Experimental no dig potatoes still not appearing

[chasingmytail]

Tried the straw and muck layering method however there is still no sign of any leaves yet while the traditional method I have the plant. I was wondering if its too dry in there or something has gone wrong. The weight and the thickness of the layering? Not enough watering? I will try and locate a spud tomorrow. Has anyone had a go at this?

[Snoop Puss]

How thick is your layer of straw and muck? Do you water at all? Have you uncovered any of the mulch to see if you have some shoots popping through, even if they are a bit small?

[bario1]

I did something similar, with the spuds planted quite shallow through a cardboard mulch with about a foot of straw and some soil to weight it down on top. The haulms did seem to struggle to get through the straw and they are still a lot smaller than my traditional sown ones (although they are a different variety, so not a great comparison). Were yours actually planted in the soil below the mulch? If not they might be struggling for moisture?

[chasingmytail]

Its damp underneath found one spud looks ok but slow in growth. The mulch is hard on top coupled with the straw must be very heavy. I think needs wetting and is thick.

We placed the spuds on paper at ground level.

I will have to put the sprinkler on later.

[lottie dolly]

i did a trial the other year on some ground i could not dig over,placed some spuds on,then covered with hay no more than a foot high,they were slower in coming up,and they were small,would not bother again,that year in another part of the lottie,i put the seed spud into a hole as usual,and covered with hay instead off ridging up,now it worked reasonably well as regards to weeds and keeping moisture in,the down side was,it was a pain to harvest,the growth came up where IT wanted,slugs,plus i found out the hay badly affected my nose and chest,so not for me anymore,and i got given as much as i wanted.