If you're growing earlies don't bother, but if you want big maincrops you will need to as they push up to the surface as they grow and will go horrible and green if you don't cover them with something, but it doesn't have to be soil. I have done potatoes by dropping them onto the soil surface and then covering with straw, it works but voles and slugs can be an issue.
They push up to the surface? That’s interesting. So does planting them really deep make no difference?
The potato you plant stays where it is. The stems from the shoots grow up to the surface (and above of course).
The potatoes form on the underground stems, but of course those near to the surface may push through as they swell, and then they’ll turn green if they are exposed to the light.
So the more you earth up, the more stem there is below the soil to produce useable potatoes.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Earlies or lates you need to earth up. I'm surround by potato fields full of Jersey Royals and no farmer here would dream of not earthing up, before there pulled they will go through the furrows with the tractor to suppress weeds and maintain the earthing.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
This is all quite interesting. I’ve known about earthing up for a while but trying to get my head clearly round the whys and wherefores of it. Is there anything else that needs earthing up as I only know of potatoes? And what percentage of crop is provided by earthing up- and how high should you mound up the earth?
This is all quite interesting. I’ve known about earthing up for a while but trying to get my head clearly round the whys and wherefores of it. Is there anything else that needs earthing up as I only know of potatoes? And what percentage of crop is provided by earthing up- and how high should you mound up the earth?
Dove from above explains it perfectly. It is as she says. There's no other expnation that I can think of .
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
What I'm doing this year is to use well-rotted manure to earth-up, once the plants are growing strongly. The idea is that this will save me doing it in Autumn and some of it will naturally get mixed deeper into the soil when the spuds are lifted, ready for next year's (rotated) crop. Slugs are a potential problem when doing that but I have to grow slug-resistant varieties anyway as small burrowing slugs are always present in my clay soil.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
What I'm doing this year is to use well-rotted manure to earth-up, once the plants are growing strongly. The idea is that this will save me doing it in Autumn and some of it will naturally get mixed deeper into the soil when the spuds are lifted, ready for next year's (rotated) crop. Slugs are a potential problem when doing that but I have to grow slug-resistant varieties anyway as small burrowing slugs are always present in my clay soil.
Be interested how that works out Bob. I always have plenty of soil from raking beds on my clay. After rotavating the lumpy bits come to the top, I then rake them off to form seed beds. So I end up with big pile of rakings which I then use to earth up the tatties. I find it easier on the whole using the pile of loose earth than trying to draw it up from either side of the tattie rows.
What I'm doing this year is to use well-rotted manure to earth-up, once the plants are growing strongly. The idea is that this will save me doing it in Autumn and some of it will naturally get mixed deeper into the soil when the spuds are lifted, ready for next year's (rotated) crop. Slugs are a potential problem when doing that but I have to grow slug-resistant varieties anyway as small burrowing slugs are always present in my clay soil.
Be interested how that works out Bob. I always have plenty of soil from raking beds on my clay. After rotavating the lumpy bits come to the top, I then rake them off to form seed beds. So I end up with big pile of rakings which I then use to earth up the tatties. I find it easier on the whole using the pile of loose earth than trying to draw it up from either side of the tattie rows.
Good idea, @GemmaJF I'm trying to cram more in this year than usual so the rows are a bit closer than usual. I normally pull earth up from between the rows so creating both a pile over the plants and a bit of a trench each side but I don't think they'll be enough soil this year. Never thought about collecting the rakings and using them later.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
I’m growing mine in raised beds so I was thinking of doing something similar. I guess any organic matter would do the trick. The raised bed with the maincrop in is only a foot high, whereas my other beds are two foot high. Was going to use the earthing up as a way of building up the raised bed to bed to the other sizes, adding the top sleepers later.
I’m growing mine in raised beds so I was thinking of doing something similar. I guess any organic matter would do the trick. The raised bed with the maincrop in is only a foot high, whereas my other beds are two foot high. Was going to use the earthing up as a way of building up the raised bed to bed to the other sizes, adding the top sleepers later.
That will work well and is effectively the same method used when growing them in bags - just keep topping up a couple of inches at a time, as they grow. If a frost is due (and it looks like a few are forecast over the next couple of weeks or so) then cover any visible shoots with any composted organic matter to protect them.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
Good idea, @GemmaJF I'm trying to cram more in this year than usual so the rows are a bit closer than usual. I normally pull earth up from between the rows so creating both a pile over the plants and a bit of a trench each side but I don't think they'll be enough soil this year. Never thought about collecting the rakings and using them later.
That will work well and is effectively the same method used when growing them in bags - just keep topping up a couple of inches at a time, as they grow. If a frost is due (and it looks like a few are forecast over the next couple of weeks or so) then cover any visible shoots with any composted organic matter to protect them.