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I have been clearing my plto - and I am currently digging out the couch grass roots! 

I was going to plant spuds under a no dig mulch - but the more i read about wireworm and slugs etc - I ask myself is it worth it this year???

I have seen a few of the little bu**ers - and have squashed them as I go along.  I am getting a bit disheartend about this as my first experience of spud growing in a new garden many years ago was a disaster - the slugs had a field day!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Louise

Go for it girl, do it the conventionate way if your worrying about the no dig way, just dig the trench throw in some manure put in 10/12 inches apart bury and away you go. Also go for slug or eelworm resistant types such as Nadine,pentland javelin and Kestrel, good luck and never let the pests get the better of you.  :D :D :D ;D ;D ;D ;) :-*

we had some luck with nematodes  :)

Hi Louise,
Cornykev has got it right, if you're not averse to using them, sprinkle some slug pellets around the tubers before filling the trench. You're likely to have some slug damage even then, but you can use those tatties first.

Thanks guys!

I have already ordered my spuds - can't for the life of me remember what they were (a small amount of about 5 types!!) .  I went for the ones that said they were the most resistant to pests/worm and blight etc ....as I knew it can be dodgy growing them on newly cleared  ground! 

I was going to go for "no dig" with a mulch because i have a lot of Couch grass (who hasn't?) and the mulch would help to smother it. 

>>>>and what about mustard??  I've heard it can force wireworm to mature and bu**er off quicker - but that's when it's dug in - which I haven't time to do before my spuds should go in.  Do you reckon it's worth growing some along side them and digging it in once it's ready to draw them away from the spuds????  I reckon if it works it's a great idea and if it doesn't it'll do my soil good anyway!

But hey - thanks for the encouragement - I suppose it's got to be worth a try - as i've already bought my seed spuds anyway!  I have a small patch of ground that someone had started to clear last year and that had no grass on it - so I think i'll use that first for my spuds!

Other that that - where do I buy Napalm????

Cheers!

LOUISE

Mustard is a tender annual for summer. Rapid growing and weed smothering, needs moisture but ain't fussy about soil. Its said to reduce soil-bourne pests & diseases. Easy to dig in and a good green manure.

Tell you what you could do and I did it last year and worked better than I could imagine... stick the spuds in, put on some growing sucess rain proof, kid proof, pet proof, iron phosphate advanced slug killer (no methahorible) and cover with black polythene and dig in around the edge. When the shoots push against the covering, slit a hole to let it through. no slug damage and no green spuds and no earthing up! As for wireworm DO NOT USE HORSE MUCK IF THEY ARE BEDDED DOWN ON WOOD SHAVINGS. As this is a big source of it and becomming more common these days as horses are increasingly bedded down on this to stop respiritory problems.
Hope this helps.

does mustard fit in to the rotovation ?

;) Lou don't be to fussed about the weeds tatties grow okay in weedy areas, when you earth up bury any that come through. We all get a few slug holes or scab as Telboy says use them ones first and just cut away. When you dig up the spuds the rest of the weeds would have died or be very easy to dig up thus clearing the ground.

Potatoes often do well in the first year or two after clearing ground, the fertility has built up with all the grass and weeds dieing in situ... Digging spuds in and out helps you find most of the couch you thought you had cleared but missed!!! Been there, done that, got the spud on a spear!!!!!
::)

Is that singular or plural Saddad.   ;D ;D ;D

Usually only one at a time, either with the fork or the couch root taking a shortcut!
::)

Great - thanks  for your tips guys!

I think i'll stick to the fabric mulch, with pellets and see how I go! 

I am also planning to grow my squashes etc through mulch as well - to smother the weeds and keep in the moisture!

Louise