Have I earthed up correctly? (with pics)

[Two_Sheds]

squashes and potatoes.... interesting

Your earlies will be ready in June/July, so how will you dig them up without also digging up your squash plants?

Better to have the squash in pots, and transplant once the spuds are out.

[stooriefit]

I would always plant in rows C&D, it's a better use of available space.
From the picture I would have expected to get twice as many tatties in
that piece of ground

[Alan Farmer]

Good advice all round, -rows are best so that you can be orderly and make best use of the ground, e.g. by planting out french beans or leeks after you have used your first row of earlies. Main point here I believe is that the plants grow the baby spuds above the seed tuber, from the main stems reaching upwards. I plant deep, earth up a little initially to demarcate the rows, allow the leaves to emerge for photo-synthesis, then earth up with a rake against the stems. With a some bubble wrap handy in case of an early frost

[Peter]

How deep did you plant the seed spuds? That will help with how much to earth up. Remember, farmers don't earth up their spuds - they just bung em in deeper.

So wrong, at any rate for my local supplier to supermarkets.

They plant and earth up in one fell swoop.

As for rows against molehills, it is more efficient to do a row, you walk along one side with your hoe and pull up the soil on the other side, then walk down the other side and pull up the soil on the original side.
To do a molehill you have to walk all round it pulling up the opposite side with you hoe.

Add in a horse or tractor drawn implement and you just can't do molehills.

[zazen999]

rows are best so that you can be orderly and make best use of the ground, e.g. by planting out french beans or leeks after you have used your first row of earlies.

Still confused.....I can't see why rows make better use, I still get the same amount of spuds in the ground and plant out crops after the earlies are out. Mine start at one end with the earlies and end at the other with the ones that take the longest to mature [I do research the weeks to maturity and plan out the beds accordingly]....

Perhaps it is just tradition?

[rana]

Once you've earthed up the mounds a few times you're gonna end up with clumps as the mounds start to merge. At least in rows you can keep track of what variety is planted where more easily. You will also have a better opportunity to interplant with a fast catch crop such as lettuce or mizuna.

[zazen999]

I've got limanthes in between my mounds, sown last year and it is flowering profusely. I know which set of mounds is which as I've got large labels, and I planned it so that the earlies start at one end and I can then start planting the next crops from that end once they are out. If I wanted a catch crop, they can go inbetween the mounds. No clumps, just mounds of earthed up spuds.

Earthing up for me is done from both sides of the bed, using a hoe just like in rows.

I am just curious as when anyone says things are 'better' one way I need to find out why.....yes when ploughs were used rows were better, but in beds surely it really doesn't matter???

[Two_Sheds]

yes when ploughs were used rows were better, but in beds surely it really doesn't matter???

It depends on what you mean by "efficient".
Staggered planting gets more plants in that does row planting.
Closer planting also smothers weeds better, so it's more efficient on the weeding front.
Using rows means trampled, compacted soil, which ain't efficient.

Me, I'm a staggering mounder

[stooriefit]

Originaly posted by zazzen999

Perhaps it is just tradition?

What is tradition but years and years of experience

[zazen999]

Originaly posted by zazzen999


What is tradition but years and years of experience

But I grow in beds not in a field???

[Nicos]

Interestingly I stagger everything..except my spuds!!!!

why?????...no idea!!

[teakdesk]

What is tradition but years and years of experience

That's what the flint nappers said to those odd folk who burnt stones and tried making axes from the result !!!!!!!!

[Two_Sheds]

What is tradition but years and years of experience

or years and years of unthinking, unquestioning habit?

[greendean]

very interesting this mound ridge thing.
geoff hamilton once said read as much as you can, ask questions then put that all to one side and do it how you feel best for you.

just one point, i plant mine in rows by digging a hole with a trowel 6" deep, when the tops show i keep earthing up until i have no more soil to do so. this method suits rows or mounds.

the digging a trench out, planting and backfilling looks a little labour intensive. but again if that is what you want to do and i works for you then you go and do it

btw i am planting my brassicas in my early potato bed, (after they have been dug out)

[Two_Sheds]

btw i am planting my brassicas in my early potato bed, (after they have been dug out)

bear in mind
1) potatoes like acid soil, brassicas like alkaline soil
2) potatoes leave the soil very loose, and brassicas like to be anchored in really firm soil - almost like concrete.