Is this bed acceptable for planting spuds in?

[Robert_Brenchley]

If you can manage six inches of organic mulch, that would do them lovely. I put mine in on the flat with a bulb planter. I'm almost there; now for the mulching!

[Robert_Brenchley]

[Digitalis]

Organic mulch?

What is it called in garden centres, etc? Is it chipped bark?

[Deb P]

I use mushroom compost on top of my potatoes (just been doing it this afternoon in fact!) , some say you shouldn't as the small amount of lime it contains may predispose to scab, but I've never found it a problem and it improves the overall condition of clay soil no end..... ;D

Any organic matter you can put on top of them as previously mentioned will help retain moisture and keep weeds down until the plants are big and bad enough to look after themselves. You need something to cover the vulnerable shoots whilst there is still a frost risk, what you use is up to what you can lay your hands on!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Chipped bark is OK up to a point, but it tends to soak up nitrogen which isn't what you want for veg. I use grass cuttings and dead leaves. We get them delivered by the ton, so I can smother the whole plot with them.

[Digitalis]

I've seen bags of soil improver/enricher in B&Q. Is that suitable for organic mulch?

[ThomsonAS]

When it comes to mulching, grass cuttings work well enough for me.

I just planted a row of second earlies today so if I cut my lawn next week there will be enough to cover my firsts!
A.

[grannyjanny]

SD Your spud bed looks wonderful. Would your OH like to come & plant ours please. Hope you are soon well enough to do more of what you want to.
Janet

[saddad]

OH wants me to plant a row today... just so she can brag about how much better her rows are!!!  :-[

[gardentg44]

[We work off a scaffolding plank Caroline...  :)]

me too, there invaluble around garden. ;D

[grannyjanny]

SD She loves you really! She's had a very good teacher.
Janet

[Digitalis]

I've put some B&Q soil improver on the rows of spuds, and I will fill the rest of the bed with either bark or leaf mulch.







How does that look/sound?

Can I fill the rest of the bed with bark? Or would leaf mulch be better? There is a massive heap of it at the allotment. (Well, I presume it is leaf mulch. It's a pile of rotted leaves, by the look of it. Am I correct?)

[saddad]

Yes, barrow as much of the leaf mould on as you can...  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's fine. You might be better off looking for a source of dead leaves or grass cuttings; garden contractors are often glad to drop them off. I don't know what I'd do without them!

[Digitalis]

I've added leaf mulch to the gaps. Is this ok?:



I used this as the leaf mulch:

Does that look like leaf mulch? There is a massive pile of this stiff at the end of the allotment. I hope I've used the right stuf?!

Will it now rot down into the soil? Do I dig what's left of it after the spuds are gone into the ground?

Thanks for your advice, by the way.

[saddad]

Yes it will rot down, and the worms will probably have pulled it all in before the spuds are out... grass cuttings on top will help keep moisture in the soil, build it up as the season goes on...  :)

[Digitalis]

Thanks, saddad.

Does ot matter that there are still a few intact leaves amongst the rotten ones?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Not at all. I put dead leaves on when I don't have grass cuttings, and it all disappears in a few months.

[sawfish]

I love this image. I didnt know the clangers had started growing tatties?
;D

I've put my 30 Maris Peers in:

How does that look?

I decided against trenches.

The problem I had was mounding them up. The soil on the top has turned almost to concrete and it was tough to get it into mounds. I'm really worried about how I'm going to earth up, as there is hardly any 'spare' loose soil left. Can I earth up with multi purpose compost? Or should I use the compost from my bin?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Don't worry too much about earthing up, I grow them on the flat. A good layer of dead leaves or leafmould will go a long way!