digeroo]

Round here the foliage has been showing for a week

Not sure where you are but the plants are about two feet plus tall around here.

I am going back to digging next year, not convinced about the no dig.  Plot currently rather a mess, too many volunteer potatoes.  If I had dug I would have eaten them.

[Obelixx]

Central Belgium and spuds went in later than usual because of all the rain this winter and then a hot dry spell which wasn't conducive and a recent cold spell which has slowed down the shoots.   On the other hand, the winter cereals are already ripening and turning gold beacuse they haven't had a big freeze this year.

[Palladium]

I plant mine through black weed control film (synthetic fabric that lets water through) and do nothing between planting the tubers and digging them up.  I build a bit of a hump for each row, usually made from a compost mulch as they are planted.  Works well for me, I am all for labour saving methods!

[juju]

goodness me!!!!!! I am already digging up my new spuds and they were lovely. all foliage on the lates are up 18" and I stopped Earthing them up since we had the last frost. I covered them up with pleanty of last years Autum leaves.

[gavinjconway]

Farmers don't earth up.  They just plant them with a machine that makes a mound of soil over them so the earthing up is built in.   Round here the foliage has been showing for a week or so and will gallop away now that it's getting warmer again.

Last year on GW Monty Don grew some of his in his new raised beds with no earthing up and got similar yields to the ones in flat beds and earthed up.  I don't usually bither with spuds as we tend not to eat very many anyway and I prefer to give space to crops which are hard to find or expensive in the shops.  However, I found 7 sprouted in the pantry and have planted those in a raised bed and won't be earthing up.  Just have to wait and see how that works.

Yeah farmers dont earth up but when they plant and ridge at the same time the spud is planted at least 18" deep..

[GREGME]

It's always made sense to me as the tubers don't usually form deeper that the seed potato so if you don't earth up you must plant deeper in soil which is probably cooler.
I dont worry if I have to chuck the odd greenish one but if you grow coloured potatoes the green ones are harder to spot.

[gavinjconway]

You can always feed the green ones to Aunty .... who you dont like very much..