Allotments 4 All

I read this with interest as it becomes apparent that I have made one of those mistakes that 'new people' are prone to!

I dug a trench, spread a bit of blood and bone, put in the line of spuds, and filled it in.

Seeing all the other plots with long mounds or peaks on them,  I assumed the the peak was to be over the top of where the spuds are,  and not to the side - ready for earthing up.

I guess it doesnt make a whole lot of difference, but just so i know - I did it wrong, right?   :D


Not sure that I am making a whole load of sense here...

To make my question a little clearer I will show thepicture of the beautiful OCD induced trenches that saddad shared
(I hope you dont mind saddad...)



Question is...   Are the spuds under the peaks or the troughs?

i plant mine in the troughs but others plant in the peaks i do it my way as i find i need less soil to earth up and there is allways enogh soil my way but each to there own

 

QuoteI assumed the the peak was to be over the top of where the spuds are,  and not to the side - ready for earthing up.

You assumed right.

There are two lines of attack here;

1) You earth up OVER the potatoes right after you have planted your seed.

2) You can make provision for earthing up by forming ridges between the rows you have planted in preparation for earthing up when the tops (haulms) emerge.

Adavantages / Disadvantages;

Method 1) you might find your haulms do not emerge from the centre of the ridge.

Method 2) If you are earthing up after the haulms have emerged you can keep these central to the ridge.

Personally I do not form pre formed ridges as such but I do earth up after the haulms emerge.

Thanks for the answers.  It seems like - as with many things - there are arguments for and against each method!

Im pleased to know I didnt necessarily get it wrong

This year I have earthed up slightly after planting.  This is because my potatoes have seemed to emerge all over the place when I have not earthed and I cannot find the line so the earthing this year is to know where they should be.  It may be because I have loose soil that they have spread.  This way I can be a bit brutal and pull them back into line when I do earth properly.  I also fidn that with some of the earlies and having a demanding job, I have not got round to earthing at all so I think a bit more depth now will increase my yield a bit.

Quote from: redclanger on April 07, 2009, 18:25:58
I have not got round to earthing at all so I think a bit more depth now will increase my yield a bit.

I've read suggested trench depths of between 4 and 8 inches - would a deeper trench necessarily result in a higher yield?

I suppose that underneath my mounds they have about 8".  The question is, is that better than 4"?

I trenched relatively shallowly this year (to make harvesting easier because my back has been a bit wimpy over the last couple of months), so flattened the surface rather than my normal method of leaving a shallow trench to be filled in and mounded up later. This has given about 5" to 6" of soil cover. As usual I'll mound up as the haulms develop adding more soil/mulch/compost as necessary