Earthing up potatoes (or not)

[Shirley Sherriffs]

I,ve torn my left rotator cuff muscle and its very sore trying to earth up my main crop potatoes. If I just leave them what will happen? will they just produce small or no potatoes, or will they just keel over and die off? I have way more earlier potatoes than I'll need but It would be useful to know.

[Two_Sheds]

you earth up spuds to stop the light reaching them and turning them green & poisonous.

[Two_Sheds]

As an alternative to earthing up, you can mulch instead, with whatever you have got ... I'm using wet newspapers this year, last year I used grass clippings and weeds.

[Shirley Sherriffs]

Yr not the boggy 2 sheds off the Terry Wogan Show are you ??

[BrandNewDay]

I'm sorry to hear about your injury.

But, glad you asked the question as I'm interested in the answers, myself. Mulching with something else sounds like much lighter work!

[Snadger]

I don't bother earthing up or mulching (lifes to short) and just accept that I get a few green tatties! Still get good crops though!

[Edwardo82]

You could just empty a few bags of compost on top of they, sprinkle it over the top, thats not too demanding

[Two_Sheds]

It's not cheap either, Edwardo

[amandaandherveg]

Shirley I would have thought after your starring role on TV last night on The Beechgrove Garden they would have taken care of that for you.

Your allotment was looking great by the way.

[ckfe]

Shirley I would have thought after your starring role on TV last night on The Beechgrove Garden they would have taken care of that for you.

Your allotment was looking great by the way.

what's the beechgrove garden and were you really on it shirley??

[oldie]

I have mulched mine with straw. I can buy bales for �1.50 so it's quite economical. Have not earthed up for two years now cos of arthritis.

[scott mathieson]

can't seem to find straw anywhere at the minute in my area, was planning and mulching courgettes squash and brasicas with wet newspaper and straw, the allotment has had a huge delivery of manure on a pay a tenner use a much you want basis so i may go for that instead of straw

first year growing so will this be ok to mulch the spuds with i hve earthed up most of but some are still smallish my earlies seem to be bushing out low to the ground but my main crop are quite tall.

[kiwirach]

i didnt earth up last year and lost a couple per plant to green, a couple to slugs and the rest were fine. as its only me, putting 40-50% in the compost bin didnt bother me. this year i have 3 beds.....2 i have used cut grass to 'earth up', the 3rd i havent done anything to again. am going to see what the difference is between the 2 when i havest.

[SarzWix]

Mine aren't being earthed up this year because the OH planted them so deep that they hardly seem to have any foliage anyway! I don't think green spuds will be too much of a problem, but digging them up at harvest time probably will

[Snadger]

Even if you earth them up you're still likely to get a couple of green spuds on the sides of your mini volcano of soil!