Potatoes in deep beds - how deep?

[forkauk]

Given that earthing up is not really possible in a deep bed with plants spaced equally at about 30cm, how deep should we plant the tubers?  John Seymour suggests it should be possible to put them 18ins down, so last year I buried mine 15ins deep.  Results were not bad, but I'm considering planting (Maris Peer and Desiree) more shallowly this year - mainly to save time and effort, I suppose, but also to see what happens.

What do other people do?

[forkauk]

[Flunky]

I was wondering the same thing. I want to sow them on Thursday but need to get a bit more info.

[allaboutliverpool]

I mulched mine and had no problem with greening at all.

The question is are you covering up to protect the tubers, in which case a mulch will do, or are you aiming to protect young growth from frost, in which case fleece will do.

My web page  http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html

My potato YouTube  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL8ZknMQclM

[Lazybones]

I didn't earth mine up last year as, by the time I got round to it the soil was too hard.  Had a really low yield and won't be doing it again - I suppose if I planted them at a reasonable depth to start with it might have been different.  Mulch is a great idea - if I can get there before the rest of the plot holders do!

[antipodes]

Last year's got blight, but those I did get weren't green. No earthing up: I planted them a spade length down, so 20-30 cm, and I mulched them with straw.  I didn't regret it, they were easy to dig up and then I just turned the straw into the soil which has rotted down over winter and given me nice aerated soil : I just added some manure for the the onions I just planted.

[forkauk]

The question is are you covering up to protect the tubers, in which case a mulch will do, or are you aiming to protect young growth from frost, in which case fleece will do.

I was assuming, perhaps erroneously, that traditional earthing-up not only avoids greening of tubers, but also gives increased yield by encouraging the progressive development of the side shoots on which tubers are formed.  As close planting makes substantial earthing-up impossible, I wondered whether initial deep planting would have the same effect.

I'll use fleece to protect from late frosts. 

I'll try and mulch as the plants develop, but this will not be to the depth of earthing-up (it would overflow the raised bed!).  Would it be OK to use lawn mowings for this, or might they form a slimy layer?

[allaboutliverpool]

A half inch layer of grass cuttings is OK. They tend to dry out rather than go slimy, when dry, another half inch layer can be added, etc.
Once again, the worms drag it down.

[Barnowl]

I think you are right.  Earthing up does encourage further tuber formation. That's why when container growing you start with only 6" of soil over the seed potatoes. Then every time the haulms get about 5"-6" clear of the soil, you bury them in more soil until the container is full.

[Old bird]

Fourauk

I used grass clippings last year as a mulch over my potatoes and also my jerusalem artichokes more as a weed suppressant than anything else.

Worked perfectly - no the grass clippings didn't go slimy - but obviously you don't want to put 6" straight on top!  I added a few clippings every couple of weeks and it worked very well -  I didn't need to water either as they were keeping the moisture pretty well!  Mind you I don't think anyone needed to water last year!!

Good luck with yours!

Old Bird

[manicscousers]

we mulched up with rotted grass/leaves, when they got too big for that, we used sheets of newspaper, covered with grass clippings, a la Bob Flowerdew  ;D

[beckydore]

I am really getting quite confused about what to do about my potatoes - bought for the first time this year and looking like they need to get into the ground - they have shoots and roots - about 1 inch long!

I know that I'm supposed to plant them in troughs. Am I supposed to plant then cover them immediately with 5 to 6 in of earth?? IE covering up the shoots and roots???

and if I do that do I need to worry about frost now or only when they get through the 5 to 6 inches (and how long is that likely to take.

Becky  (totally confused).

[forkauk]

Thanks to all for the helpful replies.  I'll be harvesting my lawn for mulch this year, rather than putting it on the compost heap where it tends to make things slimy.

Next year, perhaps, I'll have put my lawns down to wheat (see my 'Prairies' post) and will have to make do with wheat straw as mulch ;)

[sarah]

dont panic beckydore there is more than one way to skin a cat and certainly more than one way of planting a spud.

yes you plant the seed potato and cover the shoots and roots.  they grow quite happily and when they come through you can earth up or not earth up. i usually do.  some people dig a hole and pop the seedspud in and cover; some people dig trenches and space the seedspuds out along that and then cover. soem people just lay the seedspud on the ground and cover with black fabric.  some people plant five or six inches deep and some people plant much deeper.

you need to worry about frost whenthe shoots come through which can take about two or three weeks from planting.  if frost is threatened at that time just cover with fleece or newspaper. 

[manicscousers]

we use a bulb planter on earlies, then put the soil back on top  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I bury them with a trowel, then put six inches of grass cuttings on top.

[Kea]

Potatoes are strange plants as they grow they send out stolons. If the stolen finds itself above ground it produces leaves, if it finds itself under the soil it produces tubers. That is why you earth up potatoes, so you get more stolons underground producing tubers giving a bigger yield.
It's a bit like seahorses changing sex if there is not enough males!

[sazhig]

Last year I planted my pots 12" apart (offset), approx 7" deep (using the trowel) with a handful of grass under each one. The whole bed was then covered with some compost, a few inches deep. Didn't need to earth up at all & got a lovely crop of good sized tubers.

[calendula]

I plant mine about 12 inches deep in beds that have a lot of manure and I never bother earthing up and I get excellent yields - if i was to take the trouble to earth up I'd probably only do it with the main crops as you want the best yield possible for keeping as long as you can