I have heard this term used before but I have literally had to throw seven rows in because the ground that I have put the spuds in is twitch friendly and it was difficult to dig so I'm hoping that the spuds will clean the ground up for me for next season :)
They won't, but if you're growing them the traditional way, you will with all the cultivation you need to do.
Indeed. The little sods don't dig...
If the couch is too bad, you could put black plastic over it all. As the spuds come up, you'll see the bumps in the plastic, and you can cut holes for them to come through.
I was thinking of doing that with my spuds and black plastic or membrane - would I still need to earth them up too? If so, would I do that on top of the plastic/membrane, or lift it and earth them up underneath then put the cover back over?
If the couch is too bad, you could put black plastic over it all.
How about if twitch is bad DIG IT OUT
The spuds are in already, so we need solutions which will control the weeds while allowing them to grow.
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 23, 2008, 09:23:59
If the couch is too bad, you could put black plastic over it all. As the spuds come up, you'll see the bumps in the plastic, and you can cut holes for them to come through.
This sounds like the way to go really, good luck Mr Smith. Let us know how it goes :)
If the weather gets dry the couch will look for moisture and drill into the potatoes for it ruining the crop
The ground is well dug and the bulk of the twitch is removed but I hope the spuds will do the rest for me, and Paul posting in capitals is rude :)
and Paul posting in capitals is rude
THATS ME BLUNT RUDE NORTHENER
Paul,
I'm also from what I call the North but I was fetched up not dragged up :)
Now now girls be nice. ;D ;D ;D
How about stop stirring cornykev!
Mr Smith and other people get quite rightly upset by PaulW's rants and I have reported him to to the moderator so now PaulW you can have another last rant at me for this before you are expelled.
GaryF (also a Northerner).
Not stirring GAZ just trying to calm the arguement and its seems to have worked, so butt out matey, or are you going to report me now. :-X :-X :-X
Stop messing about you two, you're giving Northeners a bad name.
Can someone tell me why I keep hearing that planting potatoes will clear the ground, I have a rough patch and was hoping I could do that..is it just an old wives tale please
XX Jeannine
I've wondered that too, Jeannine. My own take on it is that by the time you've dug the ground to plant the taties, and then dug them up afterward, you've pretty much 'cleared' the soil. :)
Spot on DenBee. ;D ;D ;D
So I would be wasting my time to plant spuds in that ground then? Would it help at all? I intended just digging a hole and popping it in, it hasn't got grass but it hasn't been worked in forever
Depends how bad it is. I've often planted them in ground with bindweed or a little couch or ground elder. They keep a lot of the weeds down a bit by shading them, then I dig the weeds out with the spuds. But it won't work in ground that's solid with weeds.
QuoteMy own take on it is that by the time you've dug the ground to plant the taties, and then dug them up afterward, you've pretty much 'cleared' the soil
That is quite right :) potatoes will not 'clear the ground' you have to do the work !
But by digging it twice you will get most of the nasties out of the ground.
Its very hard to judge someones 'tone' when its typed and things can quickly get miss understood as there are no facial expresions to go by :( Something said in fun can be taken the wrong way.
If its just ordinary grass not couch. I would be tempted to do no dig, Put cardboard directly on the grass, soak it cover with compost or manure to 8" - 10" thick. When you plant your potatoes, move the mulch, cut a cross in the cardboard and remove the top layer of gras just where you want to plant.
Take out a 3" hole, drop tattie in cover with the soil removed, draw cardboard back over and pull the mulch over as well. Through the season you can top the mulch with a thinish layer of grass cuttings each time. This helps to conserve moisture and exclude more light.
It really does work very well, as the worms move around more freely they pull down the rotting cardboard and mulch. When you come to digging up the crop its surprisingly easy and friable.
I had trouble believing all this until I tried it................specially good for anyone with back problems - or lacking stamina like me ;)
Well, the cultivation side of it is one aspect of why people say potatoes clean the ground. The other thing they do is throw up lots of leafy growth, which does a great deal towards stopping or at least making weak any weeds that try to poke through.
Lazy beds are a way of doing it - you can do it this way - cut the "turf" in a slice off the top of the ground, turn it upside down so the leaves are in the dark and the roots are in the air, make a gash in it, pop your potato in. In reality what can happen is that instead of getting nice slices of turf, you dig chunks and tufts up, pile it in a heap and plant into that. Worth half an hour's work if you want to try and you may get some spuds out of it.
The chap I share one lottie with certainly doesn't seem to do as much hard labour in the digging stakes on his potato beds as OH and I do. He covers them with some manure early in the year. And then seems to simply do as you say, Jeannine, and plant the spuds in individual holes. No trenching or earthing up. I haven't seen him for absolutely ages, but I'm sure, as an old stager at this game, he's found a method that suits him and gets him the results he wants.
That's pretty much how I do it; plant them with a trowel, and pile grass cuttings over the top.