Stoopid potato planting question

[Snow]

I'll be growing some in the ground for the first time this year.
I don't expect it matters much how they are done really. But, I think I'll be digging a rough trench as I go, place spud, fill back until level - then extend the cheap fleece tunnel I was given over them.
Tunnel wont cover them all though, so more earth on top for those ones once they've come up and it's nippy. But also have some fleece sheets handy too.

[Muppet194]

When are you planning on planting them ?

Thinking of getting the earlies in on Saturday, to be honest. Have been warming the soil with black plastic for the last month. Hopefully they'll be ok, I've got plenty of time to spend on the lotty this weekend, no telling when I'll have such luxury again! So they're going in.

[Muppet194]

OP I for one an glad you asked the question.

Thankyou. I am still a bit of a newbie but you are all so friendly and helpful. I neednt have worried about asking!

[Kristen]

Farmers plant them and earth up into fully-formed furrows at the same time, so that presumably works OK

I would not be inclined to plant with bulb planter into compacted soil, if that is the case then I think a trench will at least loosen the soil.

I earth-up when frost is forecast (and the leaves are showing through). I then make one further earthing up when the plants are big enough to warrant it. If there is a late frost after that (which there might be for 1st Earliest, planted relatively early) then I have to make do with fleece. Double layers of fleece on a cold night and, one year in the last decade or two that I can remember when we had -5C or so in May, I completely covered them in fresh-mown lawn clippings. That worked for me, but lots of people near here lost all the tops of their spuds, even if covered with fleece

If you dig a trench don't leave it "open". The cold will get into it an significantly delay the crop. If you aren't ready to plant then manure/whatever the trench, backfill it and plant with trowel / bulb planter. An open trench can also dry out, which will also delay growth. Some years ago (despite good intentions!!!) I left a trench open for several weeks, planted very late, and it was a month before they were above ground - even though warm, and then only after heavy rain did they appear. I hadn't realised how dry the trench had become before planting.

I would be inclined to backfill the trench "level", so there there is more frost protection, but I don't think it matters if you don't and I don't have a strong view on whether one might be better than the other.

[Chippy Minton]

This is really interesting, I was expecting more variations to be honest. My variation hasn't been put out there, except maybe at the top of Kristen's response so here goes. I dig a trench, line with compost, nestle the spud into that, cover AND ridge over all in one go. The spuds grow up through the ridge, they don't seem to mind, it tells me where they'll be coming up and seems to help a bit with weeds. I get spuds, I'm happy.

My experience is you'll get spuds from planting them in the ground, the size, quantity and quality may be affected by the method used.

My other experience is there's no such thing as a stupid question, I know, I did it for a living for 2 years There'll be many wishing to know the answer and often in sharing, like here, start a debate.

Happy spudding all

[Penellype]

Not much experience here of growing spuds in soil, but one thing I would say - if you are faced with a late frost when potato foliage is above the ground and you cover it with fleece or plastic, try to lift the material off the leaves a bit with canes or something. Where the leaves touch the material you tend to get condensation which then freezes and damages the leaves.

[Spunky]

Has anyone tried laying down weed suppressant fabric making holes planting them 6" deep and let them get on with it?

[KevinM67]

Not much experience here of growing spuds in soil, but one thing I would say - if you are faced with a late frost when potato foliage is above the ground and you cover it with fleece or plastic, try to lift the material off the leaves a bit with canes or something. Where the leaves touch the material you tend to get condensation which then freezes and damages the leaves.

Penellype - was it you that posted details of your potato planting history, with dates of planting, foilage emerging, etc.

I was looking for it this morning for the OP as it was excellent info on timescales, etc.

I had to dash for work though and never got round to it.

[Kristen]

Has anyone tried laying down weed suppressant fabric making holes planting them 6" deep and let them get on with it?

Yes, works fine, and can be done such that the spuds grow just under the fabric - so you can lift the side, harvest the size spuds you want, and let the rest carry on growing ...

But I think the yields were less with this method? Back-in-the-day when I did that it was polythene rather than woven weed suppressing membrane, so not sure how that might differ

[kathyd]

Has anyone tried laying down weed suppressant fabric making holes planting them 6" deep and let them get on with it?

I grow through a mulch of some kind to avoid trenching and earthing up - fabric is easiest, have also used a thick layer of straw. It's all about keeping the light out, and the tatties can grow really close to the surface and are easier to find. But learned you need warm soil first, otherwise you plant in cold soil and it never really heats up through 6" straw when the weather improves later! A fabric / other mulch also helps protect against frost, but you may need to top up if very cold. I only grow earlies here cos of the rampant blight, so cold can be a real issue - even lost spuds in black bins with lids on before now!

[Penellype]

Penellype - was it you that posted details of your potato planting history, with dates of planting, foilage emerging, etc.

I was looking for it this morning for the OP as it was excellent info on timescales, etc.

I had to dash for work though and never got round to it.

I did - now where did I post that?

Found it - http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1323700

[Spunky]

Thanks Kirsten and Kathy Jesus there's a lot of ways to grow a potato! do you think that's why people don't bother then Kirsten because of the poorer yield ?

[Kristen]

I don't know. Seems to have gone out of fashion ... I tend to do it "my way" so have lost touch with whether folk on allotments, particularly folk that have only been growing veg for a few years, rather than the old-timers, have gone back to more traditional ways. I'm all for minimum-effort as I have a large garden so lots of other things that need my time, so I'm all for weed suppressing membrane and no-dig.